Arpeggiated chord melody arrangement

Breaking up a chord into a sequence of its individual notes—while weaving in melodic tones—is what I mean by the admittedly mouthful phrase “arpeggiated chord melody arrangement.” Since I couldn’t find this term anywhere online, I’m sharing this blog to showcase examples of my own work. I use this four-word phrase as if it already exists in the musical lexicon, even though I may be inventing it here.

Greensleeves (What Child is This) in G minor

Earlier this year, I made several chord melody arrangements of Greensleeves, also titled “What Child is This.” One reader asked me for the version in G minor.

Upon revisiting, I noticed I had given a block chord melody arrangement.

The more notes you add from the chords, the more harmonically rich it sounds. Compare the above with the barebones of melody as seen in the lead sheet below.

Silent Night in C

Another example of arpeggiated chord melody arrangement is Silent Night. I included this two-page arrangement as a BONUS in Book 2 Pick Pluck Play! Amazon edition.

Arpeggiation is suitable for lullaby accompaniments. Both “Silent Night” and “What Child Is This” can be sung and played as lullabies.

As hymns, block chords are more suitable.

From lead sheet to chord melody arrangement

Advanced players can read from a lead sheet (melody notes and chord names) and weave the melody and harmony together. Another example that I show the progression from lead sheets to block chord melody to arpeggiated chord melody is “Skip to My Lou.“

Pick Pluck Play!

In my new ukulele series, I start with fingerpicking individual melody notes in Book 1.

Then I introduce chords with melodic notes, as in block chord melody arrangement.

The next step is arpeggiated (or broken) chord melody arrangement. “Skip to My Lou includes all three and more in Book 3 PDF version (released in September at the Nutmeg Ukulele Festival in Connecticut).

Can you think of Christmas carols that do well as broken or arpeggiated chord melody arrangements?