Although chords are the basis of rhythm guitar, it is more common to play the notes individually when playing lead guitar. When the notes fo a chord are played one at a time, they are called an arpeggio. The value of arpeggios is that they enable you to play lines which fit chord progressions perfectly, since every note of an arpeggio is a note of the accompanying chord. The example below demonstrates a C major arpeggio which consists of the notes C, E and G. These are the root, third and fifth of a C major chord.