Editing Ostinato (section)

==Riff==
{{main|Riff}}

In various popular music styles, '''riff''' refers to a brief, relaxed phrase repeated over changing melodies. It may serve as a refrain or [[melody|melodic figure]], often played by the [[rhythm section]] instruments or solo instruments that form the basis or [[accompaniment]] of a musical composition.<ref>''New Harvard Dictionary of Music'' (1986) p. 708. Cambridge, MA: [[Harvard University Press]].</ref> Though they are most often found in [[rock music]], [[heavy metal music]], [[Latin American music|Latin]], funk and [[jazz]], classical music is also sometimes based on a simple riff, such as [[Ravel]]'s ''[[Boléro]]''. Riffs can be as simple as a tenor saxophone honking a simple, catchy rhythmic figure, or as complex as the riff-based variations in the [[head (music)|head]] [[arrangement]]s played by the [[Count Basie Orchestra]].

David Brackett (1999) defines riffs as "short melodic phrases", while [[Richard Middleton (musicologist)|Richard Middleton]] (1999)<ref>{{cite book |last=Middleton |first=Richard |title=Studying Popular Music |publisher=Open University Press |location=Philadelphia |orig-year=1990 |year=2002 |isbn=0-335-15275-9}}</ref> defines them as "short rhythmic, melodic, or harmonic figures repeated to form a structural framework". Rikky Rooksby<ref>{{cite book |last=Rooksby |first=Rikky |title=Riffs: How to create and play great guitar riffs |publisher=Backbeat Books |location=San Francisco |year=2002 |isbn=0-87930-710-2 |pages=6–7}}</ref> states: "A riff is a short, repeated, memorable musical phrase, often pitched low on the guitar, which focuses much of the energy and excitement of a rock song."

In jazz and [[rhythm and blues|R&B]], riffs are often used as the starting point for longer compositions. The riff from [[Charlie Parker]]'s [[bebop]] number "[[Charlie Parker's Savoy and Dial Sessions#Session 1|Now's the Time]]" (1945) re-emerged four years later as the R&B dance hit "[[The Hucklebuck]]". The verse of "The Hucklebuck"—another riff—was "borrowed" from the Artie Matthews composition "[[Weary Blues]]". Glenn Miller's "[[In the Mood]]" had an earlier life as [[Wingy Manone]]'s "Tar Paper Stomp". All these songs use [[twelve bar blues]] riffs, and most of these riffs probably precede the examples given.<ref>Covach, John. ''Form in Rock Music: A Primer'', p.&nbsp;71, in Stein, Deborah (2005). ''Engaging Music: Essays in Music Analysis''. New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-517010-5}}.</ref>

Neither of the terms 'riff' or '[[Lick (music)|lick]]' are used in [[European classical music|classical music]]. Instead, individual musical phrases used as the basis of classical music pieces are called ostinatos or simply phrases. Contemporary jazz writers also use riff- or lick-like ostinatos in [[modal jazz|modal]] music. [[Latin jazz]] often uses guajeo-based riffs.