Reggae music has an overwhelming emphasis on rhythm over melody and harmony, which is particularly evident in dub music – instrumental versions with reduced vocal content that focus more on beat than melody or harmony. This feature of reggae stands out even more.
Toots and the Maytals, Bunny Wailer, Peter Tosh, and Bob Marley’s riddims helped establish reggae as an international music phenomenon, serving as the basis for songs that addressed issues related to urban poverty and political injustice.
Rhythm
Reggae music is distinguished by its rhythm. Drums such as the snare and bass drum are particularly prominent while other instruments such as guitar, piano or keyboard add melodic backgrounds. Over time, rocksteady’s faster beat gave way to slower tempos featuring heavier bass lines resulting in “riddim.” Dancehall singers use riddim patterns as building blocks when writing their song structures.
Roots reggae’s lyrics often address issues of social critique and religion; however, many other songs feature more personal themes such as love or socializing. Reggae music can serve as both meditation and praise to Jah, the God of Rastafarian belief; some artists even advocate using cannabis (also referred to as herb, weed or sinsemilla), which is considered sacred by Rastafaris.
Reggae music first rose to international attention thanks to Jamaican singer Bob Marley, who first exposed it internationally during his world tours of the early 70s. Additionally, movies like The Harder They Come helped popularize this genre while showing Jamaican black culture.
As reggae evolved into the more political forms of ska and rocksteady, its lyrics increasingly focused on social justice issues such as black nationalism, anti-racism, materialism rejection and criticism of capitalism economic system. Rastafari movement’s “back to Africa” message and comparison between colonialism and Babylon can also be found within roots reggae music.
Dub, pioneered by studio producers Lee “Scratch” Perry and King Tubby, further expanded the sound of reggae music. This technique involved extensive remixing of recorded material to place more emphasis on bass lines while downplaying lead instruments; according to Tubby it resembled “a volcano in your head.” Dub would later become part of other Jamaican inspired genres such as two-tone music which fused ska with punk; it even began making inroads into hardcore punk genres, creating its own subgenre known as reggaecore!
Melody
Reggae music has long been known for its socially critical lyrics. Reggae music often addresses political and economic injustice, advocating nonviolence and returning to traditional African values. Reggae also promotes cannabis (also known as ganja or sinsemilla) which is sacred among Rastafaris movement members; some artists may discuss more personal matters such as love or socializing instead. Early reggae bands frequently covered Motown and Atlantic soul/funk songs.
Dub music’s introduction in the late 1960s marked a shift away from vocal arrangements toward instrumental arrangements. Led by producers like Lee “Scratch” Perry and King Tubby, dub featured previously recorded songs with prominent bass parts; lead instruments would weave in and out of the mix over time, sometimes processed through heavy studio effects.
Toots and the Maytals, The Wailers and Desmond Dekker became among the most influential Jamaican bands to take advantage of reggae’s new sound, leading to rocksteady: an alternative style which put more emphasis on drums, horn section and less emphasis on rhythm guitar (replacing its traditional skanking pattern with more precise strumming).
Rocksteady music from Jamaica gained international attention due to singers like Bob Marley. Additionally, reggae hit charts in America such as Three Dog Night’s and Johnny Nash’s on Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1972.
Harmony
Reggae music is defined by its use of harmony, with vocalists often singing harmony together in unison. Harmonic structures often consist of simple chord progressions that create an immersive meditative experience within songs lyrically focused around spiritual themes; singers use their voices to evoke this sensation further while rhythm guitarists provide repetitive grooves which propel forward songs lyrically content-wise.
Reggae music features the combination of drums and the bodhran (a long-handled rubbed board). Bass guitar also plays an essential part in this genre, adding depth and rhythm. Reggae has become immensely popular worldwide; particularly within Europe and North America; however African musicians have also taken an interest in it as demonstrated by Black Harmony becoming famous for their reggae style of music in Uganda; Arthur Lutta of Uganda has another musical style which blends reggae with traditional African instruments to produce unique sounds unique among his genre peers.
In the late 1960s, several factors led to the transition of rocksteady into reggae music. These included key Jamaican arrangers Jackie Mittoo and Lynn Taitt’s migration to Canada for work there; introduction of electronic equipment into studio recordings; and an increasing influence of US musical styles on reggae music styles. Drum patterns gradually became refined into distinctively reggae beats while horns faded away, rhythm guitar became more prominent, bass patterns became even more distinct, and bass patterns developed into one of its definitive characteristics.
In the 1970s, a new generation of Jamaican artists emerged who combined traditional Jamaican style with other genres such as dancehall and soca music to form the so-called ragga movement, popularised by Sean Paul and Shabba Ranks as members. Lyrical themes explored such as social criticism and Rastafarian beliefs such as Jah, which stands for one living God; poverty; black pride; and challenging established societal values are common threads through these lyrics.
Bass
Reggae music features a distinctive bass line that both drives the rhythm and adds musical interest, drawing from both rocksteady and ska rhythms for inspiration. Guitar skanks on second and fourth beats of each bar are hallmarks of reggae’s distinctive beat, while repeated quarter note and eighth note rhythms called double chop are part of its signature beat – two innovations which separate reggae from other Jamaican styles such as mento (a celebratory folk form that served its rural audience as dance music), calypso and ska.
By the late 1960s, several factors, such as key musical arrangers’ migration to Canada and an upgrade in Jamaican studio technology had contributed to a transformation from ska into reggae. The sound became more pronounced and rhythmic while piano gave way to electric organs; horns began receding into the background while an exact drumming style took the place of loose African-style hand drumming of rocksteady.
Reggae singers were famed for their spiritual and social lyrics. Artists such as Toots and the Maytals, Bunny Wailer and Bob Marley helped establish reggae’s international appeal; moreover, 1972 film The Harder They Come further broadened it further.
Roots reggae, epitomized by The Wailers and Marley’s music, emphasizes Rastafarian beliefs and practices such as returning to Africa, alleviating poverty, rejecting colonialism and capitalism and black pride; other common themes include resistance to economic and racial oppression as well as political criticism, while some roots reggae also addresses personal matters such as sexuality or love. Dub emerged during the 1980s as a deejay-led style which differed significantly from traditional Jamaican conceptions of popular music.
Vocals
Reggae vocals hold great spiritual and political meaning for many artists who use this medium of music to convey political and religious messages such as worshipping Jah (God), condemnation of oppressive social systems and praise of Jah. Reggae has become a preferred way of raising awareness on sociopolitical issues such as racism, poverty and child abuse – some Jamaican musicians such as Toots and the Maytals, Dennis Brown Gregory Isaacs and Black Uhuru have even achieved international renown due to this medium of expression.
Reggae originated from ska and rocksteady music in Jamaica during the late 1960s with Jackie Mittoo and Lynn Taitt’s migration to Canada from Jamaica as key Jamaican musical arrangers, along with upgrades in studio technology. Bass patterns became more complex while piano gave way to electric organs. Furthermore, rhythm guitar also took on influences from Funk and R&B genres while horns became less central within arrangements resulting in what we now recognize as reggae’s signature rhythmic and harmonic signature.
From the 1970s on, various subgenres and fusions emerged, each adding unique musical qualities. Examples include lovers rock reggae – which featured slow ballads with romantic ballads; skastep, which combined fast tempo ska with heavy bass line reggae; and raggae, which was more melodic than either of its counterparts and included African rhythms into its soundscapes.
Reggae music has gained worldwide attention over time, evolving with local instruments and dance forms as it spread across continents. Reggae’s global appeal inspired dub music – an instrumental form that emphasizes bass drum beats with sparse vocals – while it has also been adopted by performers from many nations to highlight their cultural identities by using language- and culture-specific lyrics in performances of reggae music.