Broken chords - ???

[iamthe_eggman]

What are broken chords? I've heard some of you guys mention them, and it would appear that it is a jazz technique.

[Coffee]

Been a long time since I've heard that term. We're talking arpeggio here. Hope that helps.

[Wide]

I've heard classical guitarists speak about broken chords...and that's when you, instead of playing all the notes of a chord together, play the notes separated, mostly from lowest to highest note, fast. Yeah, it's a kind of arpeggio, but what those classical guitarists do is that they don't mute the strings, but let them ring in to each other and produce a harp-like sound.

that's what the classical guys mean when the say broken chords. the term can also be used for, yes, arpeggio.

[Coffee]

Sorry. Wasn't quite together. Wide is right. It is kind of an arpeggio. If you're playing a Major seventh chord instead of playing 1, 3, 5, 7, you would play 1, 5, 3, 7 or some other abstracted combination. Sorry about the half an answer above.