5590 / 18210 · Workshop 39 — “Watermelon Man”: Blues-Funk Vocabulary, Dominant Vamps, Riffs as Harmony, and Making Repetition Feel Inevitable Instead of Boring← prev⊞ allnext →
39.20Level 6 — riff defines tonic
Create a riff:
F-F-A♭-A-C
with a distinct rhythm.
Repeat it four times.
You may not need to play F7 chords at all.
The riff itself establishes:
- F root
- blues ♭3
- major 3rd
- 5th
The harmony is implied.