Wednesday, March 25, 2009

80's Rock Guitar Riff


A rock guitar riff straight from the 80's. Using two note chord shapes called diads. This style of riff was employed by a lot of 80's rock and metal bands across a wide variety of styles. Bands from Motley Crue to Iron Maiden and Metallica frequently used them. The most famous diad is the root/fifth "power chord" loved by rock guitar players everywhere. The use of diads in this idea revolves around the muted open a string as a pedal point. You can incorporate diads into a wide variety of musical settings by changing your guitar tone, muting and rhythm. Using techniques such as slides and hammer ons can also change the feel of the riff.