Hello This is my first post on this forum, but I've been visiting this site for a couple of years now. Its the most reliable tab site I've seen, with some very accurate Immolation tabs.

Well anyway, I was wondering if someone could help me out with something. I know there are many different styles of writing riffs, but I've come to notice at least 3 different styles that are most commonly used. Im not sure if they have names or not, so I'll just call them by what I think would be most self-explanatory.

Low String Dotting--
Where the riff is played by picking the Lowest Tuned string and then inserting various notes that would emphasize that Low String. I know lots of bands do this: Death, Behemoth, Avulsed, At the Gates. I know there must be more, but these are the only ones that come to mind at the moment.

Power Chord Centered--
Where the riff is centered around a certain powerchord or a group of powerchords. I also know that this is pretty common as well and is used by bands like Iced Earth, Cannibal Corpse, Emperor, etc etc.

Jazz Style--
Well maybe not the best way to describe it, but where the band uses single notes in weird rythms or plays chords that would sound dissonant if played along with the Lowest Tuned String. Im not sure if that made sense at all, but bands that do this are Opeth, Orphaned Land, Ackercocke, Immolation.

My question is:

Do you guys know if there are other styles in which riffs are written? I know that there must be a crapload more ways in which to write riffs.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and if I have somehow offended someone, please forgive and/or flame me.

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i think youve pretty much covered all the styles. maybe really fast higher-pitched bands like children of bodom....that doesnt really fall into one of those categories. immolation and gorguts are two perfect examples of the jazz style

theres also more to a song than the riff, a hyperblast can make a song feel very claustrophobic where as fast double bass and a lot of cymbols really opens up the sound. also maybe a riff like burzum's war where there are notes focused around one string


---0--7-8-0-3-5-0-2-3-0-3-5


on low e string.

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I forgot about those. Rhapsody does that and so does Anaal Nathrahk I think, sounds classical if you do it following a scale, but the dude from Anaal makes its sound really alien.

Thanks man

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could also make riffs upon a patterns...i don't know if that is actual method but making arrows and circle and crap like that...make riffs.......ha...could also try math stuff....4+3=7-1-4=2 sooooo riff would look like this...

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hehe using maths to make a song. I'm gonna have to get out my maths text book and see if there's anything riff-worthy. I won't be able to resist. And it's all your fault!!!

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Well you can integrate many different styles into riff-writing but whether the audience can differentiate between them is anybodies guess...

I suppose scales can be considered as distinct groups so I would imagine that group theory could be applied to music. Also, just as a tit-bit, it was a mathematician who introduced the octave into music. Now here's the fun part, who was the mathematician? Answers on a non-google-search-related postcard, please.

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It was a greek guy, i'm sure of that...wasn't it phytagoras?

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Yeah, it was Pythagoras. 10 whole points to Spikey!

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Making progressions out of phone numbers is always cool. Also a good way to remember the numbers heh. (and people say that writing music isn't geeky)

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whoah


phone number riffs

thats a GREAT idea...im not even kidding

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I was making a song on the phone onetime and it automatically called the police...Might want to unhook it from the mainphone line before you try messing around with it...just a thought. Cost $25 bucks because it was a false call. sucks shit.

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I think it would interesting, not so much a riff but maybe like transition to another part of a song, to Tap out 6 different phone numbers on each of the 6 strings.

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I meant using the numbers to build chords and progressions, lol not using the tone to play mary had a little lamb.

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if you use scales or just about any theory, you're using math and physics to make a riff

the greeks studied music harmony in physics classes.

What about Chromatic Riffs? Like, combining that with some other styles, for example perhaps something like:

D---------------------------------------------
A---------------------------------------------
F---------------------------------------------
C----------------------------------------<12>
G-0-0-3-0-0-5-0-0---------------9-10-11-----
C------------------6-7-6-8-6-7-8-------------


Its not as hard as it seems. At least it was hard for me at first. I mean, I learned how to pull off Pinch Harmonics last year and only recently discovered how to do them reliably.

Chromatics need to played around with more, me thinks.

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I say ditch the chromatics and start plaything the major and minor scales.

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i say patterns with no attempt to make anything logical. i.e.



that'd be a triangle. I don't know if it sounds good but hell it might. I'm gonna stop this ramble now...

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You could also do what Johnny Marr does and make riff by turning a single note melody into a chord melody. Check out the riffs to "This charming man" and "Girl afraid" and you'll see what I mean.

Another idea I usually play around with is basing a riff around some kind of timed delay to make it sound more intricate than it really is.
You can also play around with phaser/flanger effects with ping-pong delays to create "trance-like" sounds.

how about just playing something & going ahead with it if it makes sense?

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i say play something that sounds cool and has a rythym and ignore the styles

someone sent me a file that was named a random sequence of keys off the middle row in the keyboard, something like

sdfdfgsdfsgh

i then converted that into a chord riff, starting with s = 0, etc.
i was saying it had something to do with subliminal metal riffing or somthing like that, it didnt actually sound too bad.

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I thought of the phone number riff thing ages ago i got thephone book out cuz i was bored and played sum numbers sum of it sounds quite good


i like this smiley

Using half of your replies on a messageboard to ressurect a four months old thread. Good idea.

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You covered most of the styles, I think I can add a few more though:

Tremolo style: very common, used by bands like hypocrisy, can be used to emphasise a slow riff (eg. inferior devoties), or add intensity to fast riffs.

Arpeggiated (is that a word?) style riffs: Try monstrosity for dark neo classical sounding arppegio style stuff. Hate eternal use that style alot (it's not neo classical though). (I am going out on a limb here, but I think it makes sense... Or maybe this is the jazz style you were reffering to)

other styles that come to mind include horrible drop tuned riffing etc.

maybe playing chords like this:
--5--
--x--
--7--
and sliding around alot ala in flames could count.... These chords are also used in the opeth style disonant sounding riffs.

For your first style do you mean something like the haunted tresspass etc?


cool thread man

i hope you doesnt think math metal is made like that :P

He doesn't - he was just expressing a method by which to come up with patterns in riff writing.

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how could anybody forget the drummers riff.
rythms all on one note.
like fear factory.
or the beginning of the first track from wages on sin.

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