Composing a riff – free course

A riff is a short repeated figure (one or two bars) that acts as the backbone of a piece. Chicago blues, rock, funk and metal are built on riffs. Like the classical composer's motif, a good riff is tiny yet recognisable among thousands, and it transforms throughout the piece. Its special feature: it is born under the fingers, often on the open bass strings.

1. The ingredients of a riff

Rhythm first: syncopation, anticipation, rests. If you tap the rhythm on a table and people recognise it, you are onto something.
An anchor: the open bass string (E, A or D) keeps coming back as a pillar between the other notes.
Few notes: the minor pentatonic or the blues scale, three to five notes at most.
The "turn": the end of the cycle changes slightly (AAAB pattern: the riff three times, a variant the fourth time) to relaunch the loop.

2. The single-note riff

Two bars in E on the low strings, then the same riff transposed to the A string (the IV), as in a riff-based blues.

M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=104
K:Em clef=treble-8
"E5"E,E, G,E, A,E, _B,A, | E,E, G,E, D E B,2 | "A5"A,A, CA, DA, _ED | A,A, CA, G A E2 |]

Notice the chromatic passing note (B♭ in E, E♭ in A), the "blue note" that gives the bite. The gesture is identical on both strings: you compose with a shape, then you move it.

3. The power-chord riff

Power chords (root + fifth) move as a block along string 6. Here, palm muting (P.M.) on the E5s creates contrast with the ringing chords that follow.

M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=112
K:Em clef=treble-8
"E5""_P.M."[E,B,] [E,B,] z [E,B,] z "G5"[G,D] "A5"[A,E]2- | [A,E]2 "G5"[G,D]2 "E5"[E,B,]4 |]

e |------------------------|------------------------|
B |------------------------|------------------------|
G |------------------------|------------------------|
D |------------------------|------------------------|
A |-2--2-----2-----5--7----|-7-----5-----2----------|
E |-0--0-----0-----3--5----|-5-----3-----0----------|

4. Other families of riffs

The call-and-response riff: a phrase on the low strings, then a struck chord that answers.
The double-stop riff: two notes a fourth apart on strings 3 and 4, common in blues-rock and soul.
The arpeggiated riff: a chord picked out in a loop, with a clean tone, often with delay; ideal for a ballad or an intro.
The pedal riff: an open string repeated in semiquavers, with notes "popping out" above it.

5. Building a piece around the riff

Intro: the riff alone, two or four times.
Verse: the riff continues under the voice, often simplified to leave room.
Change: the riff transposed to IV (as in the example), or a new held chord for contrast.
Break: the riff stops dead ("stop-time"); only a few hits remain, then it starts again.
Ending: the riff one last time, with the final note held or a closing chord.

Composer's tip: play your riff at three different tempos. Slow, it becomes heavy and menacing; fast, it becomes joyful or nervous. The tempo is part of the idea.

Common mistakes:

A riff that is too long or too busy: if you cannot sing it, it is too complicated.
No silence: it is often the "gap" in a riff that makes it unforgettable.
Repeating the riff without ever varying it: think of the AAAB pattern and of register changes.

Your workshop

For ten minutes, record on your phone every riff idea that comes under your fingers on the open low E string. Don't judge, just collect.
Listen back and keep the riff you still remember the next day.
Give it a "turn" (AAAB version), then transpose it to the A string.
Build a form: intro – verse – change – break – ending, using the blues backing in E as a partner if your riff is bluesy.
Write the riff in the ABC editor with clef=treble-8, and keep the tab in your notebook.

Self-check: can you whistle your riff from memory? Can a friend who heard it once hum it back?