How do you get your ideas for writing guitar riffs?

[pissing razor]

I am crap at writing riffs so I wondered where you got YOUR inspiration.

[Ruler2188]

I usually sing. I think of the vocals and guitar as a harmony, like two solos.

[JackSonic]

yeah, singing something over a progression is excellent (even if your doing an instumental, singing can give you a melody)

 

another other way is just to keep playing the progression all day - by the end of the day it should have evolved into something you'll enjoy listening to later. And , since, you're all warmed up and it's still fresh in your mind, be sure to record that sucker (I think allot of pros play all day and record at night, for this same reason)

[crazydave]

just play man and let it come to ya !

 

what were doing for our ep is i've recorded all the guitar parts to the songs and given them to the rest of the band on cd ... getting them to listen to them and develop there parts without my influence ... hopefully it will turn out well !

[Blatti]

Like others have said, it's important to sing. You should sing along with everything that you play. This will internalize the riffs that you already know. Just hum the root note of each chord. Or sing La or Na.

Then, when your trying to create something original, just turn the process around. Sing a riff, then figure out what your singing on the guitar.

The goal is to be able to play any music that pops into your head. Singing, and ear training, are big shortcuts to that goal.

 

 

I also want to mention how important the tone of the instrument is. If I'm playing on a guitar that doesn't sound good, it's very difficult to come up with original material.

But it goes beyond just having good tone vs. bad tone. You need the right tone. For example, I have a classical guitar with good tone. But if I play heavy metal songs on it, it just doesn't work right.

It's almost like every tone has a certain way it wants to go. Generally, an electric guitar with distortion wants palm muted power chord riffs, an acoustic wants to be strummed, and a classical wants to be finger picked. But you have to be able to hear it. You will hear the sounds in your head, then you play the sounds.

[Kingnome]

Use a bass.

 

 

 

 

Man, this sounds familiar. (?)

[WattsUrizen]

Now the first thing to realise is that music is a language. Hence, we can make a claim analogous to that of any other language, be it English, German, Japanese, etc.

 

Reading and writing are really the same thing. You are merely learning how to understand the language. If you read a word, it means you know how to spell it, how to pronounce it, what it means. Similarly, these things apply if you write the same word. Then we can extend this to sentences, paragraphs, and onto entire epic multi-novel fiction.

 

Music is the same. To understand how to write music, you must learn to read. By read, I mostly mean listen. Listen to music you like, and lots of it. You will begin to write music in a similar manner.

 

Of course, this is not really ideal, as you would want to write in an individual and original style. But you have to start somewhere, and standing on the shoulders of giants is a great place to start.

[umps]

I sit around with my guitar and just screw around for hours until something hits me. it works. sometimes.

 

and yea, listen to lots of good music.

 

I also write poetry and I make up melody with the words and then make up the chord progression on the guitar.

[Welladjusted]

everything

bar codes (play the bar code numbers as tab)

scales (which i usually get rid of afterwards)

ripping off other bands

playing with my eyes closed

[gitwhiz]

yeah...i usually get around the guitar and play whatever i like but still sticking to the chord progressions. and when i found something i like, just practice on that. forget about other stuff.

[HuskerDude]

I usually just get a melody that pops into my head, i work it out on piano first (quicker for me) then transfer that to guitar. sometimes singing the melody into a recorder (hide the tape if you can "sing" as well as me ) so you can work it out later.

[DC10]

just tune to open G (yes two more strangs to f with than drop d you nu metal {censored}s) and "tune it in" duh..

[WattsUrizen]

Looking back at the actual question, which was 'where do you get your inspiration for riffs'...

 

For me, it's usually one of two ways (or sometimes a little of both). One is hearing it in my head; The second is finding something while jamming on an instrument. Sometimes I will have an idea in my head, but still need to play around with it to sort it out.

 

Inspiration is a fickle thing. I think that the best thing to do is to never force things. I'll use the words of the great Billy Corgan here: 'Sometimes it's better to put the guitar down, rather than throw it against the wall.'

[Mike_Hawk]

Everyone has their own way - no right or wrong.....

 

This is more for metal/hard rock - not wuss rock/acustic(where singing would help)....

 

I guess a good way to start is decide if you are looking for a riff driven by melody - or rythm. If melody - singing would help some - or have a few chord/scales in mind. Basically try and get the gist of the melody down, and then start to work your way through it going note by note. But you need a blue print to help.

 

Sometimes a drum beat or something else triggers and idea - and you try and translate it on guitar. Those always turn out interesting - I've had some good luck with those ones.

 

I normally start by just jamming - playing nothing in particular - and start working on some pre-concieved ideas. Get a cool riff or something going - and then just build upon it.

 

Also what helps alot is to play with a drummer - it helps quite a lot on the rythm and can open up lots of ideas.

[IAmTheStrings]

IMPORTANT: You have to have a sense of melody if you want to really write something you can call a song or composition. Even if you don't sing, if you have a riff you should at least have an idea for a melody in your head as a riff develops. A small multi-track cassette recorder can help your songwriting efforts enormously. You can experiment by improvising when your tunes don't have a concrete course. If you're a techno-phobe like a lot of guitarists you can sidestep computer recording ... you can still get a simple multitrack cassette for around $100 new. They are cheap to operate and very user friendly. You'll also need a mic and a set of headphones (and tape of course). A lot of music stores sell Multi-track "starter" packs which have all the accessories you'll need to get started at discount compared to if you buy them separate.

 

SONGWRITING: Starting off cold I usually just grab a first position 'A' chord on the guitar (since it's easy, I just use my index finger to play it). I just noodle around until I hit on something that sounds like it could lead somewhere and try to run with it. These days I'm more likely to put an idea on the backburner than try to finish it cause I've pretty much hung up my Rock n Roll shoes and I'm focused on other stuff. It's still fun, still theraputic in either case.

[Seegs]

Even though I have written harmony for melody, (I find it easier) I prefer to start with harmony and develop the melody and needed riffs from the chords.

 

Having a good knowledge of chordal vocabulary and of the inversions and voicings is a cool way to begin.

 

Then, by playing around with little melodies within the chords you start to develop your riffs.

 

 

Chow,

Seegs