Period/Style: Minoan. Location: Crete, Greece. Material: fragment of a fresco. Function: The walls of Minoan palaces and houses, both on Crete and the island of Thera, were painted with frescoes showing various aspects of Minoan life and images taken from nature.
guitar riffs. A riff is a cluster or sequence of notes or chords. A riff is used in a song. It can be repeated over and over again, but it may only be heard once, say for instance, in a lead guitar solo. Riffs can be minor decorative elements or they can be the basis of a song.
With that, here is an introduction to the 3 most common styles of guitar playing. Rhythm guitar is used to accompany a lead instrument (e.g. melody sung by a vocalist). The left hand holds a chord shape (a group of notes) and the right hand strums the strings with a pick.