Arpeggio or Arpeggiato?

• Mar 13, 2021 - 10:08

In some conversations https://musescore.org/en/node/309616 https://musescore.org/it/node/318735#comment-1068156 Riffero proposes to change the nomenclature, from Arpeggio to Arpeggiato.
Obviously I can provide for the Italian version, what do you think for the English one?


Comments

In reply to by Jojo-Schmitz

Yes, I had also checked the /en version which is similar.
I wonder what Elaine Gould (Mrs. Scott) thinks about this. It would seem that Arpeggio is also commonly accepted in place of Arpeggiato (more correct probably). It doesn't seem like an urgent need, I'll wait.


Ops. ;-)

In reply to by Shoichi

So, just for the record and to grasp the concept under discussion: An arpeggio is a chord played "horizontally" rather than "vertically". When the notes are stacked in a Chord they are played simultaneously (vertically). If the notes are to be played in succession the "Arpeggiato" symbol is added and the execution becomes horizontal.

Arpeggio-Arpeggiato.png

So the disquisition is between specialized vs. common terminology. Looking at the score the symbol (Arpeggiato) means perform (the chord) as an arpeggio.
Hangs decision.

I have never heard the word arpeggiato. The usual term in English is "arpeggio". If you want a verb, it's "arpeggiate", which is of course a strange cross between Italian and English, but that's the term in common use. We often say any noun can be verbed, and apparently that applies to Italian nouns too, but they get Anglicized in the process!

And in English no distinction is made between the arpeggio notated as one note at a time in rhythm versus the symbol applied to a single chord.

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