How to Be an Amazing Singer- Riffs and Runs

SINGING TIPS: RIFFS AND RUNS

Now it’s time for some really fun stuff- riffs and runs!

Everybody wants to be able to riff well, but many people believe they can’t riff if they didn’t grow up surrounded by R&B or Gospel music.

Never fear!

Riffing, like any other musical skill, can be learned (and taught). Just like we learn to speak as babies by imitation, we can learn the language of riffs by memorizing and practicing some of the more common riffs.

After a while, you will realize that most of the riffs you hear are similar patterns of notes- a language of specific notes and musical phrases.

Texture is also important to style.  Texture refers not only to vocal quality (creaky, breathy, pressed) but also musicality (dynamics and phrasing).

In this step, you are going to learn the musical language of riffs and runs, and you will learn to sing more emotionally by creating texture.

Riffs and runs are a huge component of R&B, gospel, and pop music.

Let’s face it- it is very impressive to most of us to hear someone who riffs well- who chooses just the right notes and executes them with perfect intonation, flexibility, and speed.

Let’s talk about those three factors.

Intonation: That means singing in tune. It doesn’t matter how fast you can riff if you are out of tune. Being flat (under the pitch) or sharp (above the pitch), even just a little bit, is the surest way to evoke a cringe reaction in your listener.

The best way to make intonation precise is to learn and practice riffs and runs slowly, then gradually increase the speed, paying attention to intonation. A great tool for working on riffs and runs is The Amazing Slow Downer.

Begin at slower speeds and gradually increase the tempo.

Flexibility: Flexibility is a key component of riffing. Flexibility requires lighter coordination of the vocal folds and less air pressure. Singing hard all the time makes it more difficult to develop the lightness and flexibility needed to execute fast runs. Backing off on volume and air pressure makes riffing much easier.

The Dynamics and Flexibility exercises in Step Seven of the Eight Steps of Vocal Development are designed to prepare you for riffing in Step Eight.

Speed: Not all improvisation is fast, but dazzling bursts of high-speed runs are a large component of singing today. However, riffing is not just about speed- it’s about speed combined with precision.

A lighter approach will help- it’s harder to make a big and dramatic voice move quickly.

Chunking: If the run is long, break it down into chunks or segments and practice each segment slowly, over and over. It’s much more efficient to take small 2-4 measure sections and work them separately, rather than singing the whole song over and over.

Finally, put all the sections together and practice the run slowly. Then, gradually increase the tempo, using The Amazing Slow Downer.

This method is the best way to combine speed and precision.

If a run is complicated and hard to remember, it might help to write a visual depiction on paper. Assign numbers to notes or come up with some kind of notational pattern of your own.

Just draw a simple picture representing the ups and downs, hills and valleys of the musical excursion. Pictures, numbers, a graph with a line going up and down along with the melody-any way to use visual skills as well as auditory skills to memorize the pattern, will help.

Any graphic representation of the run will help you remember it.

Physicalizing the run can help; for example, some people use their fingers, making patterns in the air that go high or low, along with the melody.

Of course, doing a takedown– writing down the exact pitches used- is great, if your musical skills are good. A simple program like Finale Notepad is fine for notation. The more styles of learning you combine (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) the faster and more effectively you will learn.

Assign numbers to each pitch; if a run has five notes, sing the run as 1-2-3-4-5.  Clap your hands on every pitch.  Start slowly and gradually increase speed. 

This exercise works wonders in curing sloppy runs.

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