How to Learn the Different Styles of Reggae

Who says all reggae sounds alike? Given a little time and patience listening to the music, you too can come to understand why there are tens of thousands of albums that supposedly "all sound alike."

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Access to reggae music
• Reggae books

1. Research the history of reggae by reading reggae books and visiting reggae websites.
2. Listen to roots reggae. Roots reggae is the traditional style of reggae, the style that most people think of when they think of reggae. It has the standard reggae sound-- the hiccupping, off-beat, "one-drop" rhythm--and usually features serious-minded religious (particularly Rastafarian) and socio-political lyrics, even with its laid-back sound. Think Bob Marley.
3. Listen to lovers rock. Lovers rock is similar to roots, but it has a lighter, smoother sound, incorporating R&B and pop music and more soulful, crooning vocals. As the name implies, the songs are generally love songs--the reggae equivalent of ballads. Think Maxi Priest.
4. Listen to ska. Ska, sometimes known as Blue Beat, is the earliest form of reggae that is easily identifiable as reggae in that it contains the jerky one-drop rhythm. Many of the songs were influenced by American jazz and soul (and were often instrumentals) but were pumped up with a faster pace, more energy and that unique off-beat rhythm. Ska has a large, full-band sound, often featuring a horn section, and is sort of the reggae equivalent of big band music. Listen to the pioneering group The Skatalites to get a real taste.
5. Listen to rock steady. Rock steady emerged when the energetic pace of ska died down in the late '60s. The big-band sound died down, and the horns faded a little more into the background, while the bass became more prominent. Singers also came to the forefront, crooning soulful tunes influenced by American soul. Alton Ellis is one of the prime examples.
6. Listen to dancehall. Also known as ragga, dancehall, unlike most other styles of reggae, usually doesn't feature the one-drop rhythm (at least, not prominently). It's basically Jamaica's version of hip-hop, featuring an aggressive, bass- and drum-driven sound that is often created with computerized beats ("riddims") instead of live instrumentation. Like hip-hop, lyrics tend to revolve around street life, violence, materialism and good old-fashioned bragging. Dancehall has been the most popular music in Jamaica since the mid-'80s and has had crossover success in the United States with artists like Sean Paul, Wayne Wonder and Elephant Man.
7. Listen to dub. Dub is perhaps the most hard-to-grasp style of reggae, due to its experimental, ever-changing sound. It essentially began as remixing (and indeed created the concept of the remix), with music producers and engineers removing most of the vocals and some of the instruments from song recordings, creating a minimalist sound. On top of that, they layered digital effects, echoes, fades, bells, whistles, animal sounds, you name it. Dub has mutated since then and today often steps outside of the bounds of reggae, but in its purest form, it still maintains the skeletal sound of reggae's one-drop rhythm with a warped, spacey instrumental vibe.

Tips & Warnings

• There are some other styles--rockers, steppers (both an edgier form or roots) and confusingly, (pre-digital) dancehall (a bass- and drum-heavy precursor to modern dancehall)--but these are generally considered more minor than the styles listed above.
• There are some musical genres -- for instance, reggaeton and jungle -- that incorporate reggae, but they are generally not considered a subset of reggae.