Talk:Riff/Archive 1

Audio examples
Someone should get some different audio examples in Ogg Vorbis format instead of MP3. --Keenan Pepper 05:23, 16 May 2005 (UTC)


 * I don't see the reason for Wikipedia to have this policy, really. Most people don't have software that support .OGG format, and since soundclips are for demonstrating, the sound quality doesn't matter much. /Hugoflug 16:25, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

Other meanings

 * Riffing is also the term used on Mystery Science Theater 3000 for the character's heckling a movie scene.

I removed the above section as it is explained twice earlier in the article that Hyacinth 11:20, 26 February 2006 (UTC)
 * The musical use of the term derives from its use in comedy where a riff is a short clever remark on a subject. Thus riffing on a melody or progression as one would riff on a subject. and
 * In comedy, "riff" refers to the process of extending a singular thought, idea or inspiration into a "bit", or "routine"

Usage

 * A riff is traditionally the intro to the song and sometimes the most famous part of the song. It is otherwise referred to as a musical hook, used to hook the listener into listening to the song by playing a catchy musical pattern. A great many rock songs, and nearly all heavy metal music, are formed from a structure of guitar riffs. In many funk songs, the whole song may be based on just one or two riffs.

I removed the above. See Hook (music). Hyacinth 11:20, 26 February 2006 (UTC)

Links
The links for "clocks" and "talk" by cold play are wrong. Anna 07:38, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

Removed
I removed the following Hyacinth 06:19, 1 April 2006 (UTC):

Technology
Resource Interchange File Format is a tagged file structure for diffrent kinds of multimedia files.

Riffs
What about the riff in 'Street where you live' by Stan Kenton? Is that an ostinato or a riff? Sounds pretty damn obstinate to me- going quite forcefully against the melody!--Light current 23:43, 2 April 2006 (UTC)


 * If it is repeated at the same pitch, then it is an ostinato. More generally, it would appear that ostinatos are riffs. Hyacinth 09:59, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

Riff is explained / defined as a "relaxed . . .." What does relaxed mean? Apparently it's a technical term even though it is not linked, since for a lay person the usual sensw of the word conveys no content. 64.53.191.77 (talk) 21:34, 11 December 2015 (UTC)

Iron Man
I know this is stupid, but isn't the sheet music for "Iron Man" wrong? If the music were played as it's written, at the same tempo of the recorded song, the song would be annoyingly slow. The notes are actually half the value written. Does anyone know where we can find sheet music that reflects this?

List of musicians
Somebody removed Kurt Cobain from that list. While I was tempted to simplily re-add him, because of songs like Come As You Are and Lithium, I wondered about the usefulness of that list. Who decides if someone is "especially known for their riffs"? Unless an objective criterion is found about which people belong to that list (and I'm quite skeptic about the possibility of finding such a criterion), I think that list is useless, and it should be either removed, or trimmed to a few examples. --Army1987 12:08, 15 July 2006 (UTC)


 * Indeed. Every time the list is trimmed, it starts reaccumulating new additions all over again. --Jacj 23:36, 15 July 2006 (UTC)

This topic is obviously debatable, but I can't see why Synyster Gates is on this list alongside legends such as Jimi Hendrix and Ritchie Blackmore. I had to remove it. Maybe someone else can trim it more? --69.183.163.97 18:11, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

Synyster Gates is a lead guitarist, not a rhythm guitarist.

Angus Young is also a lead guitarist. The rhythm guitarist that would belong on the list would be Malcolm Young.

It's a pretty stupid list to begin with.

I think it should be removed.

I've included Dimebag Darrell from Pantera and Damageplan on the list of musicians. I think he is really worth mentioning.


 * Please sign your posts on talk pages per Sign your posts on talk pages. Thanks! Hyacinth (talk) 09:10, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

Consistency issues
There are some problems with consistency between the lead section and the "related" section; in the former we claim riffs are used in classical music, in the latter the converse. I'm leaning towards standardizing around the non-classical usage but if anyone has any citations or other ideas. . . Jgm (talk) 21:44, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Sheet music?
There was sheet music on this page before, wasn't there? Where'd that go? --Snaxe/fow (talk) 05:17, 21 June 2008 (UTC)


 * They where removed with the unexplained reason given that they where not fair use. Hyacinth (talk) 06:07, 21 June 2008 (UTC)


 * Image:Iron Butterfly In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida Riff.PNG
 * Image:The Kinks You Really Got Me riff.PNG Hyacinth (talk) 01:15, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

Fugue
Is a riff in some way similar to the main theme of a fugue? In the music class i had to take, they seemed similar Danomagnum (talk) 22:02, 14 July 2009 (UTC)

A section on Jazz, but...
Why is there a section regarding Jazz music, and R&B, but then, where you'd expect other genres to give examples, I was left feeling empty-handed. Of all the groups that most often I hear songwriters describe how songs are written from riffs, it is usually in the rock, alternative rock, and country music areas, and generally on guitar, (which I noticed was ever-so-briefly touched upon), or other Stringed instruments. Should there not be a section there? --Leahtwosaints (talk) 23:32, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

Comment
What with the mama on line one? Can I get a reffy? (Reference.) 76.104.193.184 (talk) 06:42, 29 September 2009 (UTC)Tilly (Tilde)

"Black Dog" riff
I removed the Led Zeppelin song "Black Dog" from the list of "well-known" riffs because it was uncited. When a reference was I added I removed it again because the reference didn't describe it as generally well-known, or "crucial, influential and groundbreaking," in general. It did however describe it as crucial to understanding specifically why Led Zeppelin kick ass. Hyacinth (talk) 12:08, 28 February 2010 (UTC)