hey marty, i don't expect you to answer this anytime soon because you 1) probably get this question so often you'll just disreguard it, 2) it's not really you responding even if "you" do, or 3) you're a fuckin busy bad ass with little to no time to respond fan mail- which i can understand. so here we go. i'm a guitarist, i've been playing for a little over 2 years now, i've been learning ALOT of your stuff with megadeth, mostly off of Rust in Peace and Countdown. and many things come to mind when i hear you play, the one that sticks out the most is this- how do you come up with riffs/solo's like that? i know it requires talent, and i've heard from numerous people that i have plenty of it. but i can't sit down and write a riff! i'm not literally unable to, it's just the ones i write aren't good at all, it might be that i'm comparing them to my hero's riffs- i don't know.i've come up with a few of pretty decent ones, but i feel like i kind of did it half assed because i was playing along with other cds and came up with the riffs while trying to figure out the bands riff/solo so i feel kind of cheap. but man, you're honestly one of my biggest inspirations (you along with the rest of the many 'deth guitarists). i guess what all this comes down to is one thing- can you give me a few tips on becomming a better writer? scales, drills, practices, or just plain advice will do. once again i don't expect a response anytime soon if any time at all, but if you could give me a hand then i'd really appreciate it, whenever you get the time. thanks a lot man- nick. and i promise you this, you will hear about me in the future sometime YOU WILL I SWEAR.

Thanks Nick. You answer your own question. You already play 'riffs'. A riff is any sequence of notes. Just put a bunch of notes in any order. Do it a hundred times, and record them all. You're bound to come across a few that you like. It's that simple. For every 'good' riff you have heard me play 20 or so not so 'good' riffs were tossed out. Go for it!