# Play the famous riff, then teach it

A culture and creative format, measured November 8, 2026 by Volume. https://tryvolume.app/working/culture-and-creative/play-the-famous-riff-then-teach-it

The tutorial opens with a few seconds of the instantly recognizable riff or song, then promises to teach it in under a minute. It worked for 3 accounts, with a median of 7x their usual reach. Type: Editing trick. Seen as: Talking head.

## Why it works

The recognizable sound stops the scroll and proves the payoff before any explaining starts. Tutorials of famous beginner songs outperformed the same creators' niche song picks.

## How to make it

1. Play 1-7 seconds of the iconic riff with no spoken intro
2. Say you'll teach it quickly
3. Show the notes or chords on screen and walk through them

## Hook formula

Have you heard this song? [play riff] I'll teach you how to play it in under a minute on [instrument].

## Examples

- @bennewportguitar (342K followers, TikTok talking head): 27x their usual views. Hook: “I'm Yours Jason Mraz Day 6” [Original post](https://www.tiktok.com/@bennewportguitar/video/7698750519795272982)
- @mynameisnotdrewww (185K followers, Instagram talking head): 7.0x their usual views. Hook: “have you heard this song?” [Original post](https://www.instagram.com/p/De90-8WBqhI/)
- @mynameisnotdrew (746K followers, TikTok talking head): 5.2x their usual views. Hook: “have you heard this song?” [Original post](https://www.tiktok.com/@mynameisnotdrew/video/7701029148680129822)

More culture and creative formats: https://tryvolume.app/working/culture-and-creative.md

## Get the full library

The full library has every post, format and hook in culture and creative, plus long-running Meta ads, and your AI agent can search it over MCP. The library comes with Volume Core and Pro, from $29.99 a month, and every plan starts with a 3-day free trial. Start a free trial: https://tryvolume.app/library

Agents: add Volume's MCP server (https://app.tryvolume.app/api/mcp) and call `search_library(shelf: "formats", niche: "Culture and creative")` for every format, `search_library(shelf: "posts", niche: "Culture and creative")` for examples with transcripts and scripts.

## How this is measured

- Every post is compared with its own account's usual reach, not with other accounts. "14x their usual" means the post got 14 times the median views of that account's recent posts.
- TikTok videos and Instagram Reels are measured on views. Instagram carousels have no view count, so they are measured on likes against the account's usual likes, and say so.
- A post makes the library at 2x its account's usual or more. A format is a repeatable move (what is said or shown, or how it is edited) that several accounts used in breakout posts. It is listed here once it worked for 3 or more different accounts.
- Formats rank on how many accounts they worked for and how far above usual, damped so a fluke on one tiny account cannot outrank a format that worked for ten.

Your post here and want it removed? Email support@tryvolume.app.