How to Write a Melody on Piano Using Arpeggios
To write a melody with piano arpeggios, choose chord inversions so the top note carries the tune, then break each chord into a pattern like high-middle-low-middle, adding accents, diatonic wandering notes and passing tones to make it memorable.
Key points
- The top note of each chord is what listeners hear as the melody, so sing it while you play.
- Start arpeggios on the high note and use patterns like H M L M or H L M L, holding the top note with ring finger and pinky.
- Choose inversions to put the melody note you want on top, not just for comfort.
- Accents in a 3+3+2 grouping, a diatonic wandering top note and broken sixteenth patterns make arpeggios more memorable.
- End phrases with passing tones that land on a chord tone.
This lesson by Jason Zac of Nathaniel School of Music shows how to build melodies on the piano over an existing chord progression using arpeggios. It suits pianists who know basic triads and want their right hand to tell a story instead of just filling in chords. The example progression is the popular 6-4-1-5 in Bb major: G minor, Eb major, Bb major, F major, with chords in the left hand.
Step 1: Know your inversions and listen to the top note
An arpeggio is a chord played one note at a time, and any inversion can be used. G minor (G Bb D) has three shapes:
- Root position: G Bb D, top note D
- First inversion: Bb D G, top note G
- Second inversion: D G Bb, top note Bb
Play each shape as a block chord and sing only the top note. The listener hears that top note as the melody, so getting used to singing it is the foundation of the whole lesson.
Step 2: Start the arpeggio from the top note
To build melodic lines, begin the arpeggio on the high note and hold it down with your ring finger and pinky while the other notes move. Useful patterns, using H for high, M for middle and L for low:
- H M L M
- H L M L
Play these as eighth notes (one and two and three and four and) over the chords in the left hand. Repeat the same pattern through Eb, Bb and F. It sounds epic, but if every chord keeps the same shape it can feel a bit boring and forgettable.
Step 3: Change inversions to shape the melody
Here inversions are not about making the hands comfortable. They are chosen to bring a specific melody note to the top, for example a D on top of one chord or C on top of F major. With careful top-note choices, the arpeggio becomes a hook, the kind of line heard in a lot of electronic dance music, where synths play similar patterns.
Step 4: Add accents with irregular groupings
Divide the beat by two (eighth notes) and group the eight notes of a bar as 3 + 3 + 2, accenting the first note of each group. The melody now strikes at unpredictable points, so it stands out more to the listener.
Step 5: Try the wandering melody
Since the top note gets the most attention, move it around. Stay near the chord and keep every note diatonic, here within the Bb major scale (two flats, Bb and Eb). You can repeat a motif over G minor and Eb, then vary it over F major. Sing your ideas first: your voice pushes the right hand out of its comfort zone of circling the same spot.
Step 6: Use broken arpeggios
You do not have to fill every subdivision. Divide the beat by four (one e and a) and leave some out:
- Skip the e for a galloping feel.
- Skip the and for another lighter rhythm.
Step 7: Finish phrases with passing and landing tones
At the end of a phrase, add a quick run of passing notes that lands back on a chord tone, like a drummer's fill. Combining arpeggios with chord tones, passing notes and landing notes keeps even a familiar progression fresh.
How to practise
- Play each chord of Gm, Eb, Bb, F in all inversions and sing the top note.
- Loop H M L M in eighth notes, then pick inversions for a better top-note line.
- Add the 3+3+2 accents.
- Experiment with wandering diatonic notes, broken sixteenth patterns and passing-tone endings.
Listen to banjo, mandolin and fingerstyle guitar players too; they use the same arpeggio ideas.
Questions about this lesson
How do arpeggios create a melody on piano?
When you play a chord, the listener reacts most to its highest note. By choosing inversions so the top notes form a line and starting the arpeggio from that top note, the arpeggio itself becomes the melody.
What arpeggio patterns work well for melodies?
Start from the high note and use patterns such as high-middle-low-middle or high-low-middle-low, played as eighth notes. Holding the top note down with the ring finger and pinky keeps the melody ringing.
What is the 3+3+2 accent pattern?
Divide a bar of four beats into eight eighth notes and accent the first of each group of three, three and two. The melody then lands on unexpected points and stands out more.
What chord progression is used in this lesson?
The 6-4-1-5 progression in Bb major: G minor, Eb major, Bb major and F major. Wandering melody notes stay within the Bb major scale.
Practise it
- Chord TreesStart from a note and explore related chords, inversions and voicings.
- Rhythm TeacherBuild accent patterns, divide beats and explore odd metres and polyrhythms.
- 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
- The Easiest Way to Expand Your Piano Arpeggios: Octave Displaced ArpeggiosAn octave displaced arpeggio takes a simple low-middle-high-middle triad pattern and, every alternate time, plays the bottom note an octave higher (or the top note an octave lower), giving a four-note, guitar-like pattern from only three chord tones.
- Play Melody and Chords in One Hand: The Piano Trick That Sounds ImpossibleTo play melody and chords in one right hand, keep the melody note on top with your pinky or ring finger, choose a chord (I, IV or V) that contains that note, play it in the inversion that puts the melody highest, and arpeggiate the lower notes underneath.
- 10 Rhythm Patterns That Make Chord Inversions EasyTo make chord inversions musical, play the root position, first inversion and second inversion of a triad such as Bb major or C major through real rhythm patterns like block chords, oom-pah, waltz, broken chords, arpeggios, the tresillo, the Charleston, dual-speed arpeggios and floating inversions.
- 3 Beautiful Piano Arpeggio Patterns (for Any Genre)Three go-to piano arpeggio patterns are low-middle-high-middle (LMHM), high-middle-low-middle (HMLM) and high-low-middle-low (HLML), played as eighth notes in the right hand over close chord inversions while the left hand plays the root of each chord.