Right-Hand Arpeggios Using 16th Notes

Next we'lllook at a 16th-note arpeggio version of this chord progression in the key of F. In case you're
not familiar with 16th-notes, they divide the beat into four parts (and divide the eighth note into two parts).
Sixteenth notes create a more rhythmically intense effect than eighth notes, and are used in rock ballads at
slower tempos, as well as up-tempo rock songs to add a funk/R&B influence. Here is the same chord
progression, now using 16th note arpeggios in a rock ballad style:

~:

TRACK 30
piano only

TRACK 31
piano plus
rhythm section

tJ

K 27
plus
sectit

Q)

(l

Q)

1..

"

Dm

Gm

3 lj_

)liT

'-

___!1_

simile

r---I

-a

-a

On Track 31, an electric organ part has been added to the bass and drums on the left channel.

K29
plus
;ectit

The above arpeggios are mostly descending and use important rhythmic anticipations. As stated earlier, an
anticipation occurs when a note or chord lands before the beat, and is then held through the following beat
(or followed by a rest on that beat). In contemporary styles, anticipations will use either eighth or 16th
notes, depending on the overall rhythmic subdivision of the style. For example, in Tracks 24-29 the
left-hand pattern anticipates beat 3 of each measure by an eighth note. In the above example, the right-hand
arpeggios anticipate beat 3 by a 16th note. Using anticipations in this way is a critical element to making
the groove happen! Meanwhile the left hand is simply playing the roots of the chords in the above example,
as half notes landing on beats 1 and 3 of each measure. This simple pattern is an effective support to the
busier right-hand figures.
Note the sustain pedal markings that require the sustain pedal to be depressed for the duration of each
chord. This helps to create a fuller sound and is generally required for all piano ballad styles. (For more
up-tempo rock, however, the pedal should be used sparingly, if at all, because it can detract from the
rhythmic drive needed.)
You remember that back in Chapter 2 we counted eighth-note rhythms as "1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &."Well, if we
want to count 16th-note rhythms, we'll have to add something between the "1" and the"&," and between
the "&" and "2," and so on. This is done by using the syllables "e" and "a," as in "1 e & a 2 e & a," etc.
More about 16th-note figures (and counting) later on!

15