Doom metal riff generator
A doom metal riff generator creates slow, heavy guitar riffs with long, low notes and plenty of space between them. This page uses C natural minor in C standard tuning at 60 BPM.
Example riff
This riff was made with the settings below and the seed doom-metal1. The same settings and seed always give the same riff.
- Key
- C
- Scale
- Natural minor
- Tuning
- C Standard
- Tempo
- 60 BPM
- Difficulty
- 1
- Technique
- Chug
- Bars
- 4
PM-------- PM------------------------- PM------------ c |--------------------------------|--------------------------------| G |--------------------------------|--------------------------------| D#|--------------------------------|--------------------------------| A#|--------------------------------|--------------------------------| F |--------------------------------|--------------------------------| C |0---0---0---0---2---0---0---0---|0---0---0---0---2---0---0---0---| PM-------- PM----------------------------------------- c |--------------------------------|--------------------------------| G |--------------------------------|--------------------------------| D#|--------------------------------|--------------------------------| A#|--------------------------------|--------------------------------| F |--------------------------------|--------------------------------| C |0---0---0---0---2---0---0---0---|0---0---0---0---0---0---0-------|
Open this riff in the generator Make a new riff in this style
What makes a riff sound like doom?
Doom riffs are slow and heavy. A tempo below 80 BPM, a low tuning and a simple repeating pattern leave room for every note to ring. Many riffs stay close to the root and one or two neighbouring notes.
Natural minor gives the dark, plain colour. Add the flat second of the phrygian scale for something more menacing.
Practising slow riffs
Slow tempos are harder than they sound: every note has to be even and the timing is exposed. Use the metronome in the generator and listen for notes that rush. Try 50 BPM with long, deliberate downstrokes.
Frequently asked questions
Which tuning is common for doom?
Low tunings such as C standard, Drop C and Drop B are common. A lower tuning makes the strings looser, so many players use heavier strings when they tune down.
How slow can the generator go?
The tempo goes down to 40 BPM. At the lowest difficulty the riff stays near the first seven frets.