Arpeggiation
A broken chord with ascending or descending order
Arpeggiation generally refers to a kind of broken chord that the notes are played in succession, either ascending or descending. Arpeggiation can also be used as an ornament, marked by a vertical wavy line. When arpeggiation is used as an ornament, it is typically played at a fast tempo.
There are two common ways to indicate different types of arpeggiations (ornament):
- Ascending arpeggiation: marked by a vertical wavy line (sometimes with an arrowhead pointing upward at the top), indicating that the arpeggio should be played from low to high.
- Descending arpeggiation: marked by a vertical wavy line with an arrowhead pointing downward at the bottom, indicating that the arpeggio should be played from high to low.
Example of Arpeggiation
Writer: Frankie Chan
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Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven, German composer, the predominant musical figure during the transition between the Classical to Romantic eras. He occupies an unprecedented dominance in the history of Western music history, and has been widely regarded as the greatest, most influential and most popular musician who ever lived.
Beethoven's music inherited the artistic atmosphere of Haydn and Mozart, penetrated the desire for dignity, vented the anger tortured by fate, and demonstrated his determination to fight with fate.
Compared to other musicians, Beethoven is effectively to interact the philosophy of life with audience through music. Although he was not a romantic, he had become the object followed by other romantics.
As a musician, Beethoven suffered from ear diseases. However, he was unwilling to succumb to fate, vowing to take fate by the throat, and continue to complete his career. In the last ten years of his life, without hearing any sound, his compositions influenced the development of music for nearly two hundred years.
