BLUES
Riff Blues
By DAvE RUBIn
Two Essential 12-Bar Patterns
Riffs are some of the most characteristic sounds of the blues. In a nutshell, they may be constructed of bass lines, double stops, or single notes—
or a combination thereof. Here is a classic example that contains bass lines and double stops which form a catchy, repeatable riff. Notice how the
bass line is the same for the I, IV, and V chords, save each chord’s respective root note.