Riffs

Lesson 5/91 | Study Time: 5 Min

Course: Bass Guitar Method

Riffs

Bass guitarists often use a technique of playing "riffs" against a chord progression. A riff is a pattern of notes (usually for one or two bars duration) that is repeated throughout a progression (or song). The following riff uses eighth notes and has two sharps, C# and F# .

In this riff both C notes are sharpened. This is because of the rule that a sharp (or flat), when placed before a note, affects the same note if it reoccurs in the remainder of that bar.

For ease of playing, use the 1st and 3rd fingers as indicated, and when changing from E to F# leave the first finger down in preparation for the next E note. This riff can be applied to the 12 Bar Blues in A. As discussed in the previous paragraph, be sure to observe the rule for playing sharps in each bar.

You have probably heard this riff style of playing before. Play some recordings (’50s Rock and Roll or Blues songs would be best) and listen to the bass guitarist.

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Gary Turner and Brenton White

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1- Minor Chord Riffs 2- Notes on the Fretboard 3- SECTION TWO 4- The 12 Bar Blues Progression 5- Alternate Picking 6- 12 Bar in A 7- Riff No. 8 8- INTRODUCTION 9- Rhythm Variations 10- Turnaround Pattern Two 11- Passing Notes 12- The Slide 13- SECTION THREE 14- Creating A Bass Line 15- Minor Chord Construction 16- Major 7th*, Minor 7th and Ninth Chord Construction 17- Augmented Chord Construction 18- Comparison of Styles 19- SECTION ONE 20- Notes on the First String 21- 12 Bar Blues 22- The Half Note 23- Fretboard Diagram 24- Turnaround Progression No. 2 25- The Major Scale 26- Riff No. 5 27- Sharps and Flats 28- Shuffle Rhythm 29- Examples on the First and Second Strings 30- Octaves 31- Tuning Your Bass 32- Walking Bass 33- Staccato 34- Riff No. 9 35- Turnaround Progression No. 1 36- Open String Notes 37- Timing Combinations 38- Sixth Chord Construction 39- C Major Scale 40- Chord Construction - Major Chords 41- Riff No. 2 42- 12 Bar Blues Riff No. 1 43- Notes on the 4th and 5th Frets 44- Minor Chord Arpeggio 45- Suspended Chord Construction 46- Extra Progressions 47- Eighth Notes 48- Arpeggio Patterns 49- Walking Bass Examples 50- Major Chord Arpeggio 51- Syncopation 52- 8 Bar Minor Blues 53- Diminished Chord Construction 54- Notation 55- A Major Scale 56- 8 Bar Blues 57- 12 Bar in C 58- Riff Variations 59- Transposing 60- The Tie 61- Turnaround Pattern One 62- Open String Notes 63- 12 Bar Blues Pattern Two 64- Riffs 65- The Minor Pentatonic Scale 66- E Flat Major Scale 67- Music Notation 68- 7th Chord Construction 69- Blues in G 70- Section Two Summary 71- 12 Bar Blues Pattern Three 72- Rock Progression 73- Eighth Note Rest 74- Syncopation Examples 75- Jazz Turnaround 76- 12 Bar Blues Pattern One 77- Syncopated Rhythm Styles 78- The Bass Guitar 79- Triplet Timing 80- Minor Pentatonic Triplets 81- 7th Chord Arpeggio 82- Higher Position Examples 83- The Hammer on 84- Minor Pentatonic Scale Over the Entire Fretboard 85- 12 Bar in A 86- The I -V Formula 87- Triplet Riff 88- Note Reading Examples 89- Riff/Scale Relationships 90- Triplet Blues Riff 91- Section One Summary

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Riffs

Riffs

Gary Turner and Brenton White

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