Riffs and fills

[Slinky3]

Hey there everyone,

What actually is a riff? Is it basically the melody line but played on a lead guitar?

What actually is a fill? Is it basically the filling in the melody when say a lead singer doesn't have anything to sing for a bar or so?
And how do you create fills? from the chords?

[bennychico11]

a riff can usually denote a short solo of some sort.
a fill is usually for drums. Usually for a couple beats or a whole measure they play something that makes it lead into the next section. It kind of gives you that feeling of "wait...here comes something else!"

[Slinky3]

Thanks i apprecaite it, one more quick question:
Can your chords and melody have the same notes every once in a while in the same octave? Or will that be competeing against the melody?

[bennychico11]

depends.
Melodies are usually written with notes that are native to the chords you are playing. Or vice versa....chords are written with regards to what notes are in the melody.
I think what you're asking about though is doubling, right? Two guitars playing some of the same notes, or two vocalists, two trumpets, bass/guitar, etc....you can write whatever you want really, and the more you write the more you will find out some things just don't sound right. Say you write a piano playing a C chord...a guitarist playing a melody can more than likely sound wonderful playing some of these same notes and in the same octave as the piano. It's no big deal. However, other times you may find some instruments can sound muddy or harsh, depending on how that instrument sounds in that range.

You have to just try it and find out. If it sounds good to you, then go for it!
Know where an instruments natural range is and you'll start to learn where it sounds good with other instruments.

[Slinky3]

Yes that is exactly what i was asking thanks and that goes with chords too?

say if i was playing some appregiated chords with piano and doubling with say block chords of a guitar at the same time same chord that would be ok?

or say if i was playing a paino block chord and guitar block chord at the same time would that be ok?

[sweetpeee]

Originally Posted by Slinky3

Hey there everyone,

What actually is a riff? Is it basically the melody line but played on a lead guitar?

What actually is a fill? Is it basically the filling in the melody when say a lead singer doesn't have anything to sing for a bar or so?
And how do you create fills? from the chords?

"In music, a riff is an ostinato figure: a repeated chord progression, pattern or melodic figure, often played by the rhythm section instruments, that forms the basis or accompaniment of a rock music or jazz composition."

googled that...

J.P.

[bennychico11]

Originally Posted by Slinky3

Yes that is exactly what i was asking thanks and that goes with chords too?

say if i was playing some appregiated chords with piano and doubling with say block chords of a guitar at the same time same chord that would be ok?

or say if i was playing a paino block chord and guitar block chord at the same time would that be ok?

of course. Anything that you think sounds good, go for it. Insruments double parts or notes all the time. You may not want people doubling for the entire song as it can sound very bland after awhile. Chords, passing tones, neighboring tone, etc. help mix things up a little bit. So that you aren't just playing the root, third and fifth the entire time.

[suntzu1982]

a riff is more of a rhythm section thing, like jp quoted from google. The little melody lines are usually called 'licks'

Of course you can double notes, like arpeggiating the chords and having the piano comp along, or vice versa. This may work well for the rhythm section especially.

If both instruments are playing the same block chord, you should def. change it up a bit. Have them compliment each other with other notes or run them in different patterns/rhythms. Have on or the other trade off the chords, or play improvised cues here and there.

Alex

[ermghoti]

Originally Posted by sweetpeee

"In music, a riff is an ostinato figure: a repeated chord progression, pattern or melodic figure, often played by the rhythm section instruments, that forms the basis or accompaniment of a rock music or jazz composition."

googled that...

J.P.

That's more like what I call riffs.

Fills would be any ornamentation to the repeated sections.

[Dumby]

Riff=Rythm

Lick=Lead guitar fill

[Dani Pace]

Fill, riff, lick, turn around, bridge, solo, they all have a lot in common. They are all a series of notes placed in a song to occupy what would otherwise be a void. They range in length from a few notes, like at the end of a vocal line usualy refered to as a fill or quick riff, or a longer one such as occupying a partial line to a whole line, mostly called a lick, to the longer version taking a few measures to a lengthy segment, commonly known as a solo. A bridge is typically used to change key, like when the chorus is in a different key from the verse, the turn around (this may not be the correct term but it is frequently used) is somewhat like reversing the bridge to get from the chorus back to the original key for the next verse.
As far as having more than one instrument play the same notes at the same time, if it sounds right do it. The notes of a chord are all within the notes of the scale (of the same key.) This is how you put extra emphasis on a certain note. It is all about harmony, if it sounds good then it is the right thing to do, if it sounds bad then you need to change something.

[Slinky3]

Thanks Guys Great Answers

How do you construct like a quick riff or fill? Is it the underlying chord roots, a piece of the melody you let rip for a bar or two?

[suntzu1982]

for quick riff, play the chord in whatever rhythm you want.

Drum fill, just let him do some coool stuff for a while.

If you want a 'fill' with other instruments (also known as cues), use the scale of the chord and play something that sounds good as you go to the next part of the song.

If you are thinking about like a B section or a solo section, yes you can just let a piece of the melody rip for a bar or two.

Usually however, both riffs and fills are played by instruments other than the lead instrument (or the instrument playing the main melody).