Arpeggiated bass riffs.

[thaydnbass]

I'm on to composing my second song for my GCSE exam, i'm aiming for an A*.

The name of the exam is Popular music since 1960, so it's fairly open, taking into account genre. Criteria is that is that it must require: a riff, lyrics, and have a song structure of verse, verse, bridge, chorus, verse, bridge, chorus, outro.

I was having a discussion with my music teacher whether or not an arpeggio counts as a riff, using examples such as the beatles, sting and the police and REM. She retorted that she didn't believe an an arpeggio could count as a riff, as it would be more of a broken chord.

Please discuss.

[lowfreq33]

Well, any linear series of notes could technically be considered an arpeggio, since the simultaneous sounding of any 2 or more notes constitutes a chord of some kind. So by her logic there is no such thing as a riff.

[MEKer]

Hmm-I am thinking an arpeggio must stay strictly within a chordal boundry. Cutting across to another chord makes it NOT an arpeggio but a .......riff.

Lets hope someone smarter than I am about such things chimes in and sets us straight.

[basmartin]

Arpeggio is a broken chord... Sure you could use an arpeggio as a riff, a riff is a couple of notes played repeatedly and if it happens to be an arpeggio, it´s still a riff. It´s not contradictional.

[M0ses]

See, that's the problem with theory.

She's letting theory become more important than music.

And that's wrong.

Oh, and she's wrong, too.

[MEKer]

riff as in part of the rhythm right? Not a lick like in a lead phrase?

[skywalkersurfs]

Originally Posted by M0ses

See, that's the problem with theory.

She's letting theory become more important than music.

And that's wrong.

Oh, and she's wrong, too.

There's no problem with theory, just with certain people who use it.

[lowfreq33]

Play her the riff to "Message in a Bottle" by the police... hmmm... sounds like a riff to me...

[champbassist]

Originally Posted by lowfreq33

Play her the riff to "Message in a Bottle" by the police... hmmm... sounds like a riff to me...

or Every Breath You Take.

[251]

Originally Posted by thaydnbass

I'm on to composing my second song for my GCSE exam, i'm aiming for an A*.

The name of the exam is Popular music since 1960, so it's fairly open, taking into account genre. Criteria is that is that it must require: a riff, lyrics, and have a song structure of verse, verse, bridge, chorus, verse, bridge, chorus, outro.

I was having a discussion with my music teacher whether or not an arpeggio counts as a riff, using examples such as the beatles, sting and the police and REM. She retorted that she didn't believe an an arpeggio could count as a riff, as it would be more of a broken chord.

Please discuss.

If you're aiming for an A grade, challenging the assignment instructions will get in your way, won't it? Put a rhythmic pattern over an enclosure & move on to writing the lyrics, bridge & chorus variations. It's an exercise & your instructor has a purpose related to the course. It seems, to me, knowing what is on her mind will get you closer to an A than having some short lived sense of being right about vocabulary.

[Chris K]

Originally Posted by M0ses

See, that's the problem with theory.

She's letting theory become more important than music.

And that's wrong.

Oh, and she's wrong, too.

and how right you are.

Anyway, to avoid conflict, just put one queer note in the arpeggio for a kinky touch...