Re: [Harp-L] Definition of riff & lick

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Pretty much agree. The one thing I would add is that a likc can be played anywhere; it's not usually tied down to a context of a particular chord or a place within a verse or other musical structure. A riff often is tied down to a starting beat within the bar structure and a place (or places) within a verse.


Winslow Yerxa
President, SPAH, the Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica
Producer, the Spring 2014 Harmonica Collective
Author, Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
            Harmonica Basics For Dummies, ASIN B005KIYPFS
            Blues Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-1-1182-5269-7
Resident Expert, bluesharmonica.com
Instructor, Jazzschool for Music Study and Performance


________________________________
From: Rick Dempster <rickdempster33@xxxxxxxxx>
To: harri.haka@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
Cc: "harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx> 
Sent: Wednesday, June 4, 2014 5:02 AM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Definition of riff & lick


A riff is melodic figure, usually a couple of bars long, that is repeated
over the entire
chord sequence, with minimal changes (like usually flatting the 3rd) to fit
the changing harmony.
A 'lick' is pretty much any kind of short musical figure.
This definition from the Book of Rick. Others might see it differently, but
they will all be wrong!
Cheers,
RickD.





On 4 June 2014 18:51, Harri Haka <harri.haka@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> This is a question of minor significance, but interesting. What is the
> difference between a riff and a lick, if any?
> Harri
>