how to play raggae?

dalconthenovice · #1 07-29-2010, 05:46 PM

i got an audition with a raggae band next week and i'm a pretty decent bass player, know my weight in theory etc etc
i can play a little reggae but i could use some homework and some good discussion on the subject of raggae music

so oblige me please TB? i'll bake cookies

Jim Campbell · #2 07-29-2010, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dalconthenovice

i got an audition with a raggae band next week and i'm a pretty decent bass player, know my weight in theory etc etc
i can play a little reggae but i could use some homework and some good discussion on the subject of raggae music

so oblige me please TB? i'll bake cookies

youtube vids/ bass covers,might be a place to start

dalconthenovice · #3 07-29-2010, 06:12 PM

i wasn't talkin about covers, i'm playing a ton of raggae covers right now, i just need a disucssion as to what the theory behind raggae playing etc

Jim Campbell · #4 07-29-2010, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dalconthenovice

i wasn't talkin about covers, i'm playing a ton of raggae covers right now, i just need a disucssion as to what the theory behind raggae playing etc

youtube again.....i've seen some tutorials on the subject

**colcifer** · #5 07-29-2010, 06:47 PM

There should be a sticky for this...

Bass in Reggae is a very broad subject; it is the only instrument in the music with no specified role (near unique in this way). If you have some R&B skills it's no too far from that but you have to work harder to define the song as the bass is often the most central part of the arrangement. One important thing to remember is that the emphasis is on the one, three, and the off beats (in many basslines note are primarily played on the off beats).

Best,
c

jefkritz · #6 07-29-2010, 06:54 PM

on a lot of reggae, the bass doesn't play on the one.

kesslari · #7 07-29-2010, 09:10 PM

Try this... pretty well covered here:
Reggae and Dub Primer

Ben Clarke · #8 07-29-2010, 09:43 PM

you will not get any better at playing reggae by talking about it or discussing on the interwebz. eat, sleep breathe the music. don't turn it off for a month. get drunk on real rum. lay around on the beach. jerk yourself some goat.

there's lots of different flavors and styles, but I think the roots stuff is where it's at - obviously anything Bob Marley did, but also newer stuff like John Brown's Body and Matishayu have "it".

Ben Clarke · #9 07-29-2010, 09:48 PM

sorry - I don't mean to sound like I'm knocking the search for knowledge - I'm not. I just think the reason styles like that are elusive is that we tend overthink things and apply our existing knowledge and style to it, which doesn't usually end up sounding very authentic. I've been there.

Tampabass · #10 07-29-2010, 09:49 PM

just a pet peeve, but, hey, OP, it's reggae - reggae - reggae

If you wanna learn how to play reggae, listen closely to lots of....
Bob Marley
anything with Sly & Robbie in the rhythm section
The Meditations
Dennis Brown
Peter Tosh
Jimmy Cliff
even some Ziggy Marley, particularly his early albums
Toots & the Maytals
Jazz Jamaica
anything with Aston "Family Man" Barrett (The Wailers)

dalconthenovice · #11 07-29-2010, 10:38 PM

thankx guys everything is very well appreciated

love for TB always

Matt Dean · #12 07-29-2010, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tampabass

just a pet peeve, but, hey, OP, it's reggae - reggae - reggae

If you wanna learn how to play reggae, listen closely to lots of....
Bob Marley
anything with Sly & Robbie in the rhythm section
The Meditations
Dennis Brown
Peter Tosh
Jimmy Cliff
even some Ziggy Marley, particularly his early albums
Toots & the Maytals
Jazz Jamaica
anything with Aston "Family Man" Barrett (The Wailers)

+1... also, don't forget the lambs breath!

bass12 · #13 07-30-2010, 01:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colcifer

There should be a sticky for this...

Bass in Reggae is a very broad subject; it is the only instrument in the music with no specified role (near unique in this way). If you have some R&B skills it's no too far from that but you have to work harder to define the song as the bass is often the most central part of the arrangement. One important thing to remember is that the emphasis is on the one, three, and the off beats (in many basslines note are primarily played on the off beats).

Best,
c

What do mean "no specified role"? I don't get what you're saying here at all. As for where the emphasis lies, that depends on how you are counting your bars. A lot of people will tell you that the bass drum/snare in a one drop pattern falls on the two and the four.

As for other suggestions - you don't need to concern yourself much where theory is concerned. Listen to and absorb the music. Some good suggestions have been made here regarding stuff to listen to but any list of crucial reggae examples that doesn't include Studio One is incomplete. Studio One comes before Bob Marley and pretty much everything else when it comes to riddims and the classic bass lines that have been versioned time and time again.

b_ryceeeee · #14 07-30-2010, 01:57 AM

I higly recommend you checking out the older aswad albums also i highly recommend steel pulse! Tribute to the martyrs is an amazing album by them. The drumming by "grizzly" and ronnie's bass playing is so sweet.