What Music Genre is Akin to Reggae?

Reggae is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term reggae is derived from the word “raggedy,” which was used to describe the rough sound of the music. Reggae is a style of music that is characterized by a slow, swaying beat and a distinctive, nasal vocal style.

Reggae

Reggae is a genre of popular music that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, “Do the Reggay” was the first popular song to use the word “reggae,” effectively naming the genre and introducing it to a global audience. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of popular Jamaican danceable music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.

The sound of Reggae

Reggae is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, “Do the Reggay” was the first popular song to use the word “reggae,” effectively naming the genre and introducing it to a global audience. While sometimes used in a broad sense to refer to most types of popular Jamaican dance music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that evolved out of earlier genres such as ska and rocksteady. Reggae is based on a rhythm style characterized by regular beats on the off-beat, known as the skank.

The instruments of Reggae

Reggae is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, “Do the Reggay” was the first popular song to use the word “reggae”, effectively naming the genre and introducing it to a global audience. While sometimes used in a broad sense to refer to most types of popular Jamaican danceable music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.

Reggae is based on a rhythmic style characterized by regular chops on the off-beat, known as the skank. Reggae is normally slower than ska but faster than rocksteady. The tempo ranges from 60 to 70 beats per minute (bpm) in clave time. The texture of lyrics in reggae often relates to social, political or personal topics. Reggae has been influenced by other genres such as African rhythms, American R&B, doo-wop and also by traditional mento songs. Mento is a Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music.

The instruments used in reggae include drums, bass guitar, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, keyboards and horns. Drumming styles vary widely in reggae but typically feature a 4/4 time signature with accents on the off beat. The bass guitar often plays consistent quarter note patterns throughout songs while manipulated with dub effects such as echo and delay. The chords played by rhythm guitar are usually two or three note shapes based on formulas written by Duke Reid and Noel Williams known as “skankin'”. Lead guitar generally plays single note lines or double stop slides up and down the fretboard often imitating horn lines or playing countermelodies to the vocal line; however, some lead parts are improvised during live performances. Reggae keyboard parts are often played on electric pianos or organ just like classic Jamaican mento songs but also may feature generic barrelhouse style blues licks played on Hammond B3/C3 organs typical of American soul music from 1960s onwards or clavinet lines similar to those heard in Funkadelic’s Maggot Brain (1971).

The lyrics of Reggae

Reggae is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, “Do the Reggay” was the first popular song to use the word “reggae”, effectively naming the genre and introducing it to a global audience. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of popular Jamaican danceable music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.

Music Genres Similar to Reggae

Though reggae’s origins are in Jamaica, the genre has been adopted by many other cultures. While each region has put its own spin on the music, there are some general similarities between reggae and other genres. This article takes a look at a few of those genres.

Dub

Dub is a genre of music that grew out of reggae in the 1960s. It is a style of music that is characterized by a strong bass line and drumbeat, with sparse melodies and vocals. Dub artists often use studio effects, such as delay and reverb, to create a “dubbed out” sound.

Rocksteady

Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in 1966. Drawing on influences from ska and R&B, rocksteady was the precursor to reggae. The name rocksteady comes from a style of dance that was popular at the time.

The rocksteady sound was characterized by slower tempos than ska and more emphasis on the offbeat, with shuffle rhythms being common. horns and guitar were used sparingly, instead relying on the bass and drums to provide most of the music’s rhythm and melody.

Like ska, rocksteady was played by both Jamaican natives and members of the West Indian diaspora in Britain; unlike ska, however, rocksteady’s appeal spread further afield, to Africa, Asia, North America, and mainland Europe.

Dancehall

Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. Two of the biggest stars of the early dancehall era were Yellowman and Eek-a-Mouse. As dancehall became more popular in Jamaica, it began to spread to other countries in the 1980s and early 1990s. By the 2000s, dancehall had become a major force in global music, especially in Africa and Europe.