Writing catchy riffs?

[Josh Savoy]

Does anyone have advice in writing catchy riffs? My songwriting rhymically is so bland. Just power chords that generally produce the same boring chord structure. How do you guys come up with catchy riffs that can carry a song?

 

I play straight up rock, and I'm having a hard time coming up with "good" stuff.

[Auggie Doggie]

1) Not all chords have to ring out or be muted equally...a steady stream of 8th note power chords can be catchy, if the accents are there.

 

2) Syncopation---learn to play and accent those UPBEATS!

 

3) Space---leave some. A wall of sound is okay...once in a while.

 

4) Expand beyond power chords. Major and minor triads can go a LONG way. (this is gonna involve some theory, be forewarned )

 

5) Pay attention to drum beats that you find catchy, and emulate them on your guitar. Not sound-wise, but rhythm-wise.

 

6) Do not play in unison with a bass player.

 

7) Learn the difference between a chord PROGRESSION, a chord REGRESSION, and a chord SUCCESSION.

 

8) Dance when you play?

 

 

 

Hope this helps a bit....that's a HUGE question.

[Little Dreamer]

Don't be afraid to sound corny. But sound corny with a hell of a lot of conviction. (And I don't mean sounding like Korn, but playing stuff that might strike you as un-cool). Then if you can strike just the right balance between something that's borderline over-the-top and yet not quite, well, you got it.

 

Does that make any sense? Hey, you get what you pay for when it comes to advice

 

Also, realize that most catchy songs are that way because of the whole band. An average guitar riff with a good bass line. Or an average guitar and bass line with a good drum beat. Or a good singer.

 

And learn some more chords - minor and major triads, minor and major 7th chords, and go on from there. You can write a compelling intro using chords that wouldn't sound good with massive distortion, then switch to the massive distortion for the 1st verse. There are plenty of calssic songs that are very average except for the great intro.

[Little Pete]

I know what you mean.Whenever you come up with something it is easy to bash out the same old chord progressions and its a challenge to be different.

 

I'll go with the idea of combining a whole band sound to make a catchy song.Sweet child of mine is basically about 5 power chords but slash puts his good little lead fills in and there is a real connection from the whole band.Personally i've only managed to write about 3-4 songs which i actually found came together properly and didnt sound samey.

 

Use your own rythmns, you know the ones that you play naturally without trying but nobody else can quite nail (i know i have a few of them ).Try maybe doing more in depth chords: major/minor/7th/minor7th/major 7th/suspended 2,4,6's/diminished/augmented etc etc etc.

 

Im not saying they'll all work but using the odd few will really beef up your playing.Particularly good for doing metallica style arpeggiated chords (i did one using Em9,C6,Gmaj7,D. Sounds interesting and a lot less predictable than playing the straight chords).