Riffs and Runs For Beginners — ANYONE Can Do Them!

Riffs and Runs For Beginners — ANYONE Can Do Them!

Let’s face it:

Riffs and runs are some of the coolest, most exciting, and fun parts of learning how to sing.

Depending on your vocal range, riffs and runs are also two of the hardest techniques for many people, including myself.

The truth is that singing riffs and runs are easy when you learn to sing with lots of flexibility and you know which scales to use.

But if you’ve been trying to sing riffs and runs but haven’t been able to, don’t worry.

I really had a hard time learning to sing them as well.

And hey, if I can do it, so can you!

Today we’ll go over the basics of riffs and runs in singing, discuss what vocal runs and riffs are called and the differences between them, and conclude with two vocal exercises to help you use them in your own singing.

So, if you’re wondering how to sing riffs and runs, you’ve come to the right place!

By the way, if you want a live-action demonstration of these riffs and runs vocal exercises, please check out my full video on riffs and runs:

Riffs and Runs For Beginners -- ANYONE Can Do Them!

Riffs and Runs: What’s the Difference?

Woman with afro singing on stage

These two singing techniques are pretty much what they sound like.

What are riffs and runs in singing? Vocal riffs and runs both refer to a series of notes sung quickly over a single word or vowel sound.

The notes go up a scale quickly and come down quickly. If you’re wondering how to do a riff and run, well that’s pretty much it!

Witnessing an awesome vocal riff or run during a concert can be a memorable experience, and is the sort of thing that might inspire young people to become singers in the first place.

Seriously, they sound super cool and everyone wants to learn how to do riffs and runs!

So, with that said, what are vocal runs called and what is the difference between vocal runs and riffs?

While many people use the terms “riff” and “run” interchangeably, there are some important differences, both in what they are and how they are sung.

Here’s what you need to know about the various meanings of riffs and runs and differences between them:

Riffs

Woman in red light in front of old microphone

What is a vocal riff? Vocal riffs are a series of notes that are sung very quickly and blend in and support the music.

While they sound really cool and can be tons of fun, they are also tasteful and somewhat restrained.

A riff is meant to fit seamlessly into the music around it, without calling too much attention to itself.

What is an example of a riff? A good example of a vocal riff is the song Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran.

Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud [Official Video]

In both the verses and refrain of the song, Sheeran’s vocal range goes up and down through a series of notes pretty quickly.

That is, he’s singing riffs!

These riffs form the backbone of the song. Without them, it would sound totally different.

They are central to the song, they support it, and they don’t stick out that much.

This is what I mean when I say that a riff is part of the music.

But wait, why is it called a riff? What is a riff in music more generally?

The term “riff” in rock, pop, or jazz music refers to a repeated pattern (typically played by the rhythm section) that the lead vocalist or guitarist solos over.

A riff can be any short melodic phrase repeated throughout a piece of music. It’s short of “rhythmic figure” or “refrain.”

A riff is the hook of a song, the thing you hum to yourself while walking out the concert hall or record store.

Same for vocal riffs! A vocal riff is a catchy, repeated phrase that is one of the main ideas of the song.

Runs 

Freddie Mercury singing a high note on stage

What is a vocal run? A vocal run is a long series of notes that are sung in quick succession and stand out from the music. Unlike riffs, runs are designed to call attention to the singer.

Think of a vocal run as sort of like a riff’s attention-hogging twin brother.

Whereas riffs are part of the music, runs stand apart from the music.

They are featured in the song, by which I mean that other musicians pull back or drop out altogether, making room for the lead vocalist to carry the music by themselves.

During a concert, a run would play out something like this:

The band stops, the lights go down on stage, there’s a dramatic pause, and a lone spotlight strikes the lead vocalist.

Then the vocalist tears into an awesome run that catches—and demands!—the audience’s attention.

Think of the song Somebody to Love by Queen.

Near the end, at around the 3:45 mark, the other band members drop out to make room for Freddie Mercury to take full control.

Queen - Somebody To Love (Official Video)

He delivers an epic, show-stopping “somebody tooooo …. looooove!” that serves as the finale of the song.

You can almost picture Freddie at Live Aid singing this run before 72,000 people.

(Okay, Queen didn’t actually play that song at Live Aid, but you can imagine it.)

In conclusion, what is a run in singing? When it comes to songs with riffs and runs, riffs blend in while runs stand out.

And really, no singer ever stood out like Freddy Mercury, right?

Where Do Riffs and Runs Come From?

Now that you understand what riffs and runs in singing mean, and the difference between riffs and runs, it’s important to understand how they are created so that you can sing them.

Here’s what you need to know:

Riffs and runs almost always use the major and minor pentatonic scales.

If you’re not familiar with pentatonic scales, no worries!

Let’s do a quick recap.

The major pentatonic scale is formed by taking the regular major scale and dropping the 4th and 7th intervals.

You’re left with the following notes:

1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 1 (octave).

Not counting the upper octave, this scale has five tones—hence the name “pentatonic.”

In solfege, it would go like this:

Do, Re, Mi, Sol, La, Do.

The C major pentatonic scale would go like this:

C major pentatonic ascending

It use these notes:

C, D, E, G, A, and C (octave).

Often, a riff or run will quickly go up the major pentatonic scale, pause for a split second on the top note, and then go back down.

Thinking Out Loud is full of these little segments of the major pentatonic scale.

The minor pentatonic scale works the same way.

Start with the natural minor scale, but this time drop the 2nd and 6th intervals.

You’ll get the following notes:

1, b3, 4, 5, b7, 1 (octave).

The A minor pentatonic scale would use the following notes:

A minor ascending pentatonic scale

A, C, D, E, G, and A.

There are several ways to form riffs and runs, but the major and minor pentatonic scales are the most common and used a ton in blues and rock.

Our exercises today will all focus on pentatonic riffs and runs.

Most will use the major pentatonic scale, but it’s good to know both major and minor versions for future reference.

How to Make Your Own Riffs and Runs

A person playing acoustic guitar on a bed

Once you’ve mastered the pentatonic scales, creating your own riffs and runs is easy!

Here’s what you do:

1. Find the key of the song you’re playing.

2. Find the pentatonic scale in that key.

If the song is in a major key, you’d look for the 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 notes of the scale in that key.

Again in the key of C, that would look like:

C major pentatonic ascending

3. Experiment with a couple different combinations of these notes.

4. Try to quickly sing up and down these combinations in different orders and with different rhythms.

In experimenting with different combinations, you may have found yourself singing notes in little groups of three.

For instance, 3-2-1 or Mi-Re-Do is a very common grouping of notes in riffs and runs.

These little groups of three are the building blocks of riffs and runs.

Not every note in a riff/run has to be part of a group, but many are.

In music, groups of three notes just like to stick together. Who knew?

Check out some riffs and runs in songs. Find some riffs and runs in your favorite songs and break the notes down into groups of three.

Try creating your own groups and adding a little spice to whatever melody you’re working on.

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Tips for Practicing Riffs and Runs

Before we jump into the exercises, let’s go over some basic tips that will help with vocal control and allow you to master riffs and runs.

1. Refine Your Vocal Technique

Gold BM-800 Microphone

Riffs and runs both involve moving quickly from low to high notes and back again.

For example, a riff might start on a C3 and end on a high G4 note.

You have to know how to hit high notes quickly without a vocal break.

In other words, you need a good mixed voice!

Mixed voice is the ability to easily switch from chest voice to head voice and back without any noticeable break in between.

So, the first step in learning riffs and runs is to develop your vocal technique, practice your mixed voice, and get good at climbing up and down without breaking or flipping.

2. Warm Up

Warming up will help you get the most out of your exercises.

If you go into a riff or run cold, without doing vocal warm ups, you will probably feel a lot of vocal breaks and strain in your voice.

Just a few simple warm ups will smooth out your voice, help you sing without straining, and get you ready to practice smooth and fluid riffs and runs.

3. Use Pure Vowels

Young man with sunglasses singing into a microphone on stage in blue lights

While it’s very tempting to waggle your jaw to create fast riffs and runs, you don’t need to move your jaw for every note that you sing.

In fact, it’s better to sing with a very “pure” vowel sound when you’re first learning riffs and runs.

By pure, I mean that you’re singing one of the cardinal Italian vowels:

“Ah”, “Eh”, “ee”, “oh” and “ooh”.

I personally love to use the “oh” vowel for teaching riffs and runs. It’s a great ‘middle of the road’ kind of sound for practicing your vocal techniques.

Where the “ee” vowel is prone to flipping from chest to head voice and “Ah” tends to require a lot of chest voice, “oh” contains the perfect mixture of head and chest voice.

Out of all the vowels, “oh” is an easy and pure sound that will help you keep a strong and full tone while practicing riffs and runs. 

4. Use Descending Patterns

sheet music

Descending patterns of notes are the easiest way to start practicing riffs and runs.

Because of the way human vocal cords vibrate, it’s easier to sing on pitch and gain more flexibility in your voice coming down than going up.

When you increase the pitch of your voice, your vocal cords have to vibrate faster to hit the higher notes.

When you decrease the pitch, your vocal cords can relax and slow down a little for the lower notes.

The vocal folds closed or approximated

Most physical activities work this way, it turns out:

When you go jogging, it’s easier to slow down than to speed up.

It’s easier to go downstairs than back up, right?

Your voice works the same way!

Starting with descending notes will help you get used to the feel of riffs and runs without putting too much strain on your vocal cords.

In the case of singing riffs and runs, it’s often easier to start at the top and come down. 

That looks kind of like this:

My Favorite Exercises

Young person playing Kawai piano

The following two exercises will help you get used to the feel of riffs and runs.

In both of them, you’ll slowly walk up the pentatonic scale and then do a quick run back down those same notes.

These are meant to be daily riffs and runs exercises. To get the most out of them, do a little bit every day and improve your technique gradually over time.

Ready? Let’s do it!

1. The Slide

Young woman singing into a microphone on stage in purple lighting

I call this one “The Slide” because it’s basically the vocal version of a playground slide.

Just like kids at the playground climb a ladder and slide down to the ground, we’ll walk up a series of notes and quickly descend back to the tonic, or the 1st  note of the scale.

Here’s what you do:

1. Think about the major pentatonic scale and pick a note.

You might choose the 3rd, 5th, 6th, or upper octave of the scale.

2. Starting from the tonic, walk up to that note and pause when you reach it.

3. Then descend quickly back to the tonic.

If you’re going up to the 3rd, you’ll sing these notes:

1 … 2 … 3 … 2-1.

That might look like this:

Using a “Da” syllable, it would go something like this:

“Da … da … da … dada!”

If you’re going up to the 5th, it’ll sound like:

“Da … da … da … da … dadada!”

Just FYI, the bolded “da” above represents the highest note.

Since we’re using the “Oh” vowel, you’re going to sing like this:

“Oh … oh … oh … oh … ohhhhh!”

The “ohhhhh!” at the end is the run we want to practice.

Try to make these ending runs smooth, fast, fluid, and clean, like someone slipping down a slide.

Because these notes like sticking in groups of three so much, breaking runs into triplets is a great way to organize the notes and help them fit better with the music.

For example, the “ohhhhh!” you sing after climbing up to the 5th will cover the 3rd, 2nd, and tonic notes, and can be sung as a triplet.

That would look kind of like this:

C major pentatonic scale up to G

If you’re going up to the 6th, you can think of the exercise as:

“Oh … oh … oh … oh … oh … tri-pl-et done!”

And that bad boy would look like this:

C major pentatonic up to A

Once you’ve gotten the “Oh” under your belt, try these exercises with different vowels.

Continue practicing with whichever vowel works best for you!

For more details, check out the section of the video where I explain this exercise:

Riffs and Runs For Beginners -- ANYONE Can Do Them!

2. The “Gospel” Slide

A young black woman singing into a microphone under purple lights on stage

In the last exercise, we always started from the 1st note of the scale.

Here we’re going to do the same basic thing but start from a higher position.

1. Think about the major pentatonic scale and pick a note besides the tonic to start on.

Let’s say the 5th scale degree.

In the key of C, that would look like this:

2. Walk up to another scale degree, like before.

We might climb to the octave above the tonic or the high 2nd above that.

In that case, you would sing the notes:

5 … 6 … 1 (octave) … 2 (octave) … 

3. Now run back down to the starting note.

You’re singing the same notes as before but in a slightly different order.

A full octave of range would go like this:

5 … 6 … 1 … 2 … 3 … 5 (octave)… 3-2-1-6-5.

That would look like this:

And then you would just sing those descending notes as quickly and cleanly as possible.

The High Slide sounds kind of gospel-ly, if you ask me.

Maybe singing those higher notes makes it feel like the music is reaching up to heaven, or maybe centering the music on the 5th of the major pentatonic scale reminds me of southern gospel styles.

Either way, the High Slide is a great way to practice riffs and runs with a wide variety of different notes and groups of notes.

Feel free to check out my video demonstration of this exercise below:

Riffs and Runs For Beginners -- ANYONE Can Do Them!

Where Do You Go From Here?

Young man at a concert singing into a microphone holding 4 fingers up

Like any singing technique, riffs and runs should be practiced a little bit every day.

These things won’t come overnight and require time and plenty of vocal exercises to master.

But after a while, you’ll be able to bust out an awesome riff or run whenever you want and sound wicked cool while doing it.

I can tell you, the first time my voice was able to just do a run without me having to think about too much beforehand…

…well, it was just such a thrilling and satisfying experience!

I hope this article will allow you to have that same experience.

And, if you’re still unclear on the differences between riffs and runs, examples are the way to go. Listen to some of your favorite songs and see if you can pick out the riffs and runs in each.

If you’re interested, please check out my Master Your Voice course for more on riffs, runs, and everything else you’ll need to sing like a pro.

20 Comments

  • by Pd fidelis Posted August 28, 2020 11:26 am

    I’ve learned a lot today boss, and i HOPE to keep practicing till I get exactly how it is supposed to be. Thanks

    • by Matt Ramsey Posted August 29, 2020 8:01 am

      Get it Pd!!!

  • by Judeson Posted August 28, 2020 3:19 pm

    Great Article

    • by Matt Ramsey Posted August 29, 2020 7:58 am

      Thanks Judeson, glad you enjoyed it!

  • by Midnight Posted September 3, 2020 11:02 am

    Thanks so much matt, you really put so much time into these practices, cuz i see how much they help me. i don’t have enough words to thank you with.

    • by Matt Ramsey Posted September 5, 2020 1:17 pm

      You’re welcome Midnight! So glad it helped.

      • by keyonnah Posted December 20, 2020 10:41 am

        I’m new. How do I see the video? Do I go to my email or is it here?

        • by Matt Ramsey Posted December 21, 2020 8:32 am

          Hey Keyonnah, yes the video is right at the bottom of the first section.

  • by mackinzie Posted October 16, 2020 7:06 pm

    hello i’m really into singing and i WOULD like some tips. i am a big fan of yours!

    • by Matt Ramsey Posted October 20, 2020 10:16 am

      Welcome Mackinzie! You’ll find everything you need here!

  • by winter Posted November 5, 2020 3:47 pm

    I still don’t know how to sing but ill keep trying I guess

    • by Matt Ramsey Posted November 10, 2020 10:00 am

      That’s the spirit winter!

  • by zeina Posted December 14, 2020 4:24 pm

    this really helped me alot! i just thought that maybe it would be cool if you would go into depth and explaining what the chords are and how theyre used <3 i really wanna know how to sing but somrhow no matter what i keep failing! youve helped alot though and im so grateful i found ur awesome website.. keep it up!

    • by Matt Ramsey Posted December 21, 2020 8:27 am

      You’re so welcome Zeina. And I do talk about the music theory involved in making riffs and runs.
      Just check out the video.

    • by Nonetcash Posted January 1, 2022 8:00 am

      Thanks so much for this wonderful teaching

      • by Matt Ramsey Posted January 15, 2022 5:59 pm

        You’re welcome!

  • by Anthony Nebel Posted February 6, 2021 1:07 pm

    Awesome article! I definitely learned a lot and didn’t know about the gospel runs and the different exercises to improve your runs. I mainly just try to copy slowly from my favorite singers.

    • by Matt Ramsey Posted March 13, 2021 1:05 pm

      Hey Anthony, that’s a great way to learn to riff and run as well!

  • by Bukola Posted November 24, 2022 12:20 am

    Thanks so much for this MATT, at least it is a good way to start. I really wanna learn but financially am not bouyant and here in nigeria you can’t learn without money. Thanks a bunch man

    • by Matt Ramsey Posted January 4, 2023 10:18 am

      Sure thing!

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