The Difference Between Ska, Rocksteady, and Reggae Guitar - Guitar Lesson
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- Опубликовано: 16 сен 2024
- In this video, I explore the progression from ska, to rocksteady, to reggae guitar.
The song at the end is a tune I wrote called Roll On. It can be found on my Roll On EP at the following links:
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Thanks for mentioning my father's song, get ready to rock steady. Alton Ellis, my dad!!
Wow, he was your Dad?! I should be thanking you! It's an honor to have you view this. He was such a legend and incredible musical influence - may his legacy live on.
Wow that's madness
Wow
Deadass? Sick!
Wait a minute, I thought he only had two SONS?
Respect my brother you did real justice to our culture..I am a Jamaican Singer.
That means a lot, thank you! I checked your videos and you're a phenomenal singer. I'm digging the performances you've posted.
@@BillyDeCristofano Cool much respect my brother!
Ska: 0:24
Rocksteady: 0:51
Reggae: 1:37
Your a legend
It’s a 3 minute video 💀
I've been listening to all three styles for several decades now and was recently asked by a youngster what the differences are. I was able to explain the speed differences between ska and rocksteady but then got stuck. I'm able to listen to a track and tell her which genre it's from but I'm not all that literate musically so wasn't able to explain why. I think she'll get it from your video, so many thanks!
Thanks and glad I could help, Mr. Tumshie! I was hoping to shed some light on the subject with the video so it's great to hear your story.
Haha I just saw that bob Marley video and thought "I can't understand this!"
Thanks for the clarification!
I was hoping that hearing the difference on an actual guitar would help!
I understood Bob Marley. But I have a background in music, and i'm also African American lol... So alteast you got the white folk version now lmao. ENjoy. I'm going to continue to watch Bob Marley talk about music though.. Wink*
and one for silde up the neck ;)
Хзщ0зхеккуц в цццзкхншщбжюббб и имхихоолрпекккк и ане
Billy DeCristofano ооиинекукнгщзгн бюджет. ..щщщщз9ддббюююбывшзлжлзшзщдщ
You'll be happy to know that just below that interview with Bob Marley was this video of yours and another one you made as a short.
Very helpful, thank you.
Wow, I didn't realize that! Thanks for letting me know - kind of stunning. I'm so glad you find it helpful and all the best to you with your playing.
Really educational
Thinking about getting a guitar for playing ska, rocksteady and reggae
Thanks for sharing
Excellent! There are more intricate differences though even within reggae. Boss Reggae (skinhead reggae) has a strumming pattern all it's own, and the much greater more intricate use of muted plucking in Roots, etc. etc. etc.
That's Right
thanks sir
Thank you very much for this very simple explanation of the difference. I always wondered and have read lots about it. The problem is that I`m not a musician myself and my music skills are looking for light in the bottom of the ocean. I really like all of the styles but now I know the difference, even if it´s just a little bit. Good Video. Thumbs up for this guy ppl
Thanks for the kind words, Kuki!
Awesome! Thanks
Happy to help!
Before all this came Mento. Ska is a firstborn child of Mento. Rock Steady is the grandchild and Reggae is the great grandchild.
Music is life. Thanks for expanding the knowledge. 😊
Thank YOU for expanding the knowledge!
Interesting theory, but ska had very little of mento in the rhythm. It started with US R&B style / jump blues, then got really unique when the drummer Lloyd Knibb brought the Rasta/Buru rhythm. Elements of mento come back in early reggae.
Just because mento came before ska in time, it doesn't mean one style led into the other. The ska musicians were jazz players.
Man this is so nice to listen to you should make a song just with a guitar for ska, regga and rocksteady.
Thanks for the kind words and so happy to hear that you enjoy it. I recently released an acoustic album of original songs but I love your idea. Making a ska, rocksteady, reggae instrumental song with just guitar. I'll add that to my list!
@@BillyDeCristofano i cant wait!
Excellent, thank you
Glad it’s helpful!
Very, very nice guitar playing. It looks simple........ :)
Thank you! It's really not that tricky!
Thanks for this!
Glad you found it useful!
Great stuff! Good explanation!
I wish that more reggae songs used the double strum instead of the single downstroke.
Thanks! The double skank takes things up a notch for sure
Nice job Billy! I lived in Kingston for almost two years during COVID learning the J'can music history. Wowzuh. Big fan of Ska and Desomnd Dekker. Love the Melodians - Rivers of Babylon. Thanks for this!
Thanks so much and what an amazing experience that must have been! Desmond Dekker is a fav of mine as well.
Great presentation - thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
The way I tel the difference is that Ska makes me want to dance, Rocksteady makes me want to make love, and Reggae makes me want to smoke down.
Now that's a keen observation
could you stop associating reggae with smoking drugs its very disrespectful to native Jamaicans. Reggae has nothing to do with smoking, its originally love music. then roots reggae became popular which is associated with marijuana due to those artists lifestyle and religious practices.
Thanks!
You're welcome!
Oh my gee... At last someone has explained it !! Thx dude
Wow! Thanks for that- just tried to listen to Marley…..you saved the day!
So glad to hear that it adds some clarity to the Marley interview!
Well done Sir 👍🏿
Why thank you!
This was awesome thank you, great 3 minute explanation, I love all 3 styles!
Thank you so much for helping and explaining. Really appreciated. :)
Glad you find it helpful, Zagaraga, and have fun playing!
Thanks for the info and demo! Great video
Many thanks - glad it's helpful!
Thanks
Great explanation! Thanks for the side-by-side comparison
Glad it was helpful!
Well done sir
thanx for making it clear and you play great!
Thanks! Glad to hear that it's helpful.
That's helpful thanks.
Glad it was useful! Thanks for watching.
Best explanation ever!!
Best explanation ever you are awesome for this
So glad it's helpful!
So bascially ska single stroke fast beats, rocksteady is just a slowed down version and raggae you just add a 2nd strum got it
Reggae doesn’t necessarily need second strum, single is just as good
@@flynncremin6347 The seeming "double" effect comes originally from a delay pedal. Musicians played one stroke, but the pedal made it sound like two.
@@flynncremin6347 Yes, reggae can have a single or double-skank, but ska and rocksteady always have a single-skank. According to the great Jamaican music producer Bunny Lee, early reggae (late 1960s) was basically rocksteady with an organ shuffle added, and the other instruments "fell in behind that".
That was 🔥
Thanks a lot for this video!! All clear for me now!
Glad to hear that it was helpful for you!
Great vid. THX!
Thank you. 🎉
You’re welcome!
good vid.I love them all.can,t choose
Thanks! No need to choose. It’s a 3 for 1 deal
This was an awesome break down. Thank you bro 👍
Thank YOU and have fun rocking the ska, rocksteady, and reggae!
Thank you so much for such a clear explanation and example playing.
Thanks for tuning in and glad to hear it's helpful!
very clear thank you
You are welcome! Glad it helped.
Thanks for information!
Hope it was helpful! Have fun jamming.
just found your videos andtheyre helpful at my level thank you!
Happy to hear it, Gregory! Keep skankin'
I was wondering if I could use your video in a speech that I am giving for a class. My main topic is Bob Marley, but your video does an amazing job to differentiate the three genres he mainly used. Of course, I will be using citations and credentials, but wanted to see if it was ok with you. Thank you!
Hey Christina! Please feel free to use this video in your speech. I'd be honored! Share the knowledge and good luck - let me know how it goes!
Awesome, thank you! If it's ok, I'm going to try to trim it down to only show the three genre examples as we're not allowed to use anything longer than 30 seconds. But as I mentioned, I will give you complete credit and a link for the entire video for my classmates. Thank you again!
That's certainly fine to trim. Use whatever section you need. Thanks for checking and have fun with it!
Many thanks - awesome!!!!
Thanks! Glad it’s helpful!
Very clearly and nicely explained. Well done. Of course, predating ska was calypso.
On the contrary pedating Ska was "Mento"
@@RicardoSuaveJamaica
www.jamaica-land-we-love.com/jamaican-mento-music.html
@@RicardoSuaveJamaica
Are you saying that mento came after calypso? I don't think so. Mento was clearly around in 40s. Calypso with renowned as Caribbean music from the 50s and on into the 60s. Certainly, in Britain, the Notting hill was famed in the early days in particular for calypso music.
@@RicardoSuaveJamaica
1962. Jamaican independence. Calypso.
ruclips.net/video/fjp5SVxIDjU/видео.html
Here: calypso. Clearly post 1962 in this case.
ruclips.net/video/fjp5SVxIDjU/видео.html
This was when calypso was just being supseeded by ska. Mento was from a bygone era even then.
There's also a "triple-strum" in the rocksteady subgenre. It was popular in the earlier stages of rocksteady when it first transitioned from ska. Check out the song "Lips of Wine" by Dennis Brown. A lot of modern ska and rocksteady artists like The Aggrolites and The Upsessions use it a lot because it's specific to that time period of the development of the rocksteady subgenre.
Right, but that's not rocksteady, it's reggae. The first reggae, 1968 was a certain way, then that one came as the second reggae, 1969. Rocksteady was over by fall of '68. The triple stroke relates to mento playing. It disappears after 1970.
@@hultonclint 👍. Are your vlogs about the transition from Ska, Rocksteady, Early Reggae, etc still on RUclips? Watched it years ago. They were on point!
Never knew I wanted to know this. Excellent video, they don’t make ‘em like they used to! Lol
Glad you stumbled upon it and enjoyed!
nicely done
Thanks! Have fun playing
I also have heard that on reggae, the guitar will follow the bassline between chord hits
Thank you. Very clear.
I love it
Thanks man! That was enlightening!!!
awesome
INTERESTING
Capoooo
Nice tone
now I want a song that starts out with a ska sound and transitions to rocksteady then back to ska and back to rocksteady before bleeding into reggae. Or a song that uses the speed of Ska to create guitar riffs, the opening could be more rocksteady still with the chorus being reggae. If I could sing and play the guitar I would be combining so many different styles. What I came up with might already be a thing and if it is there should be more of it.
You're so right. I've done songs that go between ska and reggae but have never mixed all three in one song. I'll be sure to post when I do! I'm sure it's been done - I know some of those 90's bands like Sublime and Mighty Mighty Bosstones would mix styles within one song but off the top of my head, don't recall one that does all three of these. Good call on this.
Thankyou! So much helpful! 🙏🏻
Hey Billy! very good video, is very interesting, beautiful music.
Thanks so much, Robert!
Great explanation 👍🏽
thanks, a lot easier for me to compare it now
Glad you found it helpful!
You all should check out the man who started the Rocksteady, LYNN TAITT, follow him & learn to play Rocksteady on guitar.
Lynn is the best I've heard !
Great
Sweet very helpful !
Great man👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Thanks, Gilmar!
Cool. Nice video. Thaaaaaanks for sjaring and creating such a nice video. Will try that out :)
Makes sense
Glad you're into Jamaican popular music, nothing better. But you need to watch some Jamaican ska/rocksteady live. The guitarists, even in ska, play the 'ska' on the downstroke, NOT the upstroke. This is true of rocksteady and reggae as well. Look at some old Skatalites live vids with Jah Jerry playing with his thumb, or even the more recent ones with Frenchy playing with a pick.
Literally just saw a video from the 60s and this guy was playing upstrokes. In the same video in a different song earlier, Jah Jerry was also playing downstrokes
How races are started in Jamaica?
Reggae, Rocksteady? SKAAAA!!!
I know you are applying the "double skank" on the reggae rhythm.the way you are doing so is your 2 and 4 is on the up strum. I think playing the 2 and 4 however on the down strum has a stronger and more powerful feel. More authoritative.
Could you please make a video showing how you do the double skank strumming in this video? I can do reggae strumming, but the timing you have on here is so good.
Thanks! That's a great idea for a video. The rhythm and timing really is the trick with this so I'll put something together.
I made a video on the double skank strumming. Did my best to explain how I approach it so hopefully it's helpful. Here's the vid: ruclips.net/video/h3-q8v3xbxU/видео.html
Thank you so much man!! Will be practicing that a lot!!
Never realised they were so similar until I watched a video of a ska version of an ozzy osbourne's song! lol
I'll have to check out that ska version of an ozzy song!
Ska started in 1959. Before reggae
Billy that was brilliant,fk these mate on here you always get 1 who criticises,that was great mate
Haha thanks! Glad you found some value in it
Aight.
Thursday ngt - September 9, 2021.
Excelente!!
Thank you so much, I watched 1000 videos finaly I fond your video and I understand différence, please could you tell me différence between Ragga and Dancehall ?
Lima Peru
How the average American identifies them:
Ska = The 2000s theme to America's Funniest Home Videos
Reggae = Ska, but with a Caribbean accent
Rocksteady = A character from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 🤣
Haha pretty much 😆
I wish I could hear this video.
Good
very cool and informative. I am a huge fan of 2 tone, and all forms reggae, ska, especially ska punk bands like Rancid and Operation Ivy. I'm the front man of a punk band and have been doing it for 10+ years but i always have trouble with keeping timing and getting that sound exactly right. I think i get to excited or something lol. Do you have any videos to help with that?
Glad to hear it’s helpful! I don’t have any videos on timing but that’s a good video idea, thanks. In the meantime, try to cover some Rancid with your band - it might help playing along to a drummer to keep you in time. After playing along with a rhythm section for a bit, you should start to lock in a feel for the timing.
The original ska used horns, not guitar to play that particular part. It wasnt until Rock Steady that they stopped using horns in that role and replaced it with the guitar instead (and also started using the electric bass). And of course, slowed down the rhythm down. With the 2nd wave of ska, the guitar was used instead of the original horns.(The era of bands like the Specials).
Easy skanking 😎
Skankin it slow 🤙
thanks man it helped me!
I am also wondering if there may be some similarities between rocksteady and manouche gipsy music..
Glad it helped! I'm not too familiar with manouche gypsy music but I gave it a listen and there does seem to be similarities with the guitar strokes. If you can play rocksteady, it shouldn't be a stretch to play manouche.
To be a stickler, authentic Jamaican ska is meant to be played only with downbeats. Super difficult to do but gets a certain sound.
Stickle away - I can see what you mean.
The guitarist for the Skatalites plays the downstroke, no matter how fast and frenetic the beat gets. Seen some of the old time guys who played mento into ska do the upstroke though.
Very true. I think it all depends on the sound you want. The upstrokes tend to give a thinner sound because you end up mainly hitting the higher strings (high e, b, g, d). With the down stroke, however, you tend to hit on the full chord with Low E and A strings included, which can give a fuller, chunkier sound.
Yes, but also the downstroke finishes with the treble strings, which gives you that crisp "iron-sharpens-iron" sound, which you can't get from an upstroke that plays the bass strings last. Plus the Jamaican rhythm (riddim?) players all seem to play the downstroke, and keep their picking wrists moving in time with the music so they can play upstroke accents and flourishes with the same swing, something else that's not really able to be done when playing the rhythm on the upstroke. Check the playing of Eric "Bingi Bunny" Lamont, the rhythm guitarist for the Roots Radics (backing band for Israel Vibration and others), for an illustration of this.
I hear what you're saying and with that said, I think at this point, it's just a matter of preference. When I first learned how to play ska, I used to play it as an upstrokes on the 2 and 4 count. I started playing downstrokes and yes, there is a difference with the sound and with what you can do in between each when you realize physically what both schools of thought can offer.
Biya ala 🙏
Pretty accurate reggae has one drop in the main
Great Video! I just made a comprehensive video on producing reggae! it's nice to see education over Jamaican music it's growing!
Next time bass lines is much better for the perception
reggae makes you think of the tropics, ska makes you think about skating, and rocksteady makes you think of anything else
Thomas Todd ska and rocksteady make me think of 70s and 80s britain weirdly enough.
Subscribed! 🤙
I appreciate it!
Wow. So easy to understand! Thank you, and you're right: I had just listened to the Marley explanation and came away without an understanding--one, because of his thick accent and, two, because he just doesn't explain things the way a Midwest-like White man does! Lol.
Haha well I'm glad I helped to clarify things.
hey thanx for clearin it up man! :D
calypso and ragga examples...? maybe?
Good idea! I'll see if I can put something together.
Reggae is on the down stroke
What a crazy dude
Nice
🔥🙏🏽