A guitar riff is a short, repeating pattern of notes that gives a song its hook. It’s the part you hum on the way home, the few notes everyone knows before the singing even starts. Most riffs are tiny, just a handful of notes, and that’s exactly what makes them worth collecting.
Think of riffs like tools in a toolbox. They’re always handy, and you never know when you’ll reach for that one specific riff. So grab as many as you can. This page is a growing collection of them, sorted by feel and skill level, so you can find one that fits where you are right now and start playing today.
What makes a riff work
Here’s the part most players miss. Every riff relates to a scale pattern. No riff has ever been written that doesn’t connect, one way or another, to a scale shape on the neck. When you learn a new one, work out which scale it’s pulling from and play it from that pattern. Two things happen. You start stitching riffs together more smoothly, and you can bend them slightly to make them your own.
When you pick up a new riff, sit with it a while. Run it through a few different songs so you really feel how it moves. Like a crescent wrench, the same riff fits a lot of different jobs once you nudge the timing around.
Easy guitar riffs to start with
New to riffs? Start in open position with simple shapes, so you get a real one under your fingers fast. Our full easy guitar riffs collection breaks down twelve of them on video. A couple worth trying first:
- An easy riff for beginners. Built entirely from open chords you probably already know.
- The three-note super weapon riff. Three notes, and you’ll hear it hiding in song after song.
Cool and fun riffs to learn
Once the easy ones feel good, these have more bite. Rock, electric, and the kind of riffs that make people look over.
- Open G riffs. Tune to open G and these almost play themselves. (our most popular riff lesson)
- Cool guitar riffs in open E minor. A gritty pentatonic riff with real attitude.
- Guitar fills in D major. Little fills to drop between chords so your playing breathes.
Blues riffs
The blues is where a lot of the best riffs live. They’re simple, they repeat, and they feel great under the fingers.
- Country blues riffs. The rootsy, thumb-and-fingers kind.
- A 12 bar blues with a riff. Riff and progression together, the backbone of a thousand blues tunes.
Licks: where riffs turn into solos
A riff repeats and holds a song down. A lick is a shorter phrase you drop into a solo. Same building blocks, different job. Our easy guitar licks collection is the place to start, and these go deeper:
- Joe Bonamassa loves thirds. Why thirds show up in so many great licks.
- Chuck Berry licks. The licks that built rock and roll.
- Run the fretboard with one lick. One shape, all the way up the neck.
Common questions
What’s the difference between a riff and a lick?
A riff is the repeating backbone of a song, the part that comes back again and again. A lick is a short phrase you play once, usually inside a solo. Most famous guitar parts are riffs. Most flashy solo moments are licks.
How long is a guitar riff?
Usually one or two bars. The best riffs are short on purpose, short enough to remember, repeat, and build a whole song around.
Do I need to read music to learn riffs?
No. Every lesson here uses video and tab, so you watch it, copy it, and play. Reading standard notation is optional.
What are good first riffs to learn?
Start with open-position riffs that use chords you already know, then add one electric riff you love. The easy guitar riffs collection above is built for exactly this.
Keep going
Once you’ve got a few riffs under your fingers, the natural next step is turning them into your own solos. That’s the whole idea behind Tasty Riffs and Solos: riffs first, then the moves that string them into something that sounds like you.