Reggae Drum Sound
September 3, 2010The Reggae sound was finally accepted in the US by the 1970′s, much thanks to Lee Scratch Perry and other pioneering producers. By the end of the sixties rock and pop bands like the Beatles borrowed the reggae drum sound. Reggae has a hypnotic groove usually in 4/4, but the time signature is commonly debated by the experts.
The Wailers’ drummer, Carlton Barrett, is often mentioned as the creator of the One-Drop rhythm. One-Drop is played on a standard drum set and has an emphasis on the 3rd beat and an empty 1st beat, with the emphasized 3rd beat often played with both snare drum and bass drum simultaneously. Carlton Barrett became famous for his hi hat counter-rhythm with a triplet feel, a sound used in many of the Wailer’s songs.
Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare (or Drumbar and Basspear as they were often called) invented the Rockers Beat. In Rockers, the first beat is emphasized with a bass drum hit, but also the third beat similar to One Drop. Drummer Sly Dunbar played a typical example of Rockers in the song Right Time by the Mighty Diamonds. Last but not least is the Steppers beat, which has a bass drum driving all four beats. Steppers is commonly referred to as Four-on-the-Floor.
In modern popular music, beat two and four are usually the dominant ones, but when playing reggae you should keep the third beat accented. To get the right sound, play both a bass drum and snare on three. Although often simplistic in nature, don’t have to play simple beats. As long as you focus on beat three, you’re OK in all reggae drumming styles.
Dub is a sound pioneered by Lee Scratch Perry and King Tubby and relies heavily on studio mixing that brings out the drum and bass lines. Though the actual beat may not differ from the main three types the remixing techniques used and the reggae beat produced have earned the Dub sound its own subgenre and which through the miracle of modern software can be reproduced in a home studio at least in part.
Though a regular drum set can easily be used, the snare needs to have a higher pitch to get a reggae sound. Using a second snare or a timbale can add variety to the drum beats. In addition, side sticks and rim shots are used freely in the reggae drumbeat. You can and should even add a larger variety of percussive instruments sounds such as the conga, the claves, shakers or cowbells to add interest and a counter rhythm. Whether you have an acoustic drum kit or are using computer software and a keyboard to synthesize the reggae beat the most important parts are the beat 3 and to vary it, have fun it is not a simple pattern with no variations but instead its own driving beat that is fascinating and complex.
Interested in reggae drumming? Check out OddGrooves’ new MIDI library Reggae Drum Loops
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