Medium difficulty Reggae Bass Lines

To help narrow down the suggestions can you let us know which easy reggae lines are you able to play well and if there are any you struggled with? The difficulty with reggae lines is less about the number of notes played but more about getting the right feel/vibe. This mostly comes down to having a good control over 16th notes and being able to play behind the beat when necessary. If you haven't yet, I would suggest working through all of the songs in the Bob Marley bass book. They are all great and understanding family man's lines will help build a good foundation for reggae playing.

 

The book includes tabs and bass clef notation. Can't recall if it includes audio, but the songs are all on spotify and other streaming platforms.

 

A really fun "medium difficulty" exercise for you would be to continue learning "easy" reggae tunes, except this time, don't use TAB!

 

This is a good list of commonly used basslines in reggae. No tab on this link, but its a good starting point of "standard" reggae riddims. Some of the links don't work anymore, but most do. You might be able to search for tab on these, some maybe not.

50 Most Used/Popular Riddims in Reggae

 

You can also search the name of the riddim on YouTube and see what other artists are using them. There may be live footage to help you learn if tab isn't available. You'd be surprised how many songs use these old lines.

 

You know there are types of reggae: one drop; dub step; rock steady, etc.

There’s plenty of ‘island music’ world wide to listen to as well.

Like the funk, reggae is just as much about what you don’t play as what you do.

Listen, play along and figure out what characterizes the rhythm.

 

Studio One was the most important label/studio in the history of Jamaican music, so checking out some Studio One compilations (the best are on the Soul Jazz label) will help you in that respect. Also, the Rough Guide to Reggae (the book) is probably the most incredible reggae resource in existence so find a copy if you can.

For some slightly more challenging bass lines take a listen to the album True Democracy by Steel Pulse.

 

Hi, can you post the original thread as it would greatly interest me an I can’t seem to find it.
I have a vast selection of reggae on vinyl if you want names of artists I would definitely check out LKJ and Eek a Mouse

 

TrueFire has a reggae bass course.

https://truefire.com/focus-on-guitar-lessons/reggae-bass/c763

 

Hi, all I can see is pay $29.00 to someone for a course, is there not a thread with multiple comments and advise ?