The riff is the essential part of a good Metal song. It's the song's main idea, the part of the song that everyone recognizes. Once you have a good riff written, songs seem to come together naturally.
1Get inspired! Listen to your favorite headbanging Metal song and get some metal pumping through your veins!Ad
2Figure out what kind of song/riff you want to write. for example, do you want something fast and intense? Do you want a slow, sludgy riff that moves slower than a pothead in a tar pit? Or do you just want some good old fashioned loud guitar music to drive your parents crazy? You're the creative one here, make up your mind and go for it!
3Now that you've got a style picked out, let's get down to some actual writing. Metal riffs for guitar are generally written using the Natural Minor or Harmonic Minor scale (look them up on Wikipedia - link is in Sources and Citations), although other scales can be used. Try to make something of a "storyline" out of the notes on the scale. Just a simple little piece of music that you think sounds good. (Try playing through the scale a few times and see if inspiration strikes.)
4Remember to try out some different rhythms. Although it's been used before, a straight ahead eighth-note riff with no rhythmic variation can get boring. One rhythm that people like to use a lot is Iron Maiden's patented "gallop" rhythm (ie, Run To The Hills, The Trooper, etc.)
5Play more than one note! Although most people prefer to use either single notes or bar chords during riffs, you can experiment and find other harmonic variations that sound good. (For instance, using a major or minor third above the root note is a good way to add some color to a riff.) (BUT REMEMBER TO HAVE FUN!)Ad
We could really use your help!
- Make sure it comes from the heart. Anyone can make some two-bit I-IV-V progression, it takes a real voice to make it MEAN something.
- A lot of people say things like, "You don't need to know all about music theory, you just need play what sounds good! You can't learn creativity from a textbook!" And while it is good to play something that sounds right to you, it's ALWAYS a good idea to know something about theory. You don't have to be an expert, just understand some basics; i.e., how chords are structured, how scales are structured, how scales and chords interact, etc. Contrary to popular belief, it will NOT stunt your creativity; if anything, it'll be helpful. Go to musictheory.net and try out some of the lessons; they'll give you the basics on music and music theory.
- LISTEN TO THE GODFATHERS. Listen to all the different bands that came before you, and listen to how they structure their songs and riffs. Studying is never a bad idea.
- When writing metal, especially Thrash and Death, MINOR SECONDS AND DIMINISHED FIFTHS ARE OUR FRIENDS. (A minor second is one note higher than the root note, a diminished fifth is six frets/half steps away, so if you play an open string, the note on the 6th fret of that string is the diminished fifth, etc.)
- Another common progression i-ii-i-VII-i (Although the ii chord is usually only a minor second from the root note rather than a whole step). In the key of E this is E-F-E-D-E. This is used by Judas Priest for the main riff to Painkiller, King Diamond with Never Ending Hill, and every Power Metal band in existence.
- A riff doesn't always need to be a really fancy, really fast collection of notes. Sometimes, a good riff can just be a single note repeated in a cool rhythm. For instance: Black Sabbath's Children Of The Grave, the aforementioned Iron Maiden songs, Megadeth She-Wolf, Metallica's Disposable Heroes). Just make sure you can remember the rhythm.
- Some common chord progressions for Metal are: i-VI-VII-I (In the key of E, this is E-C-D-E). Some famous examples are Rainbow In The Dark by Dio The Rainbow in Dark, Heaven and Hell by Black Sabbath, Breaking The Silence by Queensryche, Breaking The Law by Judas Priest, and The Gods Made Heavy Metal by the almighty MANOWAR.
- Make sure your riff doesn't sound too close to someone else's riff, whether it's popular or not. Even if you didn't intend to rip off an artist, people will say you are anyway, so make sure it's not too close to a recognizable song.
Things You'll Need
- A Guitar
- Metal pumping through your veins
- An amp (with distortion)