How to Make Heavy Guitar Riffs
A guitar riff is a short, repeated melodic musical motif. In heavy music such as hard rock and metal, the riffs are typically low in pitch, fast and played with a distorted tone. The rhythm and melody of your riff are matters of choice, but you ought to use a distorted tone and stick to the lowest three strings in order to give your riff a characteristically heavy sound.
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Instructions
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Tone
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Turn your master volume dial to zero, then turn on the amp. Never turn on the amp with the volume up, as this can cause loud blasts of noise.
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Turn the gain dial to 10. This drives the preamp section of your amp and creates overdrive. This gives your guitar a thick, heavy tone.
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Increase the master volume dial to your preferred level. It's always best to turn it down.
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Turn the bass dial up to approximately 70 percent. This boosts the low end frequencies in your guitar sound and gives your tone a good deal of punch and power. Set the other tone dials, typically labelled as "Mid" and "Treble" to approximately halfway.
Playing
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Set your metronome to approximately 120 beats per minute. This is the standard default tempo for most musical applications and is a good starting point for writing a riff.
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Gently press the edge of your right palm against the low E string. This is called palm-muting. It prevents the string from ringing out, creating a tighter, heavier sound.
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Play your low E four times per bar, in time with the click. At 120 beats per minute, this works out to two notes per second. Use alternate pick-strokes to economize your hand movement. Start with a down stroke and then use an up stroke. Do this for a few minutes to get warmed up.
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Add in a new note every three bars. Note choice is a matter of preference, and heaviness is determined as much by playing style as by notes, but you can create a very distinctive dark tone by adding a B-flat between your E notes. B-flat is on the first fret of the A string. The melodic interval between these two notes is six semitones. This interval is sometimes referred to as the "devil's interval," due to its dark and intimidating sound. Continue to add in a new note every consecutive three bars until you have a combination of six notes. Write down the six notes so you remember them. If you don't know what notes they are, use string and fret number.
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Rearrange the order of the new notes and play the low E between each note. This will create a distinctively heavy riff as the different pitches create melodic intervals. The metal band Slayer incorporates this technique in their guitar riffs. Their song "Seasons In The Abyss" is a prominent example.
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Tips & Warnings
Use a distortion pedal if you have one available. These add further thickness to your tone.
Incorporate string bends and slides to give your riff its own dynamics and personality.
References
Resources
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