As far as similarities with other arpeggios in more traditional music, I think the chip arp stands on its own. The original intention of arpeggios in classical music was more along the lines of not wanting to put a chord with all notes played simultaneously and give more movement to a part but retain a certain simplicity because layering too many "unique" melodies over one another can become chaotic quickly. Whereas the original intention of the chip arp is kind of the opposite, you WANT to have a chord, but you just don't have the means to do it. Of course overtime it became such a staple sound that people when beyond emulating chords and started using them fairly creatively.
Well, you could think of the super fast arp as overcoming voice limit of early computers; you could also look at it as overcoming human physical limits, which was previously impossible. I'm sure many of the early examples of fast apps were on modular systems, and people probably got a kick out of the sound of very fast chords. Especially for prog rock or metal, I could see fast arps fitting into their aesthetic.
Last edited by breakphase (Oct 22, 2016 11:51 pm)
