hello, reggae bass anyone?

[afro blue]

im a bass player from tijuana, i just recently joined a reggae group and im having a hard time coming up with bass lines for songs that repeat over two chords... ( its harder than it sounds, since after a couple of repetitions my bass line sounds tired)

so thats basically why im here, to try and get some ideas from fellow bass players over how to make things interesting while working with only two chords...

other than that if anyone can recommend any (mystic) reggae music or ska that would help a lot...

also any pointers on how to play reggae in general since this genre is new to me

any comments will be greatly appreciated, we have a month to come up with atleast 6 songs for a really big gig.

thnks.

[LuckyCondlins]

check out the skatalites

they invited ska buddy!

[jimmothy.green]

Try learning all the motor rhythms on Legend-Bob Marley. From there you get a sense of the conventions of reggae bass lines. I'm also a big fan of the "rasta man vibrations" cd.

For upright work I definitely agree with the Skatalites.

[Old Schooler]

play reggae in general

I'm no expert, but life experiences help relate. In reggae, the bass is actually more of the anchor than the drums. Repetition gives the player the opportunity to expound (like jazz) but be able to drop back into the rote notes from anywhere in the riff. Sting is a MONSTER. Spirits in the Material World or Z M are a couple fantastic CDs to learn some slick whited reggae riffs. Tosh, Marley, and Cliff are killer root rock reggae musicians and the bass is a simple time keeper with the freedom to run.
Partake a spliff and enjoy de ride, mon. Wonderful genre!
Papa Buzz