Want to know the difference between playing notes separately and playing them together? Let me show you a riff inspired by “Hey Tonight” by John Fogerty. It’s all about E major and how to make it sing.
E major has four sharps: F#, C#, G#, and D#. Boys and girls, this isn’t complicated once you see it. On the B string, you’ve got these notes: open B, 2nd fret C#, 4th fret D#, 5th fret E, 7th fret F#, 9th fret G#, 10th fret A, 12th fret B, and keep going up.
Harmonic vs Melodic: Playing Together and Separate
Here’s the trick. You can play the E drone and your B string notes together, harmonically. That’s multiple strings at once. Or you can pick them separately, one at a time. That’s melodic. Try both and listen to what happens.
C# minor is the relative minor of E major. They share all the same notes. So everything you play in E major works with C# minor underneath. That’s your flexibility right there.
When you change position on the fretboard, think about your fingering carefully. You want smooth transitions. Don’t jab at notes. Connect them. That’s what makes it sound like real playing instead of just exercises.
If you want to lock this in with a real track, head to riffninja.com/rifftricks and check out the jam tracks. Playing along with something solid makes everything stick faster. You’ll hear where the groove sits. You’ll feel the pocket.
This riff opens the door to our Riff Trix course if you want to go deeper. But for now, just get comfortable with the idea of harmonic and melodic playing. They’re both tools. Use them both. Check out our guitar riffs pillar page for more riff ideas, and see how this connects to our drone notes solo technique post.
