A chord-stab sounds all tones together with a tight envelope; an arpeggio plays them sequentially, turning harmony into rhythm

There are two ways to deploy a chord rhythmically. A chord-stab hits all voices simultaneously with a tight envelope (close voicing), creating a percussive harmonic event — the rhythmic-harmonic hybrid at the core of house, garage, and dub-techno. An arpeggio plays the same chord tones one at a time in sequence, converting the harmony into a melodic/rhythmic line — the basis of acid, trance, and IDM sequencing. Both draw on the identical pitch set but produce completely different textures; choosing between them decides whether the harmony reads as percussive or flowing.

Examples

Chord-stab: chord('Am7').voicing().s('piano').attack(0.01).release(0.1).struct('~ x ~ ~'). Arpeggio: chord('Am7').arp('up').s('sawtooth').fast(2).

Assessment

Given a four-note minor-7 chord, produce both a stab pattern and an arpeggio. Name a genre context for each and describe the textural difference.