3 Easy Ways to Make Your Piano Arpeggios Sound Pro

To make piano arpeggios sound professional, shape the volume with dynamics guided by your breathing and the singer, use the sustain pedal while lifting it just before each chord change, and accent the notes that fall on the snare drum beats, usually beats 2 and 4.

Video lesson by Jason Zac · Beginner · 9 min

Can't see the video? Watch it on YouTube.

This lesson shows you how to make simple piano arpeggios sound organic, expressive and human rather than programmed or robotic. Jason Zac shares three approaches that any player, from beginner to advanced, can apply straight away to arpeggio patterns they already know.

Recap: the chords and patterns

The lesson builds on arpeggios from an earlier video, played over four chords:

• E minor (E G B)
• G major (G B D)
• D major (D F# A)
• A major (A C# E)

Each chord is broken into notes using one of these orders:

1. Low, middle, high, middle
2. High, middle, low, middle
3. High, low, middle, low

Many players know these same patterns. The three techniques below are what make your playing stand out.

Technique 1: Dynamics and a volume wave

Instead of playing every note at the same volume, create a volume wave. Picture someone walking through hills: going uphill the sound grows louder, going downhill it becomes softer, at the bottom it is relaxed and quiet, and at the top it reaches its peak. This takes the listener on a journey and gives the arpeggios character and purpose.

Follow the singer

When accompanying a vocalist, let the song guide your dynamics. You might play softer in the verse and louder in the chorus, or simply grow louder when the singer grows louder within a line.

Let your breathing lead

A very effective approach is to let your breath control the sound. As you breathe in, your muscles tend to tighten and the volume naturally rises. When you can breathe in no more, breathe out, and the volume relaxes and softens. Follow your body and play as naturally as possible, but keep your breathing musical and never lose time. Practising with a metronome helps.

Technique 2: Use the sustain pedal

Play the arpeggios with the sustain pedal down. On a real piano the pedal not only holds the sound but also lets extra overtones ring, adding a warm, pad-like layer beneath your chords. The same pattern sounds noticeably fuller with the pedal than without, and even better when you combine pedal with breath-led dynamics.

Lift the pedal before each chord change

The pedal brings a responsibility: you must lift it before moving to the next chord. If you hold it through a change, the overtones of the old and new chords clash and the sound becomes muddy. Lift just before the next chord or, if you are unsure, a beat early. This matters most when your left hand moves deeper into the low register.

Technique 3: Follow the drummer's snare

Imagine the drum groove behind you and accent the arpeggio notes where the snare drum hits, keeping the notes on the kick softer. In most grooves, especially rock, the snare falls on beats 2 and 4. Using the high, middle, low, middle order, count one and two and three and four, and play the notes on 2 and 4 a little louder.

How to practise

• Loop the four-chord progression with one arpeggio pattern until it is comfortable.
• Add a volume wave, guided by breathing in and out, with a metronome running.
• Add the sustain pedal, lifting it cleanly before every chord change.
• Finally, imagine a drum groove and accent beats 2 and 4.
• Try each technique with all three arpeggio orders.

Questions about this lesson

Why do my piano arpeggios sound robotic?

Usually because every note is played at the same volume. Adding dynamics, such as a rising and falling volume wave guided by your breathing or the singer, makes arpeggios sound human and expressive.

When should I lift the sustain pedal while playing arpeggios?

Lift it just before you change to the next chord, or a beat early if you are unsure. Holding it through a chord change makes the overtones clash, especially when the left hand plays low.

Which beats should I accent in an arpeggio pattern?

Accent the notes where the snare drum would hit, which in most grooves is beats 2 and 4. Keep the notes on the kick drum beats softer.

How does breathing help piano dynamics?

Breathing in tends to tighten the muscles so the volume naturally rises, and breathing out relaxes them so it softens. Practise this with a metronome so you keep steady time.

Practise it

• Groove MetronomeWork with tempo, accents and polyrhythms instead of a single unchanging click.
• Piano classes at Nathaniel School of MusicLive online or in Bangalore, with a teacher.
• All free music apps40 practice tools for harmony, rhythm, ear training and more.

Related lessons

• Make Your Piano Arpeggios Sound Unique Using Accents (8th and 16th Note Phrases)To make a piano arpeggio sound unique, group its notes in uneven patterns such as 3+3+2 eighth notes or 5+5+3+3 sixteenth notes, so the anchor note of each group lands sometimes on the beat and sometimes off it, creating natural accents.
• How to Improve Your Piano Playing (5 Things to Focus On)To play piano at a professional level, learn to play in all 12 keys without the transpose button, stay aware of the other musicians, react to the melody with suitable chords and rhythm, feel a steady pulse in your body, and control your dynamics.
• How to Play Piano Chords That Sound Full and ProTo make basic piano chords sound full and professional, embellish each triad with sus2 and sus4 suspensions, plagal (IV–I) cadences, arpeggio fills at the ends of phrases, melodic passing notes between vocal lines, and a left-hand bass line that walks towards the next chord's root.
• How to Count and Feel 6/8 Time on Piano Using Arpeggios (Part 2)To make 6/8 arpeggios sound unique on piano, group the six sub-beats unevenly, as 2+4 for a busy feel or 4+2 for a lazy feel, extend to a 12-beat cycle grouped 5+4+3, and weave a non-chord tone such as E into a D minor arpeggio.