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What Is A Riff?

Instructor: Andy Gurley
Added: January 14th 2009

Lesson Info


Difficulty:
Focus: Style Tutorial
Style:
Key: A Major

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A riff is the repeated idea that makes the rhythm guitar part distinct within the song. Great blues riffs include the rhythm parts from "Bad to the Bone", "Boom Boom", "Scuttlebuttin'" and many more.

In this lesson we discuss what a riff is and how a riff can be pulled from the common open chords of A, D and E.

Notice that even when we play the riff instead of the open chord, the riff still sounds like the open chord.






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