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Need help with my Reggae

L

livinitup0

Dec 22, 2011
196
0
#1
Hi TB, need some help with something...

Im in a group where the BL likes to take old jazz charts and mix them up into different styles like blues, swing, ska, 2nd line, and reggae. Im having a hard time coming up with reggae lines based on the charts we're doing. Most of the reggae ive heard and looked at charts and excersizes for tends to stay on a chord for at least more than 1 measure, allowing the bassist to make a line that makes sense and has that signature reggae "spacing" but resolves over a 2 or 4 bar phrase.

The problem im running into is our charts typically change chords each measure in a lot if not most cases...this makes it hard for me to come up with a line thats not too busy but also resolves correctly. The BL keeps harping on "rest on the 1and 2 and only play on the 3 and 4!" (which i dont really agree with but im just a hired gun and try to play what im told)...this gives me even less space to really play anything with substance...most of these reggae tunes just sound overall very sparse with little bottom end and i cringe everytime BL calls one out.

I know this is a little odd of a situation but does anyone have any suggestions on what i can do to better my quazi-reggae groove?
 
#2
Couple of notes... drop analyzing the stuff...

THEN

Listen for note placement and muting...

Biggest issue I have teaching reggae is getting folks to switch their thinking... focus on the pauses not the notes.... when muted correctly exact notes become almost impossible to articulate.

Much of pop reggae isn't what you read about in books.. ..


Study "Stir it Up" (marley) and "I'm Yours" (mraz) and chances are yoiu'll be doing what the BL is asking for and NOT what they're outlining in books/articles
 
#3
Are the drums playing one drop?
If they are, it is much easier to feel it out than if you've got a standard rock beat.
If not, just tell your drummer to play with a half-time feel on the snare and drop the bass from the one.

Also, don't take the BL's advice as gospel - listen to reggae. You can't tell me Aston Barrett or Robbie Shakespeare are playing reggae wrong by doing it on the downbeat! In some cases, like the verse on "Stir it Up," it's exactly the opposite (play on the 1 2 rest on the 3 4).

Take a listen to "First Light" and "Unbelievable" by Easy Star All-Stars,
"Life" by Bob Andy,
"Nothing Gained From Loving You" by Marie Perrie,
"Lessons in my Life" by Peter Tosh,
"Why Can't we be Friends" and Invalid Link Removed by Jacob Miller,
and what list would be complete without "Concrete Jungle" by Bob Marley and the Wailers.

These tunes don't stop for breaks! Hopefully you can get a feel for what's alright.

ps. +1 on the post above mine.
 
#4
Reggae is derived from Ska. Ska in the early 60s is very similiar to Jazz in some respects because so many of the early Ska musicians were Jazz Players or influenced by Jazz. I think if you listen to some early Ska and then some early Rocksteady I think this will help you understand and give you the feel you need for your band. Sit back relax...drink a Red Stripe and take a listen :)

Reggae can mean a lot of things (Ska, rocksteady, loversrocks, dancehall, roots) and also within each category there are sub categories..like not all Ska is the same..some ska styles sound like big band jazz of the 50s...etc

But in general you can say Ska--->Rocksteady--->Reggae, but purist would infuse some debate. All the recordings below are between 1960 to 1978.

1. The heptones
2. Toots and the Maytals
3. Desmond Dekker
4. Ernest Ranglin (best ska, rocksteady guitar player - the bass grooves on his stuff are great, some say he perfected the palm muting technique on guitar..I would hat to say he invented it but he definately took that technique to another level)
5. Dillinger
6. URoy
7. Jackie Mittoo
8. The Skatellites
9. Lee Scratch Perry
10. Tommy McCook (The king of reggae sax - not bass but great early ska)
11. Derrick Morgan (aka the king of SKA, check out the track rudies don't fear aka tougher than tough, some say this started what is called the "rude boy" period of ska and rocksteady.
12. Ken Boothe
13. The Upsetters
14. The aggrovators
 
#5
dontay said:
But in general you can say Ska--->Rocksteady--->Reggae, but purist would infuse some debate.
Click to expand...
No purist would debate that progression. :hmm:

It's very common for there to be two chords per bar in reggae (if you count a one drop rhythm as falling on the second and fourth beat of each bar). The "drop out on the downbeat" is a cliché. Yes, it is often done in reggae but it's just as often not done. Listen to some classic Studio One recordings and learn some of the bass lines. Apply those bass lines (modified as necessary) to the songs you end up playing and see how that works out for you. Start with a riddim like "Real Rock" or "Darker Shade Of Black" and take it from there.

Sound Dimension - Real Rock - YouTube

JACKIE MITTOO - DARKER SHADE OF BLACK - YouTube
 
#7
dontay said:
10. Tony McCook (The king of reggae sax - not bass but great early ska)
Click to expand...

You mean Tommy McCook:smug:
Don't forget about Roland Alphonso. He was another Skatalite sax player and just as good as Tommy.
Check out Tommy McCook and the supersonics, Roland Alphonso and the Soul Vendors, and Jackie Mitto. All three were Skatalites that had awesome reggae records in their own bands. They started the Jamaican sound and all played Jazz :)
 
#9
Tijuana Tex said:
What did the rastafarian say when he ran out of weed halfway through listening to a reggae record?

What the f*ck is this sh*t?
Click to expand...

Wow, dude, That joke was brutally unfunny 20 years ago when it was about the Grateful Dead.

Back on OP's topic though, the best thing to do is just listen to a bunch of reggae until that feel starts to get into your head. After a while it'll come pretty naturally to you. What really helped me at first was listening to reggae covers of popular rock and pop songs. Having a very familiar song as a frame of reference highlights what the reggae musicians are doing differently. I'd start with the Easy Star All-Stars' covers of Sgt. Pepper, Dark Side of the Moon, and OK Computer. Peter Tosh also did a great cover of "Johnny B. Goode", as there's a ton more like these out there if you look for them.
 
#13
I joined a Reggae band years ago and was humbled for a minute. This might be a bad way to put it but forget your "role" as a bass player and re-arrange it. Relax more oh..uh anyway. Root five or five, four, one is/are your pal(s). Stay a little behind, and the odd triplet helps. For your situation, if "suggest" a Reggae line, it will probably work for ye.
 

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