What exactly does an "arpeggiator" do?

[Flecko]

I know what the meaning of arpeggio is ( http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=arpeggio .)

But I want to know exactly how an arpeggiator works in a synth. I mean, how do you/would you implement one? By rapidly playing the note over and over as the person holds down a key or what?

I just wonder if anyone has any further explanation or discussion, as I might want to include an arpeggiator on my synth.

Thanks all,

-Flecko

[Nat]

Basically what an arpeggiator will do is arpeggiate a chord you play.  So let's say your arpeggitor is set to "Up" mode and is set to spawn 2 octaves, then if you hit the C chord (C E G), it will play those notes in a sequence at a certain predefined speed.  So in 2 octaves it would play

C E G C E G

you can set it to up down then it will play

C E G C E G C G E C G E

[Flecko]

Ok, that makes perfect sense. Does anyone have any links to any samples of arpeggio?

I'll check around on the site and see if I can find any. This sounds like something cool I'd like to implement. Hopefully I can get it right without having to do too much guesswork.

Thanks,

-Flecko

EDIT: Found some examples, this is awesome. I....must...implement!