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Chapter 7: Musical Riffs: Bedrock of the Blues
131
The varying motion of the riff in Figure 7-14 makes it unpredictable and dramatic.
The figure shows an all-single-note riff in triplets, ending in a B7 chord
that comes on beat two. The melody here changes direction often and can be
a little tricky at first. But I’m confident that you can get the hang of it with
some practice.
The last note of the melody, low B, is actually the root of the B7 chord that
you play one moment later. So play that B with your left-hand second finger.
Track 36, 0:21
Figure 7-14:
A melodic
intro riff
based in all
triplet
eighthnotes.
Shuffle (qr=qce)
E
3 3 3
4 3 2
T
4 4 3 3 2 2
A
B
0
B7
0 2 0
1 2
0 1
2 2
Turnaround riffs
Figure 7-15 can be used as an intro or a turnaround, but I’ve cast it as a turnaround.
This is a double-stop riff in A with a descending lower voice, reminiscent
of the playing of Robert Johnson.
Track 36, 0:30
Figure 7-15:
A
descending
double-stop
turnaround
riff in A in
the style of
Robert
Johnson.
T
A B
Shuffle (qr=qce)
A7
5 5 5 5 5 5 5
2
5 4 3
E7
5 0 010
2
2
0 0 0
Figure 7-16 is a wide-voiced double-stop riff where the voices move in contrary
motion (the bass ascends while the treble descends). This riff is great
for any fingerstyle blues in E because it highlights the separation of the bass
and treble voices — a signature feature of the fingerstyle approach.
TEAM LinG