A Simple Blues Riff That Will Elevate Your Playing

Learning the piano riff in blues will make it easier for you in jazz. The shapes and scales that make up the blues are rife with riffing possibilities. If you have ever wanted to create your own licks and riffs, you shouldn’t look further than the pentatonic scale. This will give you a great basis for the creation and development of riff. The riff that you will be looking at here is written within the pentatonic framework. Each version of the riff begins on the flat-5 interval of the key. This is also known as the blue note.

                                      

During practice

When you are practicing any riff that looks like GB, G, F, Eb and C, you should take your time and listen to it with intent. Listen to how the intervals sound and how they relate to each other. Also, listen on how they shift when you transpose the piano riff notes into a different key. You will benefit from this in a number of ways. You should try to listen for the root, the fifth and the third of any key. You should keep these great anchor points in mind as you play.

Listen

You need to have a well-developed ear if you have interceded in songwriting and improvising. The aim of a simple riff is to see it more as a guideline and not something that should be learned verbatim. You should, therefore, learn it with the aim of making it your own and dissecting it.

                     

Practice

If you want to perfect your piano riff, you should learn to practice. Practice it enough to ingrain it into your memory. However, remember to put it in your back pocket and use it the next time you want to explore at the piano. You don’t need a teacher to practice. You can do it on your own.