How to Turn CHORDS Into RIFFS! 

Thanks for watching this video and learning how to turn your chord progressions into dope riffs! What do you want to learn next?!

Ben is one of the few guys who kept that feeling of not trying to sell you something through all these years. Sure, money has to be made, but keeping that quality deserves a lot of praise

Green Acres is the place to be, homey! So I loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly... Hills, that is (oh wait, I'm mixing metaphors, TV shows, songs, and my corpus callosum just hemispherically combusted as a result of synaptic overload). I like that you're an intelligent and gifted player who's dedicated to helping others without being diminutive or condescending in any way. You're slick and appreciated with your quick, subtle, and often obscure references (no bromo). Plus, you're just a friggin' monster player! Thanks for what ya' do.

Finally your video showed up in my subscriptions tab, I think the issue is resolved now🤘

This is a great video for bassists to learn filling. Exactly how I learned and continue to do it.

Ben Eller, thank you for all that you do. You’re the best guitar instructor on RU-vid in my book. Next to you, Dave Davidson is my all time favorite guitar player, I’ve been listening to Revocation since 2008, got my 7 string Jackson because of him. And my favorite aspect of guitar are making riffs. Thank you, thank you again

Your band Arc sounds really cool, Uncle Ben!!!! "Sleep" sounds wild!!!! Great drumming, too!

Geez i’ve been trying to figure out the right video to answer what i couldn’t understand. This nailed it. This unlocked some understanding in my brain that i can’t wait to explore and practice. Thank you

Hi Ben, great lesson! I also many times am having this challenge of how to solo over chords. I think one thing that can REALLY HELP is if you teach a solo, but not from a note-for-note perspective like many channels, but more from the chord progression perspective. So... for example: if you can do Hotel California and teach the solo but highlight where the chords changes are, why the notes function as they do over these chords, how the solo works out the notes changes during the chord changes ... all of that stuff. This will help dudes like myself tremendously. This is something that's really difficult for me to do and learn. So, I can watch channels that teach this solo, I can even play this solo, but I find it hard to visualize the chords as I play the solo and instead I play the riffs out of memory, but that feels like I don't learn anything and I just memorize stuff, vs. if I could see the chords and understand what changes are taking place then I'd understand the solo a whole lot better. Does that make sense? Do you feel it's something you can (and want to) do? By the way, perhaps you can run a poll asking if people want/don't-want that type of stuff and see what the response is like before you make it in order to be more certain people want it and not just me :) I hope it helps. I love your channel man. I apologize for the long comment. will much appreciate your reply and thought.

That riff around 8:30 was SIKKKKKKKK!!!

This cleared a lot up for me. Thank you for the clear explanation and breakdown.

Awesome, as usual. Thank you Ben.

Thanks Uncle Ben, this is gunna make me many more creativer👍

Awesome content. Thank you Uncle Ben!

This is the third video I am watching on the topic. Finally a kick ass riff so I know your method is good!

Thanks Ben!! Excellent vid.

Cheers,loved your major and minor scale lesson,got me playing again and havin fun doing it,will give this a go later.

Thank you so much this has been one of my biggest questions I never knew exactly how to word it but this helped so much

This excellent! I was just trying to figure out how to do this. Ben, you ROCK!

Man, I almost forgot about chords. I’ve been noodling too much. This is a great lesson!

Great vid Ben!

Thanks so much for this video 🙏 it came in in perfect time

Awesome info Thank you for the ideas and the very incredibly simple way you explained them helps a lot I feel like I may have learned something today Thanks uncle Ben

Great lesson as always learned some great ideas

Yeah you so nailed it, thanks for putting it out there for us bedroom guitar players. Much appreciated.

FINALLY. A how-to on picking up early 2000's college chicks

Do you have a lesson on turning my stupid ass fingers into Paul Gilbert worthy phalanges ? Long time commenter first time viewer.

Dude that Arc riff from Sleep is f'n badass!! I love that kind of stuff. Not to that level of competence but that's exactly how I seem to have always written riffs. Just get a chord progression going and play around with the notes, inflections and positions. Thank you for all these years of free content, great instruction, not just reaffirming that I suck at guitar but telling me WHY (lol) and some killer dad jokes!

heading over to your patreon this weekend dude. You have excellent lessons.

The original stuff from your old band sounds really good bro, thanks for sharing !

Great video Ben!

You're a legend! Thanks for the video!

Great teaching!! Keep doing what you do, God bless you 💛

New subscriber from the Philippines!!!

Thanks for unlocking the chord to riff ideas.

I've been following you for years... just discovered that I wasn't even officially subscribed, wow trio ! Well I'm SUBSCRIBED for sure now 👍 Thanks Ben !

WOW!!! So simple. Mind blown🤯🤯🤯. Excellent lesson....as Always.

You had me at Green Acres. 😂 Love that black satin finish on your guitar.

Awesome , thanks for another great lesson.

Nice, thanks, Ben! Revocation’s Chaos of Forms sweep picking at the end would be a great riff for a Weekend Wankshop!

this is really useful. thank you UB

This one's really great, Ben

Thanks Ben. Nice Suhr it sounds awesome.

Amazing channell, I learned so much from you thank you

Hey Ben, just wanted to thank you.... for taking the time to show what you've learned, how to apply it to real music, and the patients to deal with 'social media' trolls gracefully. There are a handful of 'people' I watch. Greg Koch, David Brewster, Andy Wood, Shredmaster Scott, Rick Beato, Tom Bukovac, You...Ect. All you guys have opened my mind to theory that NEVER made sense before. How to be aware of what I'm playing, phrasing, harmony ideas. SO THANKS MAN!!! you rawk bud!!!

Lightbulb 💡 just went on. Scale to chords illustration. Still catching up what to do with them but that just opened up a world. Thanks Ben

Cool. Thanks Uncle Ben

This riff tutorial is so useful! I wish I knew that when I was still doing music.

You have very good picking skills Bro 💯🤘🤘

Man, small world. One of my teachers in college also taught and is friends with Dave Davidson. I recently watched a clinic the two of them did talking about combining metal and jazz influences, and it was just killer. I know I'm on the right track when I keep seeing the same good information pop up in different places!

wow i wish i knew about your band back then. thanks you!

This is gold. Glad I’m a Patreon to get all the benefits.

Love the use of strategery

Thanks, that was some useful tips.

Another fine bit of information. Thanks again man!

Thanks Uncle Ben !

Each time I discover your ideas, I just wanna take my Stratocaster and experience. Thx uncle Ben !!!!

Love ya Uncle Ben!

I keep my riffs in the pantry next to the Lucky Charms. Thanks for the lesson! All the best from the Bay Area! MK

excellent lesson sir GBY

Great teacher!

Awesome!! Uncle ben i love it....

This is exactly what I was looking for

Thanks Ben luv your tutorials and your rice.😃

Thanks, I learned something. 🙂👍

Holy crap I remember listening to ARC form a forum post years ago on Harmony Central or something and was just thinking about that band this morning. Can't believe it was you playing guitar! Amazing band!

This is great, thank you!

thanks for the cool lesson

Thank you uncle Ben! This will help a lot with my hemorroids

The interesting thing about Crazy Train. that sticks out to me, is how that F#m opening riff bounces from the C#. Which is the 5th of F#, to the D, which is the m6 of F#, but can also be viewed as a D/F# or even just a D Maj with the F# in the bass.

Amazingly good explanation

Cheers Ben

Cool riff!

ive been struggling to learn music theory for guitar specifically chord progressions and how to make them. these youtubers give you this info but never show any rules or how to apply it to playing and its been frustrating. This is the first video ive seen that has made sense and clicked. So now i may not know alot but i know the basics of chord progressions and a few rules and now know how to make those into riffs. This really helps.

Bro your band Arc is dope.

Thank you uncle Ben

Potential Uncle Ben and Dave Davidson shred collab? Hell yes!

I love Green Acres, it's the place to be! Outstanding video, as usual, Uncle Ben!

Holy shit thank you dude please make a series outta this kinda video i hear use triads and root notes all the time but no one shoes you HOW to use them you have a great way of explaining this kinda info

Just learned dokken - dream warrior from you! Looking forward to write some riffs now!

Dave is a phenomenal player and I've had the pleasure of briefly hanging out with him for a few hours after a show a few years back. He's a solid dude and humble as all get out. I think any Revocation track would be a worthwhile submission for a Weekend Wankshop, whether talking about the riffage or the solos. I suppose Of Unworldly Origin would be mine, simply because that's the one I've most recently learned, lol. It covers a lot of techniques and has some really great phrasing that I think would make it interesting to go over. I can play it relatively well at about 90% speed, but breaking the barrier to 100% has proven challenging.

You are awesome!!!

You should've called this video rut buster, because it may have done just that for me... thanks Uncle Ben!

well done ...Uncle Ben lol great lesson..

This lesson makes me want to listen to Persistence of Time .. most notably Intro to Reality/belly

That sleep riff you werer playing really reminded me of the Swedish Prog Metal band Burst.

Thxs so much I’ve got a much better understand I literally created my first real riff after watching this video thx again

I went to your ARC page. Really good stuff! For whatever reason it reminded me of what Steve Morse said about playing in Kansas... "The one Ithing I learned from playing with Kansas is that I never want lyrics in my music" (hahaha, I love that). Up next... Dixie Dregs.

best intro i have ever seen

Loved this video, definitely going to check out the SoundCloud. It reminded me of Slugdge, purveyors of nasty dark riffs And holy shit Kenny, I was going ask Ben about Revocation. I'm on such a Revocation kick right now. Dave's guitar is amazing, so's the drummer. So, yes.. please get Dave on the channel

Thank you.

Nice editing. I'm gonna miss the Ole dry erase board.

Awesome - thanks for the badly needed help!

"Jump in the fire" comes to mind

Strategery. New favorite word. Gonna use that one.

Iron Maiden's iconic lydian based mode in Number of the Beast is so influential that a variation of it was used in Anthrax's Intro to Reality / Belly of the Beast and any Lunachicks song that I adore. ❤

Strateegery...fucking love it!👍😁

Oh man....all this time I've been submitting questions to your OnlyFans page......I'll re-bookmark that entry....

I came up with a real nice chord progression but want a riff before it so this helps👍

I have the same MIDI keyboard you have behind you. M-Audio Oxygen49? Just used it for my newest synth track! I love synths, and metal. I used to have a sweet matte black guitar like that too, but I sold it! AAAAUGH!!