This riff starts out fairly straight forward, but as it transitions to the chorus it adds more and more twists, concluding with a really surprising chord. That adding of interest keeps you engaged enough that when you go through it once you’re ready to hear it all over again. The verse is essentially a predictable…
The notes and chords here are pretty traditional here, but the eighth notes on E and the slide from G to A (sometimes harmonized) gives this riff a propelling momentum. I tried going from C to D some of the time but I think this riff is better sticking to the C-B move, which…
This one will serve as a nice intro and melodic hook to a steady rock song in E minor. Watch the two G notes in the middle, one on D string and one on the open G string. After this intro you can just play a partial figure of that melodic line — repeating…
The 9th note in a minor chord always brings out tension, so even though the very first chord here is GMaj7 — a smooth chord — the bass note quickly going down to E to make the whole 1st section stay in Em tonality. Then it goes to A but again the F# persists to…
The two points of interests with this riff are: back-to-back G note played on both D and open G string, and F#-G tension in the last two chords. The latter in particular gives this riff an edgy tension — this is not a happy song. I tried this on electric, though, and all that open…
This is an interesting, attention-grabbing riff. That octave jump and vibrato on the 4th-string G really makes a strong impression. I can hear this one creating a classic rock vibe, but more laid-back beat (reggae?) may also be interesting. Watch out for the Bb-D jump at the end of the turn-around. The block chords…
Subdividing 4/4 into groups of 3, 3, and 2 eight notes can create an interesting rhythmic tension atop otherwise straight forward rhythm. I keep the F# on top as the chord changes to create continuity. This is also a good picking exercise, I play here with alternate picking to emphasize the beats but directional…
I’m sure you can relate. You are noodling on your guitar and come up with a cool new riff. You scramble around for something to record, for if you don’t capture it now you’ll soon forget. Inspirations are fleeting. I first used Quicktime and built-in mic on my Mac, but these days I mostly use…