Riff or licks?

In improvised music such as Rock, Jazz and Blues it´s very common to find something to get you going. And Keep you going and on going... 

In many ways it could be the melody itself, if it´s a good one, and in some cases it could be the chorus.

In the early blues, you´ll find "licks".  That´s just  keep going on and on. Maybe sometimes a little passage to the main melody, often used by musicians to start off the main melody .. a little bit of a "showing off" maybe...?

But to turn you on , you need a Wakeup call. That´s often called a "riff.".

 In Jazzmusic it is very common, and  you can find the riff not only in the beginning, but also in the middle of a tune. Just to get that little extra spice and groove. Sometimes it´s just the riff that holds up the whole tune, the riff can also stay in the same Key but the chords are changing... then we have something that´s close to "modes" and counterpoint.

 Expert is Quicy Jones with his arrangements

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Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman  and Quincy Jones were experts to use blues riffs both whithin the arrangements and in the tune. Put them in the  middle of a song... ? So was Glenn Miller.

 

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And good American Rock groups knew that too

 

Isn´t it the riff that´s makes you going here, right?

Keep on, Keeping on !

 Counting the pearls,

honey?