Everything about Riff totally explained
In
music, a
riff is an
ostinato figure: a repeated
chord progression, pattern, refrain or
melodic figure, often played by the
rhythm section instruments, that forms the basis or
accompaniment of a musical composition (though they're 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.
David Brackett (1999) defines riffs as "short melodic
phrases," while Richard Middleton (1999) defines them as, "short
rhythmic, melodic, or
harmonic figures repeated to form a
structural framework." Rikky Rooksby (2002, p.6-7) states that "A riff is a short, repeated, memorable musical phrase, often pitched low on the guitar, which focuses much of the energy and excitement of a rock song."
History
The term
riff entered musical
slang in the 1920s (Rooksby, ibid), 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.'" (Middleton 1990, p.125).
Charlie Parker's 1945 recording "Thriving on a Riff" brought the term to more popular awareness.
The
etymology of the term isn't clearly known. Some sources explain
riff as an
abbreviation for "rhythmic figure" or "refrain" (
(External Link
)). The term is also used in a similar sense in
comedy where
riffing may be the verbal exploration of a particular subject. Thus riffing on a melody or progression as one would riff on a subject by extending a singular thought, idea or inspiration into a
bit, or
routine.
Usage
Jazz and R&B
In jazz and R&B, riffs are often used as the starting point for longer compositions. The "
Night Train" riff was first used in
Duke Ellington's "Happy-Go-Lucky Local", which Ellington had recycled from
Johnny Hodges' earlier "That's the Blues, Old Man".
The riff from
Charlie Parker's
bebop number "Now's the Time" (1945) re-emerged four years later as the
R&B dance hit, "
The Hucklebuck". The verse of "The Hucklebuck", which was another riff, was "borrowed" from the Artie Matthews composition, "
Weary Blues". Glenn Miller's "
In the Mood" had an earlier life as
Wingy Manone's "Tar Paper Stomp". All these songs use
twelve bar blues riffs, and most of these riffs probably precede the examples given.
Related concepts
A riff may be incorporated into a
fill, which is a short instrumental passage played in the pause between phrases of a melody. A riff is different from the related concept of a
lick in that riffs can also include repeated
chord progressions; licks are usually associated with single-note melodic lines rather than chord progressions. Like riffs, licks can be used as the basis of an entire song. A riff can be a
hook, if the riff meets the definition of a hook: "a
musical idea, a passage or
phrase, that's believed to be appealing and make the song stand out", and "catch the ear of the listener" (Covach 2005, p.71).
Neither the term
riff or
lick are used in Classical music; instead, individual musical phrases used as the basis of
classical music pieces are called
ostinatos or simply phrases. Contemporary jazz writers also use riff- or lick-like ostinatos in
modal music and
Latin jazz.
Sources
Further Information
Get more info on 'Riff'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://riff.totallyexplained.com">Riff Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
