Theory
Yesterday you completed the cutting part (verse). Today you complete the second part — a single-note riff — and join it to yesterday's cutting part.
Onto Week 6's single-note line, lay Week 7's staccato to make a clear riff that converses with the bass. The key here is 'contrast.' Where yesterday's cutting was a broad, shimmering chord block, today's riff is a pointed single-note line. If cutting is the 'verse,' this riff is the 'hook' or 'bridge' — a part giving the tune a different color and tension. Cutting notes short with staccato makes the line crisper and tighter.
And today's real mission is joining the two parts. Cutting 4 bars → riff 4 bars → cutting again, and alternating the two blocks already creates a 'song structure.' Join them so the beat doesn't wobble at the switch and the cutting/riff contrast rings clearly. This is the moment you step past accompaniment into 'composing.'
Joining the two smoothly is hard at first — especially moving from chords (cutting) to single notes (riff), the hand shape and mute change sharply. Of course. Today, rather than a perfect transition, the goal is to set the tune's skeleton: "two parts that contrast and connect." Once this skeleton stands, tomorrow's final recording is just capturing this flow in one take.
See it
A single-note riff contrasting the cutting. Cut clearly with staccato and join it to yesterday's cutting part.
E note box (single-note). A single-note line on the 5th/4th strings. Blue = root/5th. Cut short with staccato to keep the riff clear.
Example 1 — riff building (1 bar). A single-note line cut short with staccato. A clarity that contrasts the cutting.
▶ BPM 78. Over the track 4×. Check the staccato keeps the line clear and tight.
Example 2 — long-short riff (2 bars). A riff mixing staccato and legato. Once easy, alternate and join with the cutting part.
▶ BPM 78. Cutting 4 bars → this riff 4 bars. Keep the beat steady across the part switch.
Today's practice
0–10 min · Warm-up BPM 60–70. Lay staccato onto the single-note line to warm up. Lightly practice the cutting↔single-note hand change.
10–20 min · Brain training (today's target = riff + joining) Design the riff part and sketch how to join it with yesterday's cutting (cutting→riff→cutting).
20–40 min · Real groove (Examples 1·2 / BPM 78) Complete Examples 1·2 (riff) over the track, then alternate and join with yesterday's cutting part into an eight-bar structure. Keeping the beat across the switch is the key.
40–50 min · Record & reflect (recommended) Record the joined cutting+riff and check: is the riff clear / is the two-part contrast audible / does the beat hold at the switch?
Done when: you can complete a single-note riff with staccato and join it to yesterday's cutting part to make a song structure (verse + hook).
- Cutting and riff don't contrast. Too similar and the structure dies. Cutting broad, riff pointed — contrast them.
- Beat wobbles at the switch. Chords→single notes tends to hesitate. Decide the switch point in advance.
- Staccato is vague. The riff must be cut short to be tight. Kill the ring right after playing.
- Not joining, kept apart. Today's core is 'joining.' Be sure to alternate the two parts.