Reggae sheet music or standards?

[nsmar4211]

Looking to possibly join up with a reggae ish type group and looking either for sheet music or really good songs to learn from to get the idea of how to wing a reggae bass line. For instance, I know several blues patterns so if I don't know the song, I ask for the progression and wing it. I'd like to have that ability on reggae. I already know 3 Little Birds, Red Red Wine, Stir It Up, and the Joker grooves (didn't know that was a reggae groove...). Looking for a few more lines Any hints?

[bass12]

I would forget about the sheet music as you are not likely to find much in that department. It's essential that you learn more Bob Marley as he remains the standard bearer for many when it comes to reggae (check out "One Drop", "Waiting In Vain", "Jammin'" and pretty much anything off the Legend compilation). For other bass lines, Studio One "riddims" are your best friends. Have a listen to "Real Rock" and "Full Up" by Sound Dimension, "Darker Shade Of Black" by Jackie Mittoo and "Heavenless" by Don Drummond. Also check out "54-46 (That's My Number)" by Toots And The Maytals, Stalag 17 by Ansel Collins (also "Ring The Alarm" by Tenor Saw) and "Under Mi Sleng Teng" by Wayne Smith. I would also suggest picking up the album "Mister Yellowman" by Yellowman for a good representation of an 80s take on some older Studio One riddims.

[JimK]

Hal Leonard has a Bob Marley Bass Transcription book-
http://www.halleonard.com/product/vi...00&subsiteid=7&

I picked it up dirt cheap at one of our stores when they were clearing out their "artist" sheet music inventory. It's decent.

That said...knowing the progression & the feel & what's expected within the idiom can pull you through (you mentioned knowing enough Blues to 'wing it'). Same here, too...IF you have done enough listening & deconstructing of Reggae.
Last Summer, filled in for a local band where every other song was Reggae-based...about 1/2 of them were originals.
The point is, knowing some of the language can pull you through on a gig.

Basics: Root notes, space, note length/duration, repetition, tone, be aware of where "1" is, etc.

Ed Friedland also has a decent book on the subject.
http://www.halleonard.com/product/vi...00&subsiteid=7&

[mr mastodon]

just to add: be aware of where the one is and ignore it! for the most part anyway. come in on the + of 1. the one drop gives reggae ... the reggae-ness.

[mr mastodon]

just to add: be aware of where the one is and ignore it! for the most part anyway. come in on the + of 1. the one drop gives reggae ... the reggae-ness.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Yeah - a lot of those Police reggae tunes avoid the one and it is really annoying when you hear cover bands totally miss this point and just play as if it was a rock feel.

[bass12]

Originally Posted by mr mastodon

just to add: be aware of where the one is and ignore it! for the most part anyway. come in on the + of 1. the one drop gives reggae ... the reggae-ness.

Well, there are plenty of reggae bass lines that start on the "one" and plenty of reggae tunes that have bass drum hits on the "one". Don't get too sucked into the "no playing on the one" cliché - that's not necessarily what gives reggae it's "reggaeness". Also, the origins of the term "one drop" are debatable. While some people think it refers simply to "dropping out" on the one, others will tell you it means playing the snare and bass drum together. There is also the idea that "one drop" refers to there being one bass drum/snare hit per bar. This brings up another issue - that of counting bars in reggae. A lot of folks count a one drop beat as having the bass drum falling on the three. Others count the beats as having the hits occur on two and four.

[Bruce Lindfield]

I think it's worth bringing up as, although it's not in every bassline, it is the hardest things to do, for people who grow up playing rock - and you do hear them getting it wrong, as I mentioned.

It is also the thing that gives reggae basslines the "space" that other styles lack - OK there are some busy reggae lines - but what attracts people, the big difference with reggae, is the feeling of space that avoiding the first beat in the bar gives!

I also think it's valuable when trying to play these lines, to concentrate on what you are leaving out, as much as what you are putting in! This is a whole different way of thinking for most rock bass players!!

[AleemRadunzel]

ahh reggae!

well to be honest i agree with bruce

theres a hell of a lot of 5ths going on
learn to play off the one
concentrate more on the off beat
listen to the the hi-hat/ride pattern, where it isnt as straight as a rock beat, its practically your drummer mouthing to you what you should do.
going a bar without playing anything is completly natural and normal.. it lets your guitarist/keys/singer/ect mess about with their echos/verbs/
fills are your friend, but you dont wanna upset the riddem.
you are the focal point of this music so if you mess up everyone will be looking at you... no pressure
take your tone off and play down the neck.

[PJSShearer]

Compare and contrast Bob and Eric's versions of "I Shot the Sherrif".

IMO It's like learning any style of music:

Step 1 is learning the line on the record.

Step 2 is analysing why that particular line is on that record - how does it fit in with what's going on with the rest of the band - what's the drummer playing?, the rhythmn guitarist?, vocals even!!.

Step 3 is coming up with something in the stylie yourself.

Check out Bass12's listening recommendations above and apply steps 1 and 2 and maybe take it to step 3 when you get to jammin'.

(bop sh' wah wah wah!!).

[Bruce Lindfield]

Well - there's a lot of focus on Bob Marley here - but in a way his music was atypical of Reggae - it was a lot more about the melody and that's why it appealed to audiences outside Jamaica.

The real masters of Reggae are Sly and Robbie who appeared on countless records and who were crucical to Dub - their style is much about the bass and drums and so rewards study by bass players.

[N.F.A.]

Bruce, could you provide some definitive Sly and Robbie records to study? I have heard some of their great music, but would like someone else, more knowledgeable to point out the best material to study from them. Thanks so much.

[bass12]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

Well - there's a lot of focus on Bob Marley here - but in a way his music was atypical of Reggae - it was a lot more about the melody and that's why it appealed to audiences outside Jamaica.

The first part of this is true, though I would say that the "songwriting" approach as a whole had more to do with Marley's international appeal than just melody (plenty of reggae has melody - it's often a big part of what differentiates one version from another).

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

The real masters of Reggae are Sly and Robbie who appeared on countless records and who were crucical to Dub - their style is much about the bass and drums and so rewards study by bass players.

Sly and Robbie, masters though they are, were not crucial to dub. Dub was a mixer's medium, period (it always kills me when people talk about "dub bass lines", as there really is no such thing). I will agree, however, that their playing is certainly worth analysing - and not just their reggae output (have a listen to the stuff they did as part of the Compass Point studios house band in the early 80s).

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by N.F.A.

Bruce, could you provide some definitive Sly and Robbie records to study? I have heard some of their great music, but would like someone else, more knowledgeable to point out the best material to study from them. Thanks so much.

Well - they have acted as bass and drums to loads of Jamaican acts - but I have 3 favourites - Dub with King Tubby - there was a compilation released which has some great bass lines:



With Black Uhuru - several albums, all great, but my favourite is Red



http://www.amazon.com/Red-Black-Uhur...mus_ep_dpi_lnk


Personal favourite though, is their work with Grace Jones where the really come to the fore - again all great - but there was a recent compilation which has all the 12" singles and Dub re-mixes :



http://www.amazon.com/Private-Life-C...8057179&sr=1-1

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by bass12

Sly and Robbie, masters though they are, were not crucial to dub. Dub was a mixer's medium, period (it always kills me when people talk about "dub bass lines", as there really is no such thing).

Well I agree on your first part - but there clearly is a style of "Dub Bass Line" which is what Sly and Robbie virtually invented - you can argue about their status - but there is a style of bass line that is associated with Dub, which they epitomised!

[bass12]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

Well I agree on your first part - but there clearly is a style of "Dub Bass Line" which is what Sly and Robbie virtually invented - you can argue about their status - but there is a style of bass line that is associated with Dub, which they epitomised!

I'm curious as to what your sources are on who exactly laid down the bass on the tracks that were first dubbed by King Tubby. Robbie Shakespeare did record as a member of the Aggrovators, but so did his mentor, Aston Barrett. I'm also curious as to what you think made Robbie Shakespeare's bass lines different from those of other players of the period. I still don't agree that there is a "dub-style" bass line, as any reggae can be dubbed.

P.S. - nice suggestion on the Grace Jones. Those recordings are fantastic examples of Sly & Robbie's knack for creating a killer groove.

[N.F.A.]

Wow, I actually know two of them. I will have to check out the King Tubby album. Nice call on the Compass Point stuff too. Saw Black Uhuru on Rockpalast way back in the early 80's. They were really good. Thanks for the heads up. Off to start looking for cheap copies of all the stuff here.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by bass12

I'm curious as to what your sources are on who exactly laid down the bass on the tracks that were first dubbed by King Tubby. .

I have that CD for which I put the cover up and it states that Robbie played on all the tracks on it and has some liner notes on how it was all done!

I do think there is a dub-style line - with more space and less notes - you won't find many Dub tracks with busy bass lines!!

[One Drop]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

Well I agree on your first part - but there clearly is a style of "Dub Bass Line" which is what Sly and Robbie virtually invented - you can argue about their status - but there is a style of bass line that is associated with Dub, which they epitomised!

Sorry, Bruce, but this is meaningless to me, too.

Dub had it's first major period of popularity dating from it's birth early '70s until around the end of the decade into the beginning of the '80s, and during this time the type of bassline associated with it changed as much as did the underlying style of the original riddims the Dub mixes were made from. There was a circular effect were recordings were made with the knowledge that the riddims would be dubbed afterwards, this no doubt effected the kind of lines that were played as well.

Arguably Aston Barrett had as much influence on the direction of 'Dub' basslines as his protégé, Robbie Shakespeare, did. He played on as many if not more sessions then Robbie during the period Dub was just being invented and coming to the fore, mainly the first half of the '70s, and especially on the seminal Lee Perry experiments like 'Blackboard Jungle', early King Tubby Dubs, etc.

This is not to minimize the influence of many other great bassists who were involved in the JA recording scene: if anything you can argue Leroy Sibbles had as much effect on defining proper reggae (as opposed to rock steady, e.g.) and thus dub bass as anyone else, and probably served more as a stylistic model to Shakespeare than his actual mentor, Aston Barrett.

Most people who only know Barrett from his work with The Wailers would be amazed at how many of their favorite Dubs had basslines laid down by Family Man, or by Fully Fullwood, Lloyd Parks, etc. Barrett appears on many of the most influential Dub tracks ever mixed, including those of producers and mixers such as King Tubby, Augustus Pablo, Keith Hudson, Joe Gibbs, Harry Mudie, Yabby You etc., etc.

Soul Syndicate were THE live and studio band for a period, and after the ubiquity of Sly and Robbie during the 'Rockers' craze late '70s, Roots Radics had a massive effect on the sound of the dancehall, and thus the sound of the Dubs created from the riddims in their respective periods of popularity.

All this by way of saying the world of reggae is as wide as that of pop or soul or rock, and overgeneralizing does it a disservice, IMO.

[Bruce Lindfield]

So - you're talking about the 70s and 80s only and accusing me of generalising!

I was just saying that this thread was focusing too closely on Bob Marley only and that over the years I have heard all sorts of Reggae and that if you wanted to broaden out a bit then you could look at Sly and Robbie as well as great examples to follow!

Of course there are more - but I was the one broadening this out to start with - I am trying to help the people asking questions here - not trying to be the all-knowing oracle !!

I have heard huge amounts of Reggae in Britain - at Festivals and gigs at the Notting Hill Carnival and being involved with Rock against Racism in London - where punk bands played on the same bill as Reggae groups and sound systems playing Dub in Brixton!

Arguably there is more Reggae and Dub in London than anywhere in the world and this is where Bob Marley broke through and made great live albums!