Members The Professiona Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 I'm currently playing in a band that is looking to do a song with a reggae flair to it. I've never played reggae before and would like to sound at least somewhat authentic. The videos on youtube all seem to say that everyone else on youtube is showing you wrong, so who should I check out for some simple, slow (it's a slow song) reggae beats I can emulate for awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Darten Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 think in 4/4 time. bass on 1 snare on 3, hi hat on the and of each beat... that is the most basic reggae beat there is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members turdadactyl Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 Well, the obvious answer is go listen to some Bob Marley. You can also check out Jacob Miller, Abyssinians, Peter Tosh, etc. For the most part, you can get away with playing a straight rock beat, but adding accents on the &'s (i.e. off the beat) rather than on the beat. Don't get too into your head on it. Just do what you can. ...and check out some Police/Clash tunes for reggae feel in rock music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members faileddrummer Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 The snare shots are all rim shots. Lay your stick across the head and tap your rim. I don't know how to explain it well. The only reggae beat I really know is bass pause bass bass rim, hi hat 4 count, repeat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BenG Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 swing some 8th notes on the hats and put a cross-stick AND and bass drum (together) on 2 and 4. ala...[YOUTUBE]KJlxLwcNi-Q[/YOUTUBE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 These days, bass drum on three is considered more authentic. You do however hear genuine Jamaicans doing everything from the aforementioned basic four to as much gospel chops as they have on hand. I like the "backwards" kick on three variations myself.Try a simple one or two handed shuffle rhythm on closed hats and simply add the kick drum on three. Once you get comfortable with that, you can start contouring the beat and experimenting with snare placement. This can get awk-weird but you'll get the hang of it - especially if you copy somebody. Just read Ben's post. One thing, or just can amount to the same thing depending how you count. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cearleywine Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 Try a simple one or two handed shuffle rhythm on closed hats and simply add the kick drum on three. Once you get comfortable with that, you can start contouring the beat and experimenting with snare placement. This can get awk-weird but you'll get the hang of it - especially if you copy somebody. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted June 24, 2009 Moderators Share Posted June 24, 2009 These days, bass drum on three is considered more authentic. One empty, bass drum and side-stick on three, hats on the and, (add rim shot accents to taste), and you'll be playing the classic one drop rhythm. A lot of time you'll want to avoid hitting anything on the 1, instead doing a snare or crash/snare accent one 8th or 16th before the 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members slap happy drums Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 the tricky thing bout Reggae is not hitting the BD on one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members drumtechdad Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 Be sure it has a half-time feel, and for fills play near the edges of the tom heads, timbale-style. Put the bass drum anywhere you want except 1. Closed hats on the ands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rayboomboom Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 Another really big thing about Reggae is to play on top of the beat. Reggae is not played laid back by the drummer or bass player. Let the guit and keys lay back. You're the driving force in the band and everyone is going to lean on you so keep it steady and firm. If the guys in the band are playing real Reggae they should know to lean on you really hard, so hard it almost hurts. That was the hardest thing for me to learn was to not lay back, your not playing Blues, even though it sounds laid back like Blues, which it feels as though you are. Now, when you fill you can lay back and relax on the time to give it that feel, but keep it going in your head and body so when you come in with time again it's right on. In fact the last thing you want to do is get too busy or rush the time. Place the fill behind the beat. You can even give the illusion that you're slowing down time. But make sure your comfortable with that before you try it live, it can be a real train wreck if it doesn't go well. Reggae is one of those feels that needs time to be appreciated. It's the nuances that make it right. I usually have more fun playing it than listening to it so enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rayboomboom Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 last thing, think of it as being really stoned but jacked up on coffee at the same time:freak: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members manoeuver Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 the most important Reggae tune ever; and a great example of the one drop.[YOUTUBE]UE3qYbB_7-E[/YOUTUBE] another amazing tune:[YOUTUBE]RmMEhvTHyAM[/YOUTUBE] Burning Spear: aMAZing[YOUTUBE]yj-X9eQrDrI[/YOUTUBE] Culture: [YOUTUBE]yixhqzWmeRM[/YOUTUBE] the congos: deep, dark, WEIRD reggae:[YOUTUBE]nVpV71SVpZM[/YOUTUBE] you can either study the real {censored} or just go listen to Sublime and play that. once you dig into this stuff you start to realize everything that's wrong with 'modern' music. it's depressing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rayboomboom Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 the Culture tune is an example of the fill I was talking about where you can play with the time/feel. It's at 2:29. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members D Carroll Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 The specials drummer has always been a great example of making the simple seam hard. [YOUTUBE]HjONGEeOSyQ&feature=channel[/YOUTUBE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members manoeuver Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 found it: the steppers beat-- kik on 1234, 8ths on hats, rimclick on 3 (and elsewhere.)used much less frequently than the one drop, it's a very important groove. more Congos-- these guys were so so great.[YOUTUBE]sO3WDcEa2FQ[/YOUTUBE] I toss this in on various regular ol' rock tunes at cover gigs-- the girls lose their minds and the guys' jaws go slack. (in my mind that is) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikestix78 Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 take a trip down to Hawaii..where no matter where you go...you will be surrounded by Reggae and Jahwaiian music! or you could just listen to bands like Katchafire and Ooklah the Moc. If its slow, definitely play it one drop style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members drumtechdad Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 I toss this in on various regular ol' rock tunes at cover gigs-- the girls lose their minds and the guys' jaws go slack. (in my mind that is) You get it right, the girls take off their clothes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rasta Kalapana Posted July 8, 2009 Members Share Posted July 8, 2009 you can either study the real {censored} or just go listen to Sublime and play that.once you dig into this stuff you start to realize everything that's wrong with 'modern' music. it's depressing. very crucial irie examples of hard riddums......check out horsemouth on dvdROCKERS....shows him playin great reggae beats..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members manoeuver Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 very crucial irie examples of hard riddums......check out horsemouth on dvdROCKERS....shows him playin great reggae beats.....I love that movie! the opening scene is so great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted July 9, 2009 Members Share Posted July 9, 2009 One empty, bass drum and side-stick on three, hats on the and, (add rim shot accents to taste), and you'll be playing the classic one drop rhythm. A lot of time you'll want to avoid hitting anything on the 1, instead doing a snare or crash/snare accent one 8th or 16th before the 1. Kick with side stick is like a cross cultural speech impediment. It came naturally to me and immediately made me sick. I work on avoiding that one. lolz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OneDrop504 Posted August 11, 2009 Members Share Posted August 11, 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ1dabfIWnM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members manoeuver Posted August 12, 2009 Members Share Posted August 12, 2009 I like this thread. welcome onedrop. video wasn't too bad, you looked nervous. did you only have 0:02:00 booked in the studio or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OneDrop504 Posted August 12, 2009 Members Share Posted August 12, 2009 pretty much manoeuver. I haven't had a chance to play in like a year. I was just dropping in at my cuz's studio to say hi before i left town. I brought my new 1968 supra i got off ebay just to see how it sounds. I had enough time to set up that rag tag set and record the vid and sample the supra. I had more than 2 min, but not much. Had to get back to the wife and newborn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members qcb79 Posted August 12, 2009 Members Share Posted August 12, 2009 you can also play 8th notes on the hats with your foot, play the "& a" of each beat on the bell of the ride, cowbell, block etc...cross stick the snare and hit the kick on 2 and 4. more of a rock reggae mix but still a good groove Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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