Important Terms: What is a "riff"
Dipping into the Wikipedia article for this one. "What is a 'riff'?" If you search that term right now Google will take you to the Wikipedia for "Ostinato" Lets start with "riff".
In various popular music styles, riff refers to a brief, relaxed phrase repeated under changing melodies. It may serve as a refrain or melodic figure, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instruments that form the basis or accompaniment of a musical composition.[19] Though they are most often found in rock music, Latin, funk and jazz, classical music is also sometimes based on a simple riff, such as Ravel's Boléro. Riffs can be as simple as a tenor saxophone honking a simple, catchy rhythmic figure, or as complex as the riff-based variations in the head arrangements played by the Count Basie Orchestra.
A riff is a short, repeated, memorable musical phrase.
BBC Radio 2, in compiling its list of 100 Greatest Guitar Riffs, defined a riff as, "The main hook of a song and must be played principally by a guitar. It often begins the song, but is repeated throughout it, giving the song its distinctive voice."[22]
The term riff entered musical slang in the 1920s,[23] and is used primarily in discussion of forms of rock music or jazz. "Most rock musicians use riff as a near-synonym for musical idea."[24]
A few examples of riff-driven songs are "Whole Lotta Love" and "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin,[29][30] "Day Tripper", and "I Feel Fine" by The Beatles[citation needed], "Brown Sugar" and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones,[31] "Hammer to Fall" by Queen, "Outshined" by Soundgarden[citation needed], "Enter Sandman" by Metallica[citation needed], "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple[citation needed], "Holy Wars...The Punishment Due" by Megadeth[citation needed], "Mind Games" by John Lennon[citation needed], "Message in a Bottle" by The Police[citation needed], "The Trooper" by Iron Maiden[citation needed], "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly[32] and "Into the Void" by Black Sabbath[citation needed].
Hard to argue with Wikipedia's list of riff driven songs.
In various popular music styles, riff refers to a brief, relaxed phrase repeated under changing melodies. It may serve as a refrain or melodic figure, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instruments that form the basis or accompaniment of a musical composition.[19] Though they are most often found in rock music, Latin, funk and jazz, classical music is also sometimes based on a simple riff, such as Ravel's Boléro. Riffs can be as simple as a tenor saxophone honking a simple, catchy rhythmic figure, or as complex as the riff-based variations in the head arrangements played by the Count Basie Orchestra.
A riff is a short, repeated, memorable musical phrase.
BBC Radio 2, in compiling its list of 100 Greatest Guitar Riffs, defined a riff as, "The main hook of a song and must be played principally by a guitar. It often begins the song, but is repeated throughout it, giving the song its distinctive voice."[22]
The term riff entered musical slang in the 1920s,[23] and is used primarily in discussion of forms of rock music or jazz. "Most rock musicians use riff as a near-synonym for musical idea."[24]
A few examples of riff-driven songs are "Whole Lotta Love" and "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin,[29][30] "Day Tripper", and "I Feel Fine" by The Beatles[citation needed], "Brown Sugar" and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones,[31] "Hammer to Fall" by Queen, "Outshined" by Soundgarden[citation needed], "Enter Sandman" by Metallica[citation needed], "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple[citation needed], "Holy Wars...The Punishment Due" by Megadeth[citation needed], "Mind Games" by John Lennon[citation needed], "Message in a Bottle" by The Police[citation needed], "The Trooper" by Iron Maiden[citation needed], "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly[32] and "Into the Void" by Black Sabbath[citation needed].
Hard to argue with Wikipedia's list of riff driven songs.
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