Riffs Singing

Published by 
Singers Corner Team
Last updated: 
November 30, 2024

Vocal riffs are common in some genres of music. Certain singers use them to add more to their singing, and anyone can learn how to do it.

Keep reading to learn what riffs are in singing and how to develop the skill.

What Are Vocal Riffs?

Vocal riffs are melodic patterns that you sing on one syllable. They may go up, down, or both within one riff. You'll hear riffs in a lot of contemporary genres, from pop to R&B and more, so learning riffs can help you sing more of your favorite songs.

Riffs have their origins in gospel music and jazz music. It can help to listen to those genres to help study common riffs to inform your own singing.

Tips for Learning Riffs

If you want to start singing riffs, you should learn the basics. Like other singing techniques, riffs take practice to perfect, and it's a process.

Fortunately, the right tips can help you make the process more efficient.

Start With a Warmup

First, you'll want to warm up your voice. You should do this before you work on any vocal technique, but it's especially important when learning something new. Do some exercises, like lip rolls and scales, to get your voice ready to sing.

If you already have a vocal warmup routine, you can follow that. Otherwise, make sure you warm up the entire range of your voice. Work on scales in the lower and upper registers as well as around your vocal breaks.

You can also incorporate exercises to work on breath support. That way, you can sing through a riff in one breath.

Know Your Vocal Range

If you haven't already, you should figure out your vocal range. You can do this with the help of a teacher. Alternatively, there are tons of videos online that you can listen to and sing along with to determine your range.

Consider how low and high you can sing, both comfortably and in general, even if it's a bit uncomfortable. That way, you can determine whether or not a riff goes too high or low for your range.

The first few riffs you learn should be well within your range. Staying in your comfortable range can help you reduce the chances of straining and harming your voice. If you want to learn a riff that's outside of your range, consider transposing it up or down an octave.

Choose an Easy Riff

Another thing that can help when you first learn vocal runs is to choose something relatively easy. Look for runs with only a few notes and from a song you like and know well. Fewer notes will make it easier to learn and combine those notes.

Plus, if it's from a song you know well, the riff will probably already be in your ear. You won't have to spend as much time learning each individual note.

And as with any new technique, learn one riff at a time, at least for now. Spend a few minutes working on the riff during each practice session. After you get the hang of it, you can start to learn riffs faster or learn multiple at a time.

Figure Out the Pitches

To start learning a riff, it's crucial to learn the correct pitches. An easy way to do this is to purchase the sheet music for the song in question. You may be able to buy the individual piece or a book of songs.

There's also a website called MuseScore. With a PRO+ subscription, you can access the original scores for hundreds of pop songs. Another option is to learn the song by ear and transcribe the notes yourself.

Either way, use a piano or another instrument to play the pitches. Get them in your ear separate from the rest of the song. Then, it will be much easier to sing those notes correctly when working on the riff.

Take It Slowly

Once you determine the notes of the riff you want to learn, start singing each note. Go one by one, and take the tempo much slower than the recording. You can slow it down as much as you need, but consider going at about one note per second.

That gives you enough time to process each note and feel it in your vocal cords. Use a tuner or a piano to ensure you sing the correct pitch each time.

After a second or so, move to the next note in the riff. Give that pitch enough time to settle in your voice, and continue until you get through the entire run.

Add and Remove a Consonant

Many singers only use vowel sounds when singing riffs. However, as you first learn, it can help to add a consonant, such as the letter N. This will help you separate each note in the riff, and you can more easily notice any tension.

Get comfortable with singing riffs with the consonant on each pitch. After a while, you can remove the consonant and just go with the vowel sound. It also helps to practice with different vowels, like "oh" and "oo" among others.

If you feel uncomfortable singing without the consonant, add it back in. Try taking it out every so often until it becomes more natural.

Speed It Up

Eventually, you'll be ready to sing riffs faster and faster. Instead of jumping from one note per second up to tempo, take it a few clicks at a time. If the starting tempo is 60 beats per minute, try singing at 64 beats per minute, and so on.

Before moving to the next tempo, make sure the riff feels comfortable and that you're hitting all of the notes right on. If anything is off, stay at that tempo for another round or two. It's easier to work on accuracy when singing slowly.

As you speed up the riff, don't forget to also practice the rhythm. Some riffs have a consistent rhythm, but others elongate some notes and not others. Review the recording or sheet music to work on this.

Sing Along

Once you get the riff up to tempo, practice singing it alongside the recording. Try to stay at the right tempo and match the pitch of the singer.

You can also look for a karaoke version of the song. This will give you the chance to work on the riffs with the background music but not the distraction of the lead singer.

Practice with both the regular recording and the karaoke recording. If one feels more comfortable for you, use that recording for more of your practice.

Listen a Lot

As you learn to sing riffs, you should listen to a lot of different singers and songs that use them. Some popular singers known for their riffs include Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande, Whitney Houston, and Usher.

Even if you wouldn't listen to all of those artists regularly, listen to their riffs. If you find a riff or song you like, start to learn that using the same process you used for the first riff you mastered.

Listen to these singers and others who use riffs as much as you can. Put on their songs in the car and around the house. As you listen, you can start to learn more complicated riffs with difficult rhythms and larger intervals than just stepwise motion.

Practice Your Scales

Another thing that can help you learn to sing riffs is mastering your scales. A lot of riffs rely on scales for most of the intervals. The better you can sing scales in all of the different keys, the easier it will be to learn new riffs.

Be sure to work on all 12 major and minor scales. It also helps to practice scales at different tempos, including the faster speeds required of most riffs and runs. As always, refer to a tuner or an instrument to ensure you're singing the right pitches for each scale.

Make Up Your Own

After a while, you can start to create your own riffs to go along with what you're singing. To do this, you should understand the key and the mood of the song. It helps to listen to even more examples to see what other singers do.

Then, you'll know when it's appropriate to add a riff or not. You can also make sure you sing a riff in the right key and range for the song. Not all songs are suitable for singing riffs, so keep the melody and mood in mind before adding one.

What is a riff vs run singing?

A riff and run are two terms that describe the same thing in singing. Riffs and runs refer to groups of notes sung quickly and on one syllable or sound.

They're often used to embellish a melody or add more emotion to a song. You can hear them in genres such as pop, jazz, gospel, and more.

Final Thoughts

Being able to sing riffs is an excellent skill to develop. When used well, they can add more feeling to your vocal performance. However, like any new singing skill, it takes time to master riffs and get comfortable, so consider some tips to help.

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