Download Understanding the Power of Riffs in Songwriting and more Slides Music in PDF only on Docsity! Feature Story: All About Riffs National Standards: 1, 7-9, 10 There are elements of songwriting in addition to the basics - rhythm, melody, lyrics, harmony, etc. – that underpin the most popular compositions. The shorty, repeatable segments known as riffs are responsible for creating some of the most memorable songs in the modern canon. Learning to identify them, and then create them, will assist the developing music creator. Prepare Play each of the audio tracks included in the In Tune story on riffs and identify other popular songs with easily identifiable passages. Inspire a discussion about why each riff is important to its song, and how the riff functions to connect each of the song’s parts. Key points in the article: • Riffs introduce upcoming parts of songs • Riffs fill spaces between song passages • They’re built into the songs of most popular genres and operate similarly in each Begin Choose one of the story’s sample riffs • Ask students what they like about the riff • Ask your students how the riff supports the overall impact of the song • Ask students to research other songs with great riffs, present a favorite and explain their choice. Review vocabulary words from the article below: • SONGCRAFT– the art or skill of writing or composing songs. • DESCENDING: becoming lower in pitch • VARIATION: the transformation of a melody or theme with changes or elaborations in harmony, rhythm, and melody. • SUPERSTITION: a belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge, in or of the ominous significance of a particular thing, circumstance, occurrence, proceeding, or the like. • TRANSPOSE: to change the relative position, order, or sequence of; cause to change places; interchange: Discuss Ask students to listen to the Beatles song Daytripper and discuss the relationship of the riff to the song’s melody, the riff’s repetition and to imagine the song without the riff. How important is the riff to Daytripper?
