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Monster Riff's Week - Total Guitar

JadeLovesMuse

By JadeLovesMuse
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JadeLovesMuse Escapee

JadeLovesMuse

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http://www.musicradar.com/totalguitar/monster-riffs-week-my-passion-interview-280400?cpn=RSS&source=MRTOTALGUITAR

 

Just found this on google.

 

My Passion guitarists John Be and Jonathan Gaskin have a major crush on nu metal and cite Wes Borland, along with guitar wonder Matt Bellamy, among their favourite riff-writers. Here they tell TG how tone can influence your riff writing, and how dynamics are the key to a heavy riff… Interview: Matt Parker

 

Nu metal was a melting pot for great riffs

 

TG: How would you define a guitar riff?

 

John Be: "A guitar part that has maximum groove. It's all about melody and groove, basically. We're all about guitar riffs, we love them."

Jon: "We have riffs throughout every song. I think it's really important for us to write big riffs and to try and find the catchiest melody we can and to make it sound heavy and groovy."

John: "Some of the best riff writers were Rage Against The Machine. They wrote the sort of riffs where everyone in the world knows the riff almost better than the melodies or the vocal line."

 

TG: What is the key to writing the perfect riff?

 

Jon: "Melody. You can shred all day long, but if you ask someone to repeat what you shred, it's not going to stick in their mind. You need a great riff that people can key into. Just keep it really simple."

John: "Yeah, I think simplicity is key. We were watching a Muse DVD the other day and Matt Bellamy – definitely up there with our favourite guitarists of all time – started playing a riff in between songs, it looked ad-libbed, and the others just played along. We thought it was the coolest thing."

Jon: "Yeah, and here's a guy that can play Mozart, yet it's all about simplicity."

John: "So we got back to the studio and I was like, right, for Download [festival], I'm just going to come up with a little two-note riff and we're all going to chug along before we begin. It was awesome!"

Jon: "I think there have been a lot of good riffs since nu metal. For me, nu metal is so good… if you take out the vocals. If you keep the guitar, riffs like that are great."

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Apocalyptic Gerbil Escapee

Apocalyptic Gerbil

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Also towards the end:

 

TG: What's your favourite riff and who is your favourite riff-writer?

 

John: "I'm thinking Wes Borland and 'Break Stuff'. It's just two notes, really simplistic, yet it sticks in your head."

Jon: "I'll go with Matt Bellamy. No one in the world has ever written a riff as good as the one at the end of 'Stockholm Syndrome'! That is my benchmark: every time I'm writing a riff I think 'is it as good as that riff'? If it's not, I chuck it away."

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Clom Escapee

Clom

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Also towards the end:

 

TG: What's your favourite riff and who is your favourite riff-writer?

 

John: "I'm thinking Wes Borland and 'Break Stuff'. It's just two notes, really simplistic, yet it sticks in your head."

Jon: "I'll go with Matt Bellamy. No one in the world has ever written a riff as good as the one at the end of 'Stockholm Syndrome'! That is my benchmark: every time I'm writing a riff I think 'is it as good as that riff'? If it's not, I chuck it away."

 

"No one in the world has ever written a riff as good as it...."

 

"Is it as good as it? If it's not, I chuck it away." Well if no one's ever written a riff as good as it, surely he's chucked every riff he's ever written away...... :confused::LOL:

 

Sorry for being a smart arse....... :$:LOL:

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cosmos Escapee

cosmos

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...but matt HATES mozart..

 

where'd he say that? 'hate' is pretty strong a word... maybe he just doesn't 'connect' with it or something... they did go out of their way to a concert at Mozart house when they were in Europe recently :erm:

 

but, back on topic, cool article - nice Matt is mentioned like that :)

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AnnaLu Escapee

AnnaLu

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nice article, I don't know an interview where Matt says he hates Mozart but I'm pretty sure he's not his favourite composer, seeing as he likes Rachmaninoff, Chopin etc which are all Romantic composers, Mozert seems a bit...pale, in comparison.

 

That doesn't ruin the whole message of 'he's a great riff writer, and is also a great classical interprter etc' tho :)

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Coyblythe Escapee

Coyblythe

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Also towards the end:

 

TG: What's your favourite riff and who is your favourite riff-writer?

 

John: "I'm thinking Wes Borland and 'Break Stuff'. It's just two notes, really simplistic, yet it sticks in your head."

Jon: "I'll go with Matt Bellamy. No one in the world has ever written a riff as good as the one at the end of 'Stockholm Syndrome'! That is my benchmark: every time I'm writing a riff I think 'is it as good as that riff'? If it's not, I chuck it away."

True. So true :yesey:

 

nice article, I don't know an interview where Matt says he hates Mozart but I'm pretty sure he's not his favourite composer, seeing as he likes Rachmaninoff, Chopin etc which are all Romantic composers, Mozert seems a bit...pale, in comparison.

 

That doesn't ruin the whole message of 'he's a great riff writer, and is also a great classical interprter etc' tho :)

 

Agree :)

I was kinda shocked when I read jbyun's post since Mozart was the first classic composer I listened to when I was a child & I still adore his pieces :chuckle:

How can anyone hate sth like "Symphony No. 40"? :ninja:

 

But I think you're right that he prefers Romanticism over Viennese Classicism :LOL:

 

And thank u very much for posting this, Gerbil :happy:

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jbyun04 Escapee

jbyun04

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when did he say that?

 

Classic Rock Mag 2009

http://erato1.wordpress.com/2009/06/20/classic-rock-magazine-2009-muse-article/

 

“I’ve tried to push myself to learn new things, be it on an instrument or whatever,” he said. “I played the piano, but I didn’t start progressing until after Showbiz. I am influenced by a fair bit of classical music, but when I say that, people think of Mozart, and I hate Mozart. The stuff I’m into is early 19th and 20th century where it’s pushing the extremes of the instruments of the time.”

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cosmos Escapee

cosmos

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“I’ve tried to push myself to learn new things, be it on an instrument or whatever,” he said. “I played the piano, but I didn’t start progressing until after Showbiz. I am influenced by a fair bit of classical music, but when I say that, people think of Mozart, and I hate Mozart. The stuff I’m into is early 19th and 20th century where it’s pushing the extremes of the instruments of the time.”

 

:LOL: wow, so he hates Mozart :p Maybe he hasn't heard Mozart's more "pushing the extremes" stuff which doesn't make it to his "greatest hits" list but whatever, to each their own. I'm just too much of a classical music geek (and Muse's fusion of rock and classical is probably one big reason I've been a fan for so long)

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