What makes reggae different

Specific aspects of the music such as: singing style, lyrical subject matter, rhythm, meter, tempo, dynamics, instrumentation, the prominence or roles of the individual instruments, and other musical nuances, must be examined in order to try and make generalizations about any single category of music.

Making it even more difficult to identify any given example is the fact that there are often more examples of, so called, crossovers or fusions , that incorporate elements of several styles, than there are examples of the pure form of any given style. So, how does a musical style grow to become unique? Musical styles are not born, in the same sense that a human or animal can have an exact moment of birth.

They evolve gradually over time and as a result of many influences acting upon and shaping their development. Just as it is difficult to precisely classify a single musical example, it is also equally hard to identify exactly which songs are a style's first historical examples that are officially and authentically that style. Before they earn a new label, a fledgling genre resembles the styles that most influenced them just preceding their emergence as a brand new style.

Afterwards, they usually follow a natural progression towards being more or less autonomous and independent from other styles, although many original seed elements may remain. Later, as a style reaches maturity , it begins to further evolve and incorporate new influences that either help to define its uniqueness, or stretch the definition of that style, until once again a new name is warranted. In the s in the U. So called, Race Music, later referred to as Rhythm and Blues of the late s and early s, represented by artists such as Louis Jordan and Big Mama Thorton, sounded a lot like Rock and Roll would eventually sound.

However, it was not until this sound combined with certain country, hillbilly, and folk elements, that Bill Haley first used the words "Rock and Roll. In Jamaica, early Reggae was still called Rock Steady, which was influenced by the Ska music that came before it, which in turn was influenced by Mento prior to that. It was not until Rock Steady underwent certain significant changes that it was officially called Reggae for the first time in The Maytals' hit entitled, "Do the Reggay.

Besides speeding up the tempo from most Rock Steady tunes, the highly identifiable guitar "chop," or "skank," or "chukka chukka" sound became prominent. From there, many other different sub-styles of Reggae began to emerge. Some of these sub-styles, such as Dub and Dancehall versions, had characteristics that were created by economic forces that encouraged the producers to try to do as much as they could with little resources.

A multitude of factors can influence a style's evolution, not the least of which are new performers and musicians with different backgrounds trying out the musical style. Newcomers to any given genre, usually begin by emulating a favorite artist, but often later give the style a particular personal twist. What Defines Reggae as a Unique Style? Reggae [7] n : popular music originating in the West Indies; repetitive bass riffs and regular chords played on the off beat by a guitar.

It is interesting to note that Ragtime music used the same root word as Reggae to refer to the ragged or chopped up rhythms utilized by the interplay of the left hand stride bass and the right hand melody as exemplified in the early s by artists like Scott Joplin.

As stated previously, any musical style is difficult to define. Even if both the history and certain musical characteristics of a style are clearly identified, there is still often ambiguity amongst critics. This is true within a huge umbrella style like Reggae, and more so with subcategories and genres such as One Drop, or Rockers.

Specific individual examples may have some of the identifying characteristics of Reggae and not others, thereby making labeling a matter of subjective opinion. When a White group such as "Ace of Base" covers a reggae tune such as "Don't Turn Around," with mostly electronic instruments, is it still considered Reggae? When Bob Marley writes and performs any song, is it automatically Reggae because it is Bob? One may consider "Redemption Song" and "Reggae on Broadway" for example, to be Reggae, while both of those songs have a number of characteristics that would not be considered associated with the style.

There are many characteristics that constitute Reggae, but a majority of these musical aspects working in conjunction with each other would have to be present in order to call a given example Reggae. There generally isn't any one, absolute element that signals Reggae.

However, there are elements that could be considered necessary requirements. One might be inclined to say, that any given example needs to have a majority of the definable characteristics in order to be considered within the boundaries of that style. Purists might argue that it has to be all or nothing. I tend to agree with the former method of assessment in that I accept the use of words like reggaish or reggae like to describe crossover or fusion music.

Reggae's African Roots. No study of any modern, western, Black cultural music would be complete without a mention of the tremendous influence the remembering of African drum rhythms had on the slaves in North America and the subsequent Black cultural styles of music that developed afterwards.

All of the styles that will be examined in this essay are no exception to this in that they too have their roots in African drum rhythms. To consciously or unconsciously utilize these African rhythms is to make a rhetorical statement about Black cultural roots. That is to say, the presence of distinctly African influenced rhythms suggests a pride in the heritage of that culture. Reggae's Eight Main Identifying Characteristics.

As such, it is fair to say that a Jamaican accent, or what is known as Patois, is one characteristic of original Reggae. This alone, however, is not enough to identify a given example as Reggae. Roots topics such as the religious philosophies of Rastafarianism, Garveyism and the need for Social Reform have always been prevalent. Rudie topics, and the concern of lovers have also been prominent topics in Reggae, as well as songs about dancing and topics concerning the goings on at dancehalls.

Toasters have the reputation of bragging about themselves and putting down the opposition, a characteristic that has also influenced rap and Hip Hop. This is probably the one most essential defining musical characteristic of the style. In both cases the transformation is successful in that the songs are now clearly in the Reggae style. A variety of additional instruments have come to be considered acceptable Reggae instruments. There are a variety of percussion instruments that can be acceptably used in Reggae such as the traditional Nyabingi drums, like the repeater drum, as well as traditional Afro Cuban drums, like congas and bongos.

Many of the popular Latin and African hand percussion instruments like wood blocks, scrapers, claves, quiccas, shekeres, djembes and others, are often heard playing a lesser role in the rhythmic structure but are used to spice up a song.

Dancing to Reggae is inseparably interwoven into its history. Reggae has always been first and foremost, music that was tested on the dance floor before being released for listening and radio airplay. The Jamaican phenomenon of street dances and sound systems were used to test out new releases to a live, and ready to dance audience.

The irresistible beat of Reggae is one of the qualities that have contributed to its continued success and longevity.

This quality has mostly been achieved by a combination of the dominant rhythmic structure of the music and by the emphasis of drums and bass in the mix. Reggae is a music that tends to use what I call the "Less is More" philosophy of rhythmic and instrumental structure.

This is in opposition to what has been referred to as the "Wall of Sound" philosophy that has become so familiar to American music. In the "Wall of Sound" philosophy, as first labeled for the production techniques of Phil Specter in the s, every moment of music is being filled with layers of sound and harmony, often by studio overdubs of multitudes of instruments.

In Rock music, such as the music of bands like "The Who," the drums, bass and guitar are attempting to overwhelm the listener with an a virtual avalanche of notes and the sheer power of the layered effect. An attempt is made to fill up every available beat with extra layers on the strong beats. In Rock, the second and fourth beats, usually where the snare drum is heard, are emphasized and are given extra amounts of sound and power. In Reggae, as in many African influenced forms of music, the attempt is made to do what musicians might call "listen and fill holes.

Syncopation, another technique that musicians use to emphasize beats that are normally the weak beat in a rhythm pattern, is often employed. To a Reggae musician, it is as important, or more , to know where not to play as it is to know where and when to play.

For example, in the style known as One Drop , the drums will kick and snare on the third beat, and the guitar will chop on the two and four, leaving the first beat open, thus the name. This has the effect on the listener of experiencing a pulsing of the beat, where different instruments are coming in and out of attention creating the space for various poly rhythms to be heard as they overlap, a distinctly African quality. In Reggae music, there is generally a more even, consistent, and softer dynamic than Rock throughout the song, but there are often dynamic changes within a song to aid and support in the emotional allure of the lyrics.

This is especially true of "Dub" style where the remixes are often achieved by pulling out certain instruments and having them come in again momentarily before once again receding to the background. The Chosen Styles and their Similarities and Differences. Taking into consideration what has been stated about musical styles, and the difficulty in defining them precisely, the categories of characteristics that have previously indicated will be used as a guide to describe each of the three chosen genres of Reggae.

The intention will be to clarify their unique qualities and help to differentiate them. Since all of the styles being examined are considered some form of Reggae, they would necessarily need to have some, or most of the above characteristics that have been assigned to all Reggae music.

The focus will mostly be on the nuances that make each of them unique. Nyabingi Reggae. Leonard Barrett says that "Anyone who listens to Rastafarian music, be it the ritual Nyabingi or the popular Reggae will detect in the lower beats, deep structural dissonance which mirrors the social conflicts within the society.

As Barrett accurately describes, the lower beat itself has rhetorical implications. In addition, since the beat is associated with Africa and with the Rastafarian ritual, its use in a commercially released Reggae song would naturally suggest both the dissatisfaction with current conditions and the suggestion of repatriation as a solution.

In "The Rough Guide to Reggae," the authors describe Nyabingi like this, "The drumming style originally included the use of a large bass drum, beaten with a padded stick, and smaller "funde" and "repeater" hand drums. Nyabingi drumming formed the basis of the musical form for "Count Ossie's Mystic Revelation of Rastafari" and "Ras Michael and the sons of Megus," but every now and then appears on a commercial Reggae record.

The beat of Nyabingi is sometimes described as a heartbeat. In original Nyabingi drumming, the bass drum defines the "" familiar to all of us, while the smaller hand drums fill in the holes or spaces created in between each group of two bass strokes with specific rhythmic answers.

This style of drumming is in agreement with the rhythmic quality of sparseness and filling holes I described earlier as being typical of all Reggae. Chanting, in Patois, such as the famous Rastaman chant, "Fly Away Home," is usually used to accompany the drumming. The average tempo of a reggae tune ranges between 80 — BPM, slightly slower than the usual commercial pop song. This can be attributed to how reggae has a strong groove that would only make sense with slower tempos. Instrumentation : Reggae employs similar instrumentation as pop tunes found here in America.

The instruments that form the foundation of a typical reggae song would be drums, electric bass, electric guitar, and keyboard. However, over the years, other instruments such as horns, brass, and afro-cuban percussion have been introduced to reggae to spice things up. Most reggae songs have the bass upfront in the mix with low subs that are meant to rock the dance floor. Harmony: The chord progressions of reggae songs are fairly straightforward. Rhythm : Everything about reggae has to do with rhythm.

One can clearly differentiate a reggae tune from another genre by just identifying the rhythmic patterns. Reggae incorporates plenty of off-beat rhythms. These are usually staccato beats played by a guitar or piano sometimes both on the off-beats also known as upbeats of a measure. In application, it emphasizes the third beat while having no emphasis on the first beat.

The bass guitar plays an important role in holding the rhythm down in reggae. The Rhythmic patern accents the 2nd and 4th beat in each bar and combines with the drums on beat 3 to create a unique sense of phrasing. Instruments The Bass guitar often plays a dominant role in reggae. The bass sound is generally thick and heavy, and equalized so the upper frequencies are removed and the lower frequencies are emphasized. A S tandard Drum Kit is generally used in reggae but the snare drum is often tuned to give it a timbales-type sound.

A "Four on the Floor" The Guitar in reggae usually plays on the off beat of the rhythm. A musical figure known as a skank or the "bang" has a very dampened, short and scratchy chop sound, almost like a percussion instrument.

Sometimes the guitar plays a double chop on the offbeats, but also plays the following 8th beats on the up stroke. The piano part was widely taken over by synthesizers during the 's, although synthesizers have been used in a peripheral role since the 's to play incidental melodies and counter-melodies. Horns are very frequently used in reggae, often playing introductions and counter-melodies. Instruments included in a typical reggae horn section include Saxophone , trumpet or trombone.

In more recent times, real horns are sometimes being replaced by by synthesizers and recorded samples. The 1st horn is generally accompanied by a 2nd horn playing the same melodic phrase in unison, one octave higher. Vocals and Lyrical Themes Vocals in reggae are less of a defining characteristic of the genre than the instruments and the rhythm, as almost any song can be performed in a reggae style. Vocal harmonies are often used, either throughout the melody or as a counterpoint to the main vocal line.

An unusual aspect of reggae singing is that many singers use tremolo Volume oscillation rather than vibrato pitch Oscillation.