Many guitar players are first inspired to learn guitar because they want to create catchy rock guitar riffs like their favorite guitar players. Most guitar players spend a lot of their practice time trying to learn guitar riffs and get satisfaction from that for a while. Guitar players that feel truly fulfilled often create catchy rock guitar riffs on their own and you can learn too!
What you will learn in this article is a short formula that you can use to create your own catchy rock guitar riffs. You do not need massive creativity and musical ears to do this exercise, but you should be able to at least play a pentatonic scale and power chords in order to do this exercise. If you follow this formula, you will have catchy guitar riffs that you can call your own in no time.
Download this PDF>>Power Chord Riff 1
The formula is for a 4 bar riff and is as follows:
Chord 1/ Riff 1 / Chord 2 /Riff 1/ Chord 3 /Riff 1 /Chord 1/ Riff 2 :
In this exercise, you need 3 different power chords, and 1 short melodic idea.
In the video, I will show you how this guitar riff sounds. Begin by playing the first power chord for 2 beats, followed by a pentatonic lick for 2 beats. This creates the first measure of our riff. The second measure has a new power chord, followed by the same pentatonic idea from the previous measure. The measure has a third power chord, followed by the same pentatonic idea. The last measure is first power chord you originally played, followed by a modified version of the pentatonic lick from previous measures. You can modify the original idea by adding pinch harmonics to one of the notes, or sustaining a note longer than you did previously, or by changing the lick altogether.
This is not the only way to write a riff but it is a short, easy formula that you can use to get started if you have no idea where to start. Remember that music should inspire emotion and you want your music to be expressive. A formula is not the only way to create music but if you are a beginner/intermediate guitar player and you are stuck, this is a very simple way to get the creative juices flowing again.
If you want to take your guitar playing to the next level today, fill out the form for your free intro lesson by clicking this link right now.