
Anything from a short tune to an entire chorus can be the hook. The hook is meant to be catchy, fun and easy to remember so that it gets its listeners engaged. In a similar way, the hook ‘catches the ear’ and gets the audience involved. The term, of course, is a metaphor from fishing where the hook is meant to lure and catch fish. That part stands out so much that it’s what you remembered the song by, and expect others to the same.Īs the word itself suggests, the hook is any part of a song that grabs our attention and sticks in our memory. Have you ever asked someone something like “Do you know that song… you know the one that goes ‘na na na nana’?” Well, what you sang there is most probably the hook. The examples that are written for the guitar include guitar tab. Let’s look and listen to some examples to get a first hand experience for riffs.

Popular riffs tend to become what a song is known for. In other genres it can also be played by keyboards, orchestral strings and brass.Īll in all, the riff is such a prominent element of the song that it becomes essential to its character and, very importantly, to its structure.

These parts can be broken down further and further into shorter and shorter musical ideas. Shorty Rogers: That’s What I’m Talkin’ AboutĪlmost all of music of any style is composed of smaller parts that come together to make a bigger whole.
