Quote Originally Posted by Richard Middleton
...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.