Repeated patterns that stick in your head — and how to play one
HOOK — the catchy bit you can’t stop humming. Short, memorable, keeps coming back. Three flavours:
RIFF — a short repeated instrumental pattern. Riffs open songs, fill the gaps between singing and often live in the bass line. Seven Nation Army is basically one riff.
OSTINATO — the classical and world-music word for the same idea: a pattern that repeats obstinately (that’s where the word comes from). Ravel’s Bolero keeps one going for 15 minutes.
BASS LINE — the lowest part: bass guitar, double bass, synth bass. Riffs love it down here.
MELODY — the main tune, above the bass line. It can carry the hook.
Every riff here is written in number notes. 1 is Home — the note the music wants to settle on. Count up from Home: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Red numbers are the ordinary notes of the scale.
b3 b6 b7 Blue numbers (with a line underneath) are flats — one step lower. They give minor riffs their dark sound.
1 1c A circle means the octave above; a square means the octave below.
Which real note is Home is the Tonal Centre. Change it and the letter names change — but the numbers stay the same. Know the numbers and you can play a riff anywhere on the keyboard.
The whole song sits on one synth-bass riff that never lets go. Four bars, four notes each, then it loops. Say the numbers as you play.
The rhythm on the record bounces — the notes aren’t evenly spaced. Listen, then copy the bounce. A circled number 1c means the note an octave higher: the riff starts on low Home, jumps up, and every bar lands back on that high Home. The b6 and 5 sit back down in the low octave.
| Tonal Centre | 1 1c b3 5 b6 | Where to play it | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D (classroom version) | D → high D | F | A | B♭ | Only one black note — start here |
| C (the record) | C → high C | E♭ | G | A♭ | Play along with Eurythmics |
| Your choice | Pick a Home note and work out the rest | ||||
Same numbers, any Tonal Centre.
Bronze — play the riff in Tonal Centre D, steady pulse, four times round without stopping.
Silver — add the bounce from the record, then play it in Tonal Centre C with the track.
Gold — move it to a new Tonal Centre, or play the riff in your left hand while your right hand plays the vocal hook. That’s a riff and a melody together — exactly what an ostinato does in Haydn or Bizet.
These six songs are your listening assessment. Where a riff is short enough, its numbers are here — try to play it.
Guitar riff. Count the notes and the different pitches. Tonal Centre G:
1 b3 4 | 1 b3 b5 4 | 1 b3 4 b3 1
Bass guitar riff. It changes length between the 2nd and 3rd time — count carefully. Tonal Centre E:
1 1 1 · 1 1 1 b3 1 4
A guitar made to sound like a bass. Listen for when it drops out and what’s different when it returns. Tonal Centre E:
1 1 b3 1 b7s b6s 5s
The hook is a four-chord guitar pattern that loops from the very first second. Does it ever stop? How many beats does one loop last?
An orchestral string loop is the hook. Time when it stops and when it returns. Would the song survive without it?
A hook with words, tune and rhythm all at once. Decide which kind it is — then hunt for a second hook or riff elsewhere in the song.
How to answer every question in the assessment, and a practice grid for the six songs
If you can hear the riff in your head, you can write it down without a stave. Find Home (the note it keeps coming back to), call it 1, then count the steps up or down for each note. Use blue (a line underneath) for a flat.
Try it now with the vocal hook of We Will Rock You: “We will, we will rock you.” Home is the last note. Work backwards.
| Song | Notes in riff | Different pitches | Instrument | Stops / returns at | Describe it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke on the WaterDeep Purple | |||||
| Another One Bites the DustQueen | |||||
| Seven Nation ArmyThe White Stripes | |||||
| Get LuckyDaft Punk | |||||
| Bittersweet SymphonyThe Verve | |||||
| Money, Money, MoneyABBA |
Rows are deliberately tall — write in pencil, then check your answers against the numbers on page 1.
Riff, hook and ostinato are three words for one idea: a pattern that repeats until it’s stuck in your head. Why do so many pieces — from a 1928 ballet to a 2013 disco track — rely on repetition? Write two reasons, using at least one song from the list as evidence.