Countless great songs are based on riffs – catchy guitar phrases that repeat until they're seared into your brain forever – or snappy chord sequences as memorable as any melody. Riffs get people excited, whether they are musicians or listeners. Advertising agencies use riffs on television, internet videos, and cinema trailers. Riffs sell concert tickets, guitars, and downloads. Youtube is full of guitarists playing riffs.

This book now in its third and updated edition digs deep into the world of the guitar riff, identifying 30 distinct types and illustrating them with reference to 150 examples: from Howlin Wolf to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Chuck Berry to Limp Bizkit, the Kinks to the Strokes, Black Sabbath to the White Stripes, Coldplay and Kings of Leon. The book includes access to 56 audio tracks online, illustrating all types of riffs covered, plus notation and TAB for 40 original example riffs composed by the author. In the book you can trace the connections between riff types and the scales, modes, or chords from which they're drawn.