Alright, welcome back. This is part 2 of the Rock and Roll Rhythm and Riff lesson, and if you haven’t gone through part 1 with the boogie-woogie shuffle, go do that first. We’re building on it here.
In the first lesson, I showed you how to combine the shuffle rhythm pattern with a riff using the first and second strings. Now I’m going to give you a second riff variation that uses a different string set, plus a couple of ways to end the whole thing so it sounds like an actual song.
The Second Riff Variation
This one’s still very Chuck Berry. We’re using the first and second strings for the first part of the riff, then crossing over to the second and third strings.
When you’re on those second and third strings, it looks like your fingers might be touching the high E string — but they shouldn’t be sounding it out. You’re muting it. If you accidentally let that first string ring, you’ll get a minor triad sound, which isn’t what we’re going for here.
Combining Both Riffs
Here’s where it gets interesting. Use the first riff (from part 1) off the D chord change, and this second riff off the A chord change. One bar of rhythm, one bar of riff, all the way through the 12-bar.
A real song would go through the progression maybe four, five, six, even eight times before you’re done. Two cycles isn’t a song — it’s a warm-up.
Two Ways to End It
Every good rock and roll tune needs a proper ending. I’ve got two for you.
The first ending uses the scale. When you come off the E and D changes, run through the pentatonic notes and land on the A chord. If the scale run is too hard right now, just hit the A chord straight — that works too. You can add a hammer-on if you’re feeling fancy, but it all comes out of the same scale.
There’s also a semitone slide ending. That’s F major, G major, A major — and then take your pinky off to make it A dominant seventh. That chromatic walk-up gives you a real classic finish.
The other option is to walk up on the fifth string: D, D sharp, E (fifth fret, sixth fret, seventh fret on the A string) and then hit the A chord.
Both endings sound great. Pick the one that feels right for the moment.
For the full Chuck Berry lick series, check out part 1 of the Chuck Berry licks. And for more riff lessons, browse the guitar riffs collection.
There you go — a little taste of what I like to do. If you want more, come check me out at riffninja.com. See you later. Thanks for watching.
