Using Octaves in your riffs

This riff is a simple way you can practice octaves and create different melodies by sliding around to different positions. The notes on the sixth string are palm muted to improve the dynamics of the riff. Play the riff without palm muting then play it again using palm muting to understand how it changes the feel of the riff.

The basic idea behind this riff is to come up with an interesting melody by sliding around between different positions. There are four basic positions in this riff so it won’t take long to learn. The overall melody may sound a little strange, but that’s to teach you how certain intervals sound when played. The change from the 9th fret octave to the 4th fret octave has a dramatic sound. If you don’t like the sound of that change, try coming up with a different change. After you can play this riff try figuring out your own riff using the same basic idea.

TIP: You can click on the riff above to bring up a larger view.

Here are a few different things you can try after learning this riff:

• Try sliding around using different positions
• Try using octaves on different strings
• Try using different intervals instead of octaves (eg: 5ths or 3rds)
• After you come up with a good sounding riff, try to figure out the chords based on the notes used and play the chord progression.

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