[Harp-L] RE: Riff Versus Lick

[Dan Hazen <bluesmandan76@xxxxxxxxx>]

All riffs are licks, but not all licks are riffs. Its about use and context.

Listen to the opening of ZZ Top's La Grange, or listen to Muddy Waters'
Mannish Boy (I'm a man) or John Lee Hooker's Boom Boom, and you'll hear the
underlying riff that obviously forms the main chordal structure of the
song. Lots of rock and blues is riff-based music... even metal and punk
employ it a lot... heck it's pretty universal across the board for all
genres, really. The Black Keys is a modern example of a band that uses
riffs as the main thing for their music (Dan Auerbach is a pretty good
guitarist). You might think of a riff as a way of arpeggiating chords using
a repeated pattern and rhythm... instead of strumming chords you're using
single notes to imply those chords. It is used especially in "one chord"
songs (parts of songs) because it is musically more interesting than just
strumming the same chord over and again.

Used in the context of leads or solos, though, it would be called a lick.
It is not repeated over and over, end on end, but typically used once along
with a bunch of other licks. A lick is typically thought of as being very
short... a tiny musical statement in and of itself.

Think of Juke. It starts with a running draw, 2-3-4-5 to blow 6, blow 6.
That is a lick. It can be ripped out of context and used all over the place
in just about any blues song you want. BUT in the context of Juke, it is an
arpeggiated E7 chord (E G# B D E E) that becomes a riff, because it is
repeated several times to kick off the song and is a very signature sound,
it identifies that song. You don't need a band playing behind you and
strumming chords to make it work, you can just play that riff, all by
yourself, and everybody knows the song you're playing. As the song develops
though the lead riff is replaced with more meandering lead work, which is
lick followed by lick followed by lick, etc.  So when you are learning a
long solo, you would typically break it down into isolated licks (1, 2, or
4 bar segments) learn each individual lick, and then learn the sequence,
until you have the entire solo down.

When an isolated lick becomes a STRUCTURAL THEME in the song, rather than
just a "lead lick" or an embellishment, then it is called a riff.