A musical direction meaning to play the notes of a chord in a rapid succession or sweeping motion rather than all together.
From Italian arpeggiando, the present participle of arpeggiare (to play like a harp), derived from arpeggio. The term entered musical notation in the 17th century when composers wanted to specify this harp-like technique on keyboard instruments.
Arpeggiando is what makes a piano sound magical—instead of hitting all the notes of a chord at once, you roll through them like a harp, which is why the technique is literally named after how harps naturally sound.
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