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.
Answer: The word riff is used in such genres as pop, rock and jazz. An example of a song that has a memorable riff is Smoke on the Water played by Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple. This song has a rock riff that is played using the G pentatonic scale (G, A, B, D, E). It is memorable yet simple to play, that's why it's so popular and most beginning electric guitar players learn to play it first. Watch Ritchie Blackmore as he shows how to play the Smoke on the Water riff.