48 Razor-Sharp 12-Bar Blues Riffs for Swing Bands and Blues Bands: E Flat Instruments Edition (Red Dog Music Books Razor-Sharp Blues Series)

This valuable book is for band musicians who love the exciting sound of riff-driven uptown blues and swing music.

Book - CD - Standard Notation

Technical ability: Early intermediate

Application: Serious hobbyist to professional

This unique collection of forty-eight 12-bar riffs provides some great ideas for spicing up the blues songs your band plays.

In music, a riff is a repeating pattern, often played against a chord or chord progression. Horn riffs played over twelve-bar blues progressions add drive, variety, identity, and excitement to a song.

Examples of riff songs include "Now's the Time" by Charlie Parker; "In the Mood" by Glenn Miller; and "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and the Comets.

Riffs can be worked into most any medium-to uptempo blues songs. A twelve-bar riff is a versatile arranging tool, and can be used as a tune head, solo, backing for a solo, or backing behind a singer.

Although most riffs are fairly easy to play, and easy to apply to blues progressions, many bands neglect this important aspect of arranging and performance.

For the student, riffs provide excellent practice for sight-reading rhythms. And an emerging blues musician can actually play a 12-bar riff as a solo.

Improvising musicians might use riffs as motifs upon which to base solos. Arrangers are encouraged to develop the riffs into two-or three-part section harmony parts.

The riffs in this book are arranged in the treble clef for alto sax, bari sax, soprano flute, E-flat clarinet, and other E-flat pitched instruments.

The E-flat edition provides riffs suitable for jazz alto saxophone, blues alto saxophone, jazz bari saxophone, blues bari saxophone, jazz soprano flute, blues soprano flute, jazz E-flat clarinet, blues E-flat clarinet, etc.

It is an excellent reference for the jazz and blues song writer, composer, or arranger. Invaluable also for the school stage band or jazz band musician.

Great stuff here with lots of potential for all swing band and blues band musicians.

Companion CD includes all 48 riffs, played on tenor sax with rhythm backing.

Coil bound for your convenience.