Riffs

Lesson 3/30 | Study Time: 5 Min
Course: Rock Saxophone
Riffs

Riffs

Notice the repeating patterns of notes in the last example. These patterns are called riffs. A riff is a short musical idea (usually one or two bars long) which can be altered and varied to fit a chord progression.

The use of riffs is very common in saxophone playing. Riffs can be used in a variety of situations including playing as part of a horn section, filling in behind a vocalist, and soloing. The following two examples are a riff style of playing applied to the 12 Bar Blues progression.

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Peter Gelling

Peter Gelling

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Class Sessions

1- Breathing Technique 2- Expressive Techniques 3- More on Triplets 4- Triplets 5- LESSON ELEVEN 6- Arpeggios 7- Improvisation 8- More on Blues Scales 9- Playing in All Keys 10- Transposing 11- Using Ties 12- Developing Rhythmic Control 13- INTRODUCTION 14- The 12 Bar Blues 15- The Blues Scale 16- Alternating Thirds 17- Vibrato 18- Breath Marks 19- Swing Rhythms 20- Improvising With Set Rhythms 21- Enharmonic Notes 22- Riffs 23- The Chromatic Scale 24- Breathing Exercise 25- Playing With Other Instruments 26- Growling 27- Helpful Hints 28- A Final Solo 29- Approach to Practice 30- Saxophone Fingerings Index

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