Writing Riffs: A System

The idea

A riff is a short, repeated, rhythmically distinctive idea. It is usually one or two bars long and usually sits in the low register. Here is a reliable recipe.

1. Steal a rhythm from speech or drums. Say a phrase with attitude and tap it: “GIVE me the MO-ney NOW”. That rhythm is a riff skeleton.
2. Choose a small pool of pitches. The root plus at most four other notes: a pentatonic scale, or a mode’s signature notes. Anchor on the root, and put the spiciest note (♭2, ♭5, ♭7) on an accent.
3. Use space. Rests are part of the riff. “Smoke on the Water” is famous partly for its gaps.
4. Vary the fourth repetition. Play the riff the same three times and change the ending the fourth time: the 3 + 1 rule. This is most of riff-based song construction.
5. Use register contrast. Answer a low chug with a high stab, or the other way around.

Metal-specific moves:

• Pedal tone: the open low string chugs between fretted notes or chord stabs.
• Palm-mute against open: muted notes are tight and dark, open notes are loud and wide. The contrast creates accents without any change in picking force.
• Dissonant accents: the tritone or the ♭2 on a strong beat.
• Harmonized riffs: the second guitar plays the same riff a 3rd, 4th or 5th higher.

Build a rhythm first. Use the riff line for your idea and shape the drums around it:

On your instrument

• Rhythm first, with muted strings. Tap or strum the rhythm on dead strings until it grooves by itself. Only then add pitches. If the riff is boring muted, notes will not save it.
• One string first. Write the riff on the low E string alone. Add a second string only when one string cannot do what you hear.
• Down-pick the important notes. Downstrokes sound heavier and more even than alternate picking. Use alternate picking when the tempo forces you to.
• Record every idea immediately, even badly. A riff you do not record is a riff you will not remember tomorrow.

Worked example

From a spoken phrase to three song sections.

Step 1, rhythm. “GIVE me the MO-ney NOW” on the 16th-note grid:

1  e  &  a  2  e  &  a  3  e  &  a  4  e  &  a
X  .  X  X  X  .  X  .  X  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
GIVE  me the MO    ney   NOW

Step 2, pitches. E Phrygian pool: E (root), F (♭2), G (♭3), B♭ as a passing tritone. Root on most hits, the ♭2 on “MO”, and a rest after “NOW”:

               1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
E|-------------0---0-0-1---0---3---------------|
               E   E E F   E   G     (rest)

Step 3, the 3 + 1 version. Play that bar three times. In the fourth bar, fill the rest with a climb: G, then B♭ (6:6), then back to E.

Step 4, three sections from one idea:

Section	What changes	Result
Intro	The riff alone, no drums, then drums enter	Sets up the idea
Verse	Palm-mute everything, basic rock beat	Tight, leaves room for vocals
Bridge or breakdown	Half-time drums, let the notes ring	Same riff, twice as heavy

Exercises: the Riff Gym

Repeat this weekly from now on.

1. Write three riffs from three spoken phrases, rhythm first.
2. Write one riff that uses at most three different pitches and survives on rhythm alone.
3. Take your best riff and make the 3 + 1 version, then a half-time version, then a version with every accent shifted one 8th note later. You now have an intro, a verse and a bridge candidate from one idea.
4. Harmonize your best riff for a second guitar a 4th or a 5th above. Record both parts.

Common mistakes

• Too many notes. If you cannot sing the riff, the audience cannot either.
• No variation, or constant variation. Three times the same, then a change. The repetition makes the change mean something.
• Writing with your fingers. If every riff you write starts with the same shape, start from the rhythm, or from your voice, instead.