Become A PERPETUAL RIFF MACHINE!

Infinite diversity in infinite combinations - Do your songs suffer from RIFF SALAD? Let's make your songs more cohesive and less kitchen-sink.
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[@treyxaviermusic]

What kinds of things do you do to vary up your riffs?

[@tad3937]

Pinch harmonics and pick scrapes

[@rewoundmusic2312]

I use a lot of harmonics and pick scrapes to really spice it up.

[@dispersemedia]

One method I've been doing is to start with chords and progressions first then just add riffs later on. That way you already have a structure to follow and avoid getting stuck in a one-chord song which is usually based on the lowest open string.

[@withoutairwithoutwords5382]

I always try to introduce a piece to the motif that is very very unmetal..lol , but still complimentary to the track,build,composition... when done right it makes for some pretty original sounding songs... as long as it flows it goes (in the song)... Take care, and may all your musical endeavors be blessed.. Never stop creating!!!

[@commandermk14]

Excellent video. Btw Which Daw is this? And how is it set up with ezdrummer and ezbass, are they run as standalone or plugins. I wonder about the actual setup process what to get and what works best together.

[@RainMakeR_Workshop]

I often write basslines by imagining the guitar as a pianists right hand and picturing what I think they would do with the left hand. I find I write more harmonically that way.

[@psychoslingers8732]

Damn, I’ve been writing music for a long time… and that’s actually a good idea. I’ve never attempted that route before but seems legit.

[@RainMakeR_Workshop]

@@psychoslingers8732 Yeah. It’s really good for getting a bassline that is doing its own thing. But works with the main guitar stuff. Doesn’t work all the time. But I pretty much always at least try a few ideas to see if anything works. Its worth learning a few piano left hand pattern ideas and arpeggios too, as that can really help if you don't already play piano and know them.

[@xDonnyx]

I tried this and it really made sense!... Until I remembered I have no idea how playing a piano works. Guess it's smells like teen spirit for the rest of my life.

[@RainMakeR_Workshop]

@@xDonnyx I can't play piano either. Just look up some left hand piano patterns or watch some pov vids of someone playing piano. Its just about inspiration for ideas. You don't need to play the piano to get ideas from it.

[@geegonebadoin]

I imagine my guitar as a bass

[@sebastianpiedrahita37]

Man, I struggle a lot writing songs, this is gold, please keep them coming!

[@asregdor3386]

Have you heard his songs ????

[@Sammgm]

"Metal, dynamics are not your forte" "Forte, is your forte 😉"

[@treyxaviermusic]

fff

[@itsprobablylouis]

topline writing for metal would be really interesting - most sources focus on pop vocal melodies, which have their place, but throwing metal screams and massive harmonies into the mix complicates things

[@GoudVis56667]

more info on structuring a song or a whole album so not all songs have the same structure. Great vid my dude!

[@yikelu]

For a third video: How do you fit lyrics / vocals over a busy metal guitar riff? Especially a riff that is more thematic/grabs attention as opposed to just supportive.

[@joshua.merrill]

Leaving it instrumental is always an option.

[@yikelu]

@@joshua.merrill Yeah but what if you just don't wanna ?

[@gaukarmadhouse]

Maybe play that part without vocals so the riff can be introduced to the listener then bring the vocals in after 2 bars or so. Way too many bands have vocalists that don't know how to let the music breathe.

[@yikelu]

@@gaukarmadhouse yeah I get that, but how to write the vocal part in the first place.

[@gaukarmadhouse]

Yike Lu I listen to my mixes a gazillion times something eventually something just pops up in your head.

[@neckcheese1356]

Making motif variations is one of my favorite things to do when writing. However, I'm always paranoid that I'm hammering on one idea for too long. Also, really dug that last little bit in your clean intro. Sounded cool.

[@jerryfick8547]

Same here. I have a huge problem with not sticking with an idea.

[@Virtual-Media]

I’ve watched a bazillion KZbin guitar videos in search of this! You nailed a niche that scratched a music writers itch. Heads up to Paul David’s NAMM video for surfacing this genius..

[@tatman5780]

The first 5 minutes of this video just helped me realize and fix/finish a verse I've been struggling with for the better part of a decade. I can finally finish my tracking guitars on one of my songs. Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@rsl6767]

Really powerful for a clinic tune.. better than a lot of songs that have far more effort behind them. Shows your experience, well done man👍

[@bucketofnoises7810]

EZ bass is actually an amazing tool for a home office riffologist.

[@FetusandFriends6]

What’s the rest of the software he’s using?

[@RyanWithersAway]

I wanted to hear the full song my dude. Do more on fleshing out ideas. Maybe the same video using multiple different ideas. Maybe try a "boring to badass" type approach. Maybe a taking someone else's idea and expanding on it to help folks synergize with other musicians or band mares. Maybe writing riffs off a drum beat. Maybe writing riffs off of lyrics or a vocal melody. Maybe writing riffs to encapsulate specific emotions. I personally always struggle with bridges so a video on how to develop bridges would be cool. There's a lot of potential here. I'd love to see this series personally

[@mysticmagicsmurfdarklord6844]

I hope he sees this!!! These are great ideas

[@hewhoisathirst530]

You are in my wheelhouse exactly. I agree wholy with you rhythm and song structure perspectives and execution. Great work

[@justinfletcher3419]

I couldn't agree more about what you said with metal bass lines! Our jobs as bassists are to fill in the empty sound. Don't be afraid to drop back to root notes to fill out the sound, add fills where they fit! Specially a power chord that rings out.

[@nickseckler]

Hey. This is great, and you are great. Thanks for this content. It shows that you worked really hard on it. This is really interesting, entertaining, and educational all at once. Awesome.

[@treyxaviermusic]

thanks fam!

[@nedim_guitar]

I'm not big on riffs, as I don't play metal, but this is very helpful even for the sort of alternative, spacey, shoegazey rock that I like and play.

[@denniskielton2447]

Ya know what's the most amazing part of this song, considering it's heaviness? It's in Standard tuning

[@theonetruetim]

Hey! Good advice! Fun insight to Process! May The Muse [continue to] reign supreme & our fundamental objectivity be Subjective therein. Thou hast shown a light upon that very way

[@HBunited12]

10:52 BTBAM want their vocals back

[@elijahstewart3231]

hahaha

[@seanchristopher740]

A lot of really cool concepts in this video! Really good musical examples on your part, and you explained the concepts really well in my opinion. Great work, and I can't wait for more videos like these!

[@arkenigma1684]

Great Lesson! Definitely some gems here. Keep these coming man!

[@omarsharif927]

I'm enjoying these vids so helpful now I'm listening to songs to see how many riffs they use.

[@chrismonaut]

The guitar riff is the powerhouse of a metal song

[@jessewest2109]

This is great. Ideas. How to turn chord progs into better riffs. Like how to come up with something different or to go over the standard chorus of like 7--5--0--3.

[@krustdogg131]

This is very helpful. I always struggle and I have an entire riff salad bar

[@Wilkins77]

Nail on the head. This is why I follow you. 😌 Can you do a follow up on fills and runs and how to not be a spaz about using them?

[@Aquarius61]

Good one T! My son needed to hear this from someone other than me

[@Lenny-xs8nr]

After watching this video I added 4 inches to my motif in 2 WEEKS!! Truly incredible results!!!

[@philipoliverholes8528]

I love in the beginning of these videos where it says "what's up gear mortals?!" In an attempt to make me feel like they're better than me.

[@aspirativemusicproduction2135]

I like to play some riff palm muted and gradually unmute it. And as I unmute I also add more slant to the pick and harmonicks. That's like in dance music. Imagine opening low pass filter and than increase the resonance. Something like that but on guitar.

[@yourMALEVOLENCEmusic]

Been playing guitar for about 7 years but have been in a band for about 11 years now. All I do is noodle around and make noise till it sound great to me,.. and you know what... I find it to have the best results and I have fun doing it. Constantly coming across new techniques and ideas. Over all , if you have fun playing the riff then keep it, evolve your idea into your vision and you'll be surprised with the results.

[@yourMALEVOLENCEmusic]

... not to mention that you also gotta practice if you wanna get better as well, so don't be lazy.

[@12DisturbedGuy93]

I just found your channel again, I swear the algorithm buried you, but I'm so glad to find this! I know this is an old video and you probably wont see this but I would love to pay you for your time, ears and opinion, say 30 minute session(s) to hear original songs, help give feedback on structures, riffs, identifying motiffs, that sort of thing. Any interest in coaching something like that? No worries either way, this is immensely helpful 🤘🙌

[@treyxaviermusic]

Thank you! I do in fact do private consultations, email me at info (at) geargods dot net and we can talk about it

[@niclastname]

6:25 This little edit made me laugh more than it should have... lol

[@firmans12]

So true about bass in Metal music. Probably thats why Bassist prefer funk, jazz, and pop song because you can improv a lot and got a groove. Instead of most in metal or rock just playing single note sixteenth note. Or most bassist in metal are actually guitarist so they have no idea how to groove and write better bassline, cos shredding are in their blood lmao.

[@heavymachete6235]

yeah, its a shame how many bassist just copy the guitars. we need more bassists like ryan martine, justin chancellor, or Dominic 'Forest' Lapointe

[@Andy7String]

Really enjoyed the lesson, great demo of the products as tools for creative implementation. Thank you for the video!

[@jaredt3985]

Excellent video, very informative. To me songwriting will always be the ultimate hurdle. I spent a long time working on technique and theory to a point I was satisfied where I was, but truly writing engaging and interesting songs is soooo difficult. Maybe I just need to lower my personal bar? I don’t know. I plan on integrating these tips and suggestions. Thanks again!

[@tamarajancic5090]

This is really helping actually. I started practicing making music, and I was struggling how to make it more complex, so this came to me at the right time haha. Nice humour btw :)

[@juliodefreitas157]

Absolutely amazing

[@Chavez3d]

Loved this. More like this please!!

[@henriquemorales212]

Acoustic part kinda sounds like the intro to the Mandalorian... Great video!

[@devanandham6609]

Yo dude. you forgot about having different guitar parts on left and right side and adding harmonies to the guitar parts. Many metalcore bands do that to bring variation to a riff

[@insertanynameyouwant5311]

yep it`s like only metalcore bands do it. Iron Maiden? Never heard

[@toemasmeems]

@@insertanynameyouwant5311 he never said that other bands don’t do it smart guy.

[@sabershenanigans]

I don't know if you've already done this, but I'd love to see a video on writing suitable musical accompaniment when you already have the singing part written - I often find myself able to write riffs, able to write vocal parts, but not able to write riffs that go with vocals or vocals that go well over riffs...

[@Bimbid]

This was awesome! Great Video! Hope you do more songwriting videos :D :D

[@worksofein6449]

I really like using variations on a theme in my music, it really does help create an emotional narrative thread through the song.

[@Thommmmmmmmmmmmmmmm]

That's a good album

[@vincenticyfiregeetar7656]

the clean part sounds like the clone wars song "the clones"

[@roxnroll8050]

Man, you're a really good songwriter! This one had a Disturbed feel with a touch of Queensryche - nice!

[@metaldave556]

would be nice to hear those riffs all played without interruption at the end

[@Mississippi_Martian]

Wow, some great info here! Thanks! Now I want to write something!!

[@juanborjas6416]

I think a video about transitions would be really helpful.

[@crowdkillproductions.]

Love that tone.

[@treyxaviermusic]

It’s the Addictive preset from the Andy Sneap EZMix pack, my new favorite

[@williamcanavan7085]

Awesome. That really was eye opening.

[@olihughes]

15:44 - Was that a Zombie Nation reference?? 😂

[@RojuOfficial]

Great video once again!

[@myworldonvideo8721]

Great video and tips thanks man ! I already have a new idea for one of my songs that I'm working on 🙌

[@brianb4877]

what do you think about contrary motion? It's a component in classical music that's pleasing to the ear and equally interesting. It's sometimes hard to salvage in metal.

[@treyxaviermusic]

I use it pretty often but it's tough to get right

[@ins7181]

Did you make a full song out of this? Curious to see how it turned out if you did

[@King_Sculls]

Something that I do is I use sound effects and transition sounds to make a song feel more like an experience and not just a song

[@Joey.Darkwoods-Studio]

wow man.... you made this look sooooooo damn easy!! great video! thank you!

[@cobrajett11]

Thank you so much. Keep m coming

[@mattkiser3997]

Thanks for the input!

[@PucaDuca13]

I like adding a half time drum beat feel over the same riff to make it seem fresh! I'd like your opinions on the underneath stuff like little lead licks that aren't a solo and also the backing over a solo sometimes I get overly complex and follow the solo with my backing notes or get too simple and chug one chord over the entire solo (which can sound badass by the way, stripping the riff down to one chord or note and letting the solo dictate the mode, nice) and then other times I'll just continue the riff! But outside those 3 things I dunno what to do to make the backing of a solo sound good! It's either so complex it gets lost, the same as the song riff which gets boring or just one chord which can sound cool but not for every song!

[@rockleesmile]

This was a really cool deconstruction of metal song writing. I found the main riff sounded vaguely metalized pop-punk and less djent (but I can see that too)? I would have probably mixed up the construction a bit more myself starting with the quieter part you played toward the end of the video. That version of the riff was very compelling and did play into the more interesting dynamics you described. I think some metal bands do have much better dynamic range than others. BTBAM for instance really goes all over the place and still stays remarkably cohesive. Anyway - sorry for the ramble. Good video!

[@Adam-ko6dx]

This helped me convert a fairly average riff to something decent and a whole song! Thanks

[@iguessillsuffer]

First riff reminds me some CKY 96 quite bitter beings. I dig it.

[@BcBaxley]

motif drinking game 🤘

[@withoutairwithoutwords5382]

I think you and i share the same musical brain.. lol great video.. GREAT tips!!! Highly recommended to new composers of all THINGS metal... God bless.

[@SickBoogie]

Great video, dude!

[@meteor09]

How about a video where you discuss how to approach different rhythmic patterns and meld riffs with different rhythms?

[@idonotundrestandmath224]

He says the riff is ok not bad Me: I couldn’t write close to that 😅

[@bengossler6193]

Caleb Shomo would be proud! For some reason this screams Beartooth to me, but I love it!

[@williamcanavan7085]

That was seriously helpful to me. I have to get EZBass and start writing again…..And remembering to record my first ideas because ( and I should know this by now after playing music for over 40 years) I never remember the riff that I start out with because they come to me when I’m warming up and I always think I’ll remember it if it was a truly good idea. I’ve always had the ability to come up with multiple versions of the same or similar riffs or “phrases” to my first idea. You are a very talented and insightful musician thank you for sharing your knowledge and ideas it’s truly inspiring!!!!

[@WadeMarshallMusic]

Constructing riffs to sing over or vice versa

[@paskujin]

Hey man, the intro riffs for your vids is sick, I always repeat it few times :) is this part of an actual song? what amp is that?

[@Jstall7543]

Your The Man Mr Xavier!

[@MrNumber1gator]

Wow amazing!!!!!!!!!! thank you so much new subscriber now!!!!!!!!!

[@restlessascension3260]

Extremely informative 👏

[@kmjansen]

Hope you’ve figured out that you can most definitely forward all texts (incl. from Android users) to your computer in the settings app on your iPhone!

[@kmjansen]

…also hit command+tilda to see the finder status window 😀

[@yiodarcangelisandthenewlordsof]

Part 3: The melodic and harmonic content of vocals within the metal context?

[@deeforty]

Very helpful advice.

[@WizardOfArc]

Songwriting -> lyrics and vocal melodies (especially in verses)

[@the_hateful_n8383]

That EZ drummer preset looks like it taps for 1 black or green mana.

[@dougsmith8107]

where's the full track? you just chucked that all onto the floor? :(

[@treyxaviermusic]

It could become a full track at some point, but I just came up with it for this video so I’m not really all that attached to it.

[@guitarplayer1111]

Excellent info

[@lukemadden4434]

Could you maybe do a video talking about linking riffs. I find that when I'm switching from one riff to another it often sounds very jarring

[@kaxisa1]

Awesome video dude...how about harmonies between instruments? how do you approach that part of the songwriting to make it interesting but not chaotic?

[@mtguitar6113]

I need to learn how to write an instrumental song that actually has a top line because I cant sing and I know no one who can sing there seems to be no information about this help meeeee.

[@ValiceTrance]

Amazing video man! I’m personally trying to learn how to compose and record all of my own music, and this video has some of the best tips I’ve ever seen!

[@TheHazoist]

Good one.

[@charlesoliviersdufaux6943]

How to make Solo. End one thing I wold love is how to make very long song

[@yamraaj4529]

❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@yepitszochy]

Does ez bass play the same note as the guitar just octaves down, or does it harmonize with a 5th or 4th?

[@jasonbass3809]

nice Octive effect =)

[@mikemedio6541]

How do you feel about bands like between the buried and me? I love them but they do be always switching up riffs and play shit one time then never come back to it

[@Bangkokguitar]

Well-done. Excellent presentation. A bag of M&Ms and shot of warm brandy for you.

[@WawakGuitar]

Great videos. My channel is jealous. lol Keep up the good work.

[@sohft]

Just write what sounds badass to your ears.

[@Forestduck1]

A lot of song writers these days could really benefit from learning just a bit more music theory, Coda's, Nuance's, Movements, ( IN SOME CASES ) relative Major and Minor and learning the diatonic chords and borrowed chords. Learning how to use tension and resolve and if you don't know, Major I, minor II, minor III, Major IV, Major V, minor VI Diminished VII and how they can be used it will greatly help your understanding of music and playing or writing using modes. Riffs are great but it's all about how do I take this great riff and make a great song, not just play the cool riff until people get board of it, Songs need to move and take the listener on an adventure!

[@jjqwer]

That clean part sounds like Iron Maiden's clean parts

[@reubenchadwick]

Sounds like cky

[@joeconti3599]

Lol yup