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The 5-6 riff is a blues-rhythm hallmark of going from the fifth to the sixth degree
in a chord (E to F# in an A chord) and is technically a double-stop, although
the string motion doesn’t proceed in parallel motion. But the right-hand
coordination is the same: You strike two strings as if they’re one every time
your right hand comes in contact with the strings. The 5-6 riff is also known as
the Jimmy Reed move, which is covered in Chapter 6.
In the following sections, I cover two 5-6 riffs, each in a different feel.
Straight feel
Straight-eighth notes are unusual in blues. But in blues-rock, classic rock ’n’
roll, and rockabilly — all closely related to the blues — the straight-eighth
feel rules. Straight eighths are spaced equally apart, whereas shuffle eighths
follow a long-short scheme.
Chapter 6 tackles the basic 5-6 move, but Figure 7-7 shows an expanded version
that uses linear movement instead of the more static, back-and-forth 5-5-
6-6-5-5-6-6. Also think of the riff to Roy Orbison’s (and later Van Halen’s) “Oh,
Pretty Woman” for a classic straight-eighth approach to a low-note riff.
Figure 7-7:
An
expanded
version of
the classic
5-6 move in
straight
eighths.
T
A
B
A
2 2 2 2 2 2 4 2
0 0 3 4 0 0 0 0
126 Part II: Setting Up to Play the Blues TEAM LinG
Track 33, 0:00
5 2 4 5 4 2 2 2
0 0 0 0 0 0 3 4
Many eighth-note riffs sound equally good in a shuffle or straight-eighth feel.
And in many early rock and R&B recordings, such as Chuck Berry’s “Johnny
B. Goode” and “Carol,” you can actually hear some instruments playing
straight eighths and others playing shuffle eighths! Try the passage in Figure
7-7 in a shuffle feel to see if it translates. Some riffs will work, and some won’t.
You don’t really know until you try, and there’s no harm in that, even when it
doesn’t work out.