Thread for you to educate the musically illiterate

[BurtReynolds]

What's the difference between a riff, a lick, and a hook?

[bada]

a riff goes like derrr neerrr neerr ner and lick goes eeeeeerrrrrr weerre waaaa waaaa and a hook like la la la la la fla fla

[Kevin Davis]

I tend to think of a riff as a repeated pattern that is somehow cooked into the composition of the song, usually referring to a phrase comprised of individual single notes, as opposed to a progression of chords. The familiar guitar motif that opens and repeats throughout Led Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker" would be an example of a riff.

I think of a lick as a phrase that is less tied to the composition of the song, usually played by a soloist, still somewhat distinct and identifiable but less likely to recur than a riff. Think of any 2-3 second phrase in any guitar solo you like, and it could probably be reasonably described as a lick.

I do not think it would necessarily be incorrect to use these these two terms interchangably, but I think the above distinctions are pretty reasonable summaries of how the terms are used colloquially.

A hook is really just any part of a song that catches the listener's ear, though it usually refers to a repetitive feature of the song that defines it in some way. Oftentimes, this refers to a vocal melody. But it could be a riff ("Heartbreaker" again I think would be a good example of a song whose riff is also its hook), or a chord progression ("Smells Like Teen Spirit" immediately comes to mind as a song whose most memorable hook is its chord progression), or even something stupid like a sound byte (ex. "Pretty Fly For a White Guy" by the Offspring). It seems less likely that a lick would double as a hook, but I suppose it could.

[Kevin Davis]

Further reading: https://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthreads ... instrument.

[BurtReynolds]

Excellent. That was what I was roughly thinking. Wasn't sure which was which.

[warehouse]

wtf is dave matthews doing with these chords? i dont think i've seen anyone use this shape before.

E|-------------
B|------------
G|-10--9--3--
D|--x--x--x---
A|--8--7--1---
E|-10--8--3---

is 'sympathy for the devil' in the 'bo diddley beat'? if not, what not?

[Strat]

Riff : even flow
Melody: mikes part in chorus of last exit
Lick: pretty much everything mike does in verses of black and also probably that little lead line tail end of bridge in state of love and trust

[wease]

Riff : even flow
Melody: mikes part in chorus of last exit
Lick: pretty much everything mike does in verses of black and also probably that little lead line tail end of bridge in state of love and trust

Hey-na-na-na-na, hey that’s something.

[Bammer]

Strat, do it again but all within the same song and it has to be off Backspacer

[Ello Sailor]

I tend to think of a riff as a repeated pattern that is somehow cooked into the composition of the song, usually referring to a phrase comprised of individual single notes

I think metal turned this on its head a little bit. Sliding chords are very common. A repeated pattern is the main identifier. Which obviously opens the door to discussion of motif vs. riff.

[epilogue]

Riff : even flow
Melody: mikes part in chorus of last exit
Lick: pretty much everything mike does in verses of black and also probably that little lead line tail end of bridge in state of love and trust

Which one is the guitar lead in to the "admire me, admire my home" bridge part in DTE? Lick or Riff?

[wease]

Riff : even flow
Melody: mikes part in chorus of last exit
Lick: pretty much everything mike does in verses of black and also probably that little lead line tail end of bridge in state of love and trust

Which one is the guitar lead in to the "admire me, admire my home" bridge part in DTE? Lick or Riff?

Lick. The main rhythm part is the riff.

[Farmer John]

Riff : even flow
Melody: mikes part in chorus of last exit
Lick: pretty much everything mike does in verses of black and also probably that little lead line tail end of bridge in state of love and trust

Which one is the guitar lead in to the "admire me, admire my home" bridge part in DTE? Lick or Riff?

Lick. The main rhythm part is the riff.

It's somehow both a lick and a riff and also the hook.

[bada]

Hooks are the hardest thing to describe since in essence its in the eye of the beholder. It could be the riff, a lick, an ostinato, it could be a vocal pattern or even the tone of the vocal in spots. In pop songs its typically the chorus. Often the groove can be the hook. For instance I'd argue the hook in a lot of riff rock is the groove. Often in live settings the song is sped up and the hook is lost. Back In Black or Whole Lotta Love for example. A song like Head Over Heels which I consider a perfect pop song has a least a half dozen hooks. I guess when you boil it down the hook is the part that gets struck in your head. Riffs and licks are pretty obvious though you could have a lick inside of a riff like the afore mentioned Back In Black.

[bada]

I just re-read Kevin Davis's post and realized I just repeated it lol. Sorry.

[epilogue]

Riff : even flow
Melody: mikes part in chorus of last exit
Lick: pretty much everything mike does in verses of black and also probably that little lead line tail end of bridge in state of love and trust

Which one is the guitar lead in to the "admire me, admire my home" bridge part in DTE? Lick or Riff?

Lick. The main rhythm part is the riff.

It's somehow both a lick and a riff and also the hook.

Yes!