3 Levels Of Riff Writing (Patreon)

According to James Hetfield of Metallica, riffs are the primary engine of metal music. Think of riffs as primary unit of composition, containing all 3 primary elements of music. Melody, Harmony and rhythm. If you feel confused or not sure where to start with riffs, this lesson can help you churn out some monster ideas in 3 steps muhahaha! (full tabs below)

1. Melody Of Sadness

The first step is to choose a key you'd like to work with. For this example, let's go with F# minor, containing 3 sharps on the circle of 5ths. It helps to fire up a drone track using the tonic pitch to generate ideas. Establish what kind of mood you'd like to work....we're going with SADNESS muhahaha! Find a line you like and use sequences to repeat the idea at different pitch levels. Let's say the first line climbs 3 notes up the F# minor scale, F#-G#-A. A sequence is when you play the same pattern of intervals at a different place in the key. For example, F#-G#-A was our first line, E-F#-G# would be a sequence starting on the 7th degree of the scale. It's also very helpful to follow a chord progression in your melody. In this melody I'm outlining the Andalusian Cadence (F#m-E-D-C#.) 

2. Power Chord Injection

Put some power chords behind your melody to beef it up and flesh out the harmonic framework. Start with the primary root, 5th power chord shape we're all familiar with, then experiment with different intervals to get creative. I'm using 5ths, 4ths, major 7ths and other intervals to add more interest. 

3. Rhythmic Engine 

The final step in our riff journey is RHYTHM. Rhythm is the engine of your musical vehicle. Experiment with different subdivisions to see what you like. Quarter notes, 8th notes, triplets, 16th's and even SEX-tuplets. I chose 16th notes to drive my riff forward.

YOUR TURN:

Did you find this lesson helpful? Give me your feedback in the comments below. I'd love to hear your own riffs using this technique. Drop a youtube link in comment section below for feedback. It doesn't have to be perfect, this is just for practice muhahaha!