November 2000: Arpeggi vs. Rolled Chords - Unit 5 - Practicing Rolled Chords

It could be said that a rolled chord is nothing more than an arpeggio played faster i.e., the notes are closer together. Therefore, all the practice techniques we have developed for arpeggi can also be applied to rolled chords. But there are a few more tricks. Let's assume that we want to play:

C	G	C		E	G	C	E
4	2	1		4	3	2	1
left hand				right hand

• Start by playing only the sequence of 4-2 (C-G) in the left hand. Pay attention to finger closure and space the notes precisely.
• Add the next note 4-2-1 (C-E-C) with the left hand. Because the thumb plays in a totally different physical manner than the other fingers it will be harder to control the distance between 2-1 than it was to do this between 4-2. Repeat until all notes are EQ'd (see Unit 3)
• Now add the right hand 4 (E) so that you are playing:

C	G	C	E
4	2	1	4

It will be still more difficult to achieve equal distance between left hand 1 and right hand 4 because of the hand change but with practice, careful listening, and patience you will succeed.

• Continue adding one new note at a time until the chord is complete.

At first you will have to space all your notes fairly far apart. Gradually, as you gain better control you must decrease the space until the distance between notes is almost imperceptible. Next month we will discuss the spacing of chordal notes and how to properly insert them into your music.

See you next month.

Stephanie

you can access Units 1 - 4 of this lesson in The Archives

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