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Chord decomposition for arpeggios in Carcassi

An arpeggio almost never plays all six strings of the chord. With two works by Carcassi we see which notes are taken from each chord and which are left out.

C G7 in a loop

Matteo Carcassi’s Allegretto in C alternates two chords: C and G7. Below are the sheet music and the tab for measures 1 to 4 (the first one is the pickup); measures 3 and 4 repeat in a loop. Click the example to download the full score as a PDF.

Full form and decomposed form

The diagrams show C and G7 as they appear in the site’s chord database, in their standard open position: that is the full form, with all of its notes. Carcassi’s arpeggio does not play them all. Taking only some notes of a chord is decomposition, and what is left is the decomposed form.

In G7, strings 4 and 5 are left out: the bass stays on string 6, with three high notes. In C, string 4 is left out and the bass is on string 5. The decomposed form needs fewer fingers than the full one.

Am G7 C E7 in a loop

Prelude A Minor, Op.59 uses the same idea with four chords. Below are its measures 3 and 4, with a repeat around them (the PDF does not have it; we added it so you can see the loop). The full score is also one click away.

The comparison for the four chords, in the order of the progression: the full form first; then the decomposed one with the easy E7 (the one that would come without thinking) and, last, Carcassi’s, which comes straight from the PDF, measure by measure. Only the E7 changes: in Carcassi its bass is the B on string 5, not the open E.