Me with 1951 Gibson...

[PeruvianSkies]

Pardon the interruption...

I had no idea there were so many musicians here.
Please explain the following terms:
What is a riff (I think I understand what this is but how is it different from a "lick"?
What is a lick?
What is a hook?

Thanks.

Rich,

Here is how I define them:

Riff - is a repeated chord progression, which is typically laid down by the rhythym instruments.

Lick - is a short passage like a lead part of the music through a melodic line

Hook - is essentially the part of the song that you remember, it's the main melody of the song.

[Rich-n-Texas]

Okay. I think I had the meanings of riff & lick reversed. A riff can be provided not just by an electric or lead guitar, but also by a rhythm guitar or even keyboards right? And it's essentially the heartbeat of the song? A lick is an instance where the lead guitarist goes off on his own, but not completely in a solo mode, correct? And hook means the obvious... "I'm hooked on that song."

[ForeverAutumn]

This is a great question! There's some good descriptions with audio samples on Wikipedia.
Riff
Lick
Hook

Although, I think that the Blues Traveler's said it best in their song Hook, "the hook brings you back".

[GMichael]

Oh my you're handsome. Hey GMichael, you live in Pennsy too now. How 'bout? You two... nudge nudge, wink wink...

He's cute, but no going in through the out-door. Does he have a sister?

[Rich-n-Texas]

...short rhythmic, melodic, or harmonic figures repeated to form a structural framework.

This statement would then reinforce my comparison to it being the heartbeat of the song. On the DT video the band was talking about and writing a list of riffs on a whiteboard, so I guess they then use them to form the foundation of each song, no? And yeah, and I love the samples Wiki lists: In-a-Gadda-da-Vida twice and Smoke on the Water!

On to Licks after I do some work here at work.

[GMichael]

This is a great question! There's some good descriptions with audio samples on Wikipedia.
Riff
Lick
Hook

Although, I think that the Blues Traveler's said it best in their song Hook, "the hook brings you back".

Hey, your hook is a lick. But the lick leads to a hook so it's cool.

[Rich-n-Texas]

He's cute, but no going in through the out-door. Does he have a sister?

You realize that was a Led Zeppelin album do you not?

And,,, where have you been? That quote was waaaaaay back on page one!

[GMichael]

You realize that was a Led Zeppelin album do you not?

And,,, where have you been? That quote was waaaaaay back on page one!

Duh........

And yeah, I somehow missed this thread. I've got some catching up to do.

[Rich-n-Texas]

Duh........

Sometimes it's the smallest things he says that just KILL me.

Back to my studies...