How do you all write your riffs? I can come up with ok chord progressions and whatnot, but riffs are throwing me a bit. I've been listening to Aerosmith a lot lately and have tried to write some riff oriented songs, but haven't had a lot of success. Is it outlining chords in a more linear way, like on one string?
Any help would be greatly appreciated :)
Matt
"Contrary to popular belief, Clapton is NOT God. The prospect that he is God probably had a large hand in driving him to drugs and booze. Thanks everyone."
-Guitar World :lol:
I almost always write riffs in circles, as in I'll work my way from the root of the scale, to a higher root and back, or vice versa. Iron Maiden has good songs to learn if you want to absorb some riff technique
I don't follow my dreams, I just ask em' where they're going and catch up with them later.
-Mitch Hedburg
Did you see that!
Hey..
I really had/have trouble with the same thing... but if have to kinda look beyond the fretboard, even without a guitar... The singer of all american rejects waits for melodies to come to him while he's driving down the road and then he figures out the melody on guitar... Another thing you could try is to start with a certain chord... say, A5 and then work up the A pentatonic scale or play that chord and start from the top and work your way down... but not necessarily all in order.. and add a few chord into the riff... One more hint in this jumbled mess.... You can try and write something as a really slow riff but then speed it up as u go... Hope this helps a little....
BlAiNe
Blaine Adams
If you can get a riff in your head and transfer it to the fretboard, you're set. I find the best thing to do to learn ANYTHING: from chord progressions to riffs to even complex solos is to find your favorite riffs and learn to play them. A while ago, I would constantly learn licks to metallica and really heavy music and now i really feel like I can write heavy, thrash-type licks very, very easily.
Steve-0
I find it easiest to think of writing a riff as walking in a maze...
Once you have a note, decide where you want to go next...up or down, and by how much. Then se how it sounds, and repeat. It'll be long-winded, but it helps (at least me, lol) come up with some great stuff.
Somnium Dulcis.
