What is 
Reggae 
 

Seaweed Group 
​1st March, 2021 

   

 
 

Introduction 
1. What is reggae? 
2. What makes reggae special? 
3. Reggae instruments 
4. The Greatest reggae artist of all time 
5. The Journey of Reggae 

Members 
1. 621010049  ณัฐพงศ ์ จันทร์นาค 
2. 621010053  ธิติสรร ภูคงนิ น 
3. 621010059  วรรธนะ ธราวัฒนธรรม 
4. 621010115  คเณศพงศ ์ ปทุมชาติ 
5. 621010116  ณพัฒนพงศ ์ เทียมพันธ ์
6. 621010140  พัตรระพี มีขวด 

   

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What is 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 was strongly influenced by traditional mento as well as 
American jazz and rhythm and blues, especially the New Orleans R&B practiced by Fats 
Domino and Allen Toussaint, and evolved out of the earlier genres ska and rocksteady.  

Reggae usually relates news, social gossip, and political commentary. It is instantly 
recognizable from the counterpoint between the bass and drum downbeat and the offbeat 
rhythm section. The immediate origins of reggae were in ska and rocksteady; from the latter, 
reggae took over the use of the bass as a percussion instrument. 

   

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Reggae is deeply linked to Rastafari, an Afrocentric religion which developed in 

Jamaica in the 1930s, aiming at promoting Pan Africanism. Soon after the Rastafarian 
movement appeared, the international popularity of reggae music became associated with and 
increased the visibility of Rastafarianism spreading the Rastafari gospel throughout the world. 
Reggae music is an important means of transporting vital messages of Rastafarianism. The 
musician becomes the messenger, and as Rastafarians see it, "the soldier and the musician are 
tools for change." 
 

Stylistically, reggae incorporates some of the musical elements of rhythm and blues, 
jazz, mento (a celebratory, rural folk form that served its largely rural audience as dance music 
and an alternative to the hymns and adapted chanteys of local church singing), calypso (The 
New Grove Dictionary of Jazz.) and also draws influence from traditional African folk rhythms. 
One of the most easily recognizable elements is offbeat rhythms or staccato chords played by a 
guitar or piano (or both) on the offbeats of the measure.  

The tempo of reggae is usually slower paced than both ska and rocksteady. The 
concept of call and response can be found throughout reggae music. The genre of reggae 
music is led by the drum and bass. Some key players in this sound are Jackie Jackson from 
Toots and the Maytals, Carlton Barrett from Bob Marley and the Wailers, Lloyd Brevett from The 
Skatalites, Paul Douglas from Toots and the Maytals, Lloyd Knibb from The Skatalites, Winston 
Grennan, Sly Dunbar, and Anthony "Benbow" Creary from The Upsetters. The bass guitar often 
plays the dominant role in reggae. The bass sound in reggae is thick and heavy, and equalized 
so the upper frequencies are removed and the lower frequencies emphasized. The guitar in 
reggae usually plays on the offbeat of the rhythm. It is common for reggae to be sung in 
Jamaican Patois, Jamaican English, and Iyaric dialects. Reggae is noted for its tradition of social 
criticism and religion in its lyrics, although many reggae songs discuss lighter, more personal 
subjects, such as love and socializing.   

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Reggae has spread to many countries across the world, often incorporating local 
instruments and fusing with other genres. Reggae en Español spread from the 
Spanish-speaking Central American country of Panama to the mainland South American 
countries of Venezuela and Guyana then to the rest of South America. Caribbean music in the 
United Kingdom, including reggae, has been popular since the late 1960s, and has evolved into 
several subgenres and fusions. Many reggae artists began their careers in the UK, and there 
have been a number of European artists and bands drawing their inspiration directly from 
Jamaica and the Caribbean community in Europe. Reggae in Africa was boosted by the visit of 
Bob Marley to Zimbabwe in 1980. In Jamaica, authentic reggae is one of the biggest sources of 
income.   

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What makes reggae special? 

Stylistically, reggae incorporates some of the musical elements of rhythm and blues 
(R&B), jazz, mento, calypso, African, and Latin American music, as well as other genres. Reggae 
scenes consist of two guitars, one for rhythm and one for lead—drums, congas, and keyboards, 
with a couple of vocalists. 

Reggae is played in ​4/4​ time because the symmetrical rhythmic pattern does not lend 
itself to other time signatures such as ​3/4​.  

This rhythmic pattern accents the second and fourth beats in each bar and combines 
with the drum's emphasis on beat three to create a unique sense of phrasing. The reggae 
offbeat can be counted so that it falls between each count as an "and" (example: 1 and 2 and 3 
and 4 and, etc.) or counted as a half-time feel at twice the tempo so it falls on beats 2 and 4. 
This is in contrast to the way most other popular genres focus on beat one, the "downbeat". 
The tempo of reggae is usually slower than both ska and rocksteady. It is this slower tempo, the 
guitar/piano offbeats, the emphasis on the third beat, and the use of syncopated, melodic bass 
lines that differentiate reggae from other music, although other musical styles have 
incorporated some of these innovations. 

Harmonically the music is essentially the same as any other modern popular genre with 
a tendency to make use of simple chord progressions. Reggae sometimes uses the dominant 
chord in its minor form therefore never allowing a perfect cadence to be sounded; this lack of 
resolution between the tonic and the dominant imparts a sense of movement "without rest" and 
harmonic ambiguity. Extended chords like the major seventh chord ("Waiting in Vain" by Bob 
Marley) and minor seventh chord are used though suspended chords or diminished chords are 
rare. Minor keys are commonly used especially with the minor chord forms of the subdominant 
and dominant chord (for example in the key of G minor the progression may be played Gm – 
Dm – Gm – Dm – Cm – Dm – Cm – Dm).  

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A simple progression borrowed from rhythm and blues and soul music is the tonic chord 
followed by the minor supertonic chord with the two chords repeated continuously to form a 
complete verse ("Just My Imagination" by The Temptations C – Dm7). 

The concept of "call and response" can be found throughout reggae music, in the 
vocals but also in the way parts are composed and arranged for each instrument. The emphasis 
on the "third beat" of the bar also results in a different sense of musical phrasing, with bass 
lines and melody lines often emphasizing what might be considered "pick up notes" in other 
genres. 

3 colors that referred to Reggae is Green, Yellow and Red   

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Reggae instruments 

Drums and other percussion 

A standard drum kit is generally used in reggae, but the snare drum is often tuned very 
high to give it a timbales-type sound. Some reggae drummers use an additional timbale or 
high-tuned snare to get this sound. Cross-stick technique on the snare drum is commonly used, 
and tom-tom drums are often incorporated into the drumbeat itself. 

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Reggae drum beats fall into three main categories One drop, Rockers, and Steppers. 
With the One drop, the emphasis is entirely on the backbeat (usually on the snare, or as a rim 
shot combined with bass drum). Beat one is empty except for a closed high hat commonly 
used, which is unusual in popular music. There is some controversy about whether reggae 
should be counted so that this beat falls on two and four, or whether it should be counted twice 
as fast, so it falls on three. An example played by Barrett can be heard in the Bob Marley and 
the Wailers song "One Drop". Barrett often used an unusual triplet cross-rhythm on the hi-hat, 
which can be heard on many recordings by Bob Marley and the Wailers, such as "Running 
Away'' on the Kaya album. 

​ One drop Drum beats 

Any percussive instrument can be used in reggae music. There are really no limits as to 
how they can be used. Reggae musicians have used shakers, wind chimes, guiro, cowbell, 
quika (kweeka) drum among others to produce excellent music. Note that some of the 
percussive instruments used by reggae musicians were their own invention. Some have been 
known to use cups and pot heads. In fact Lee Perry used bottles with water in them to create 
varying sounds. 

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Reggae Bass 

Reggae  bass  sound  is  traditionally  very  deep  and  natural  -  no  bells  and  whistles. 
Reggae  always  uses a bass guitar. The bass guitar often plays the dominant role in reggae, and 
the  drum  and  bass  is  often  the  most  important  part  of  what  is  called,  in  Jamaican  music,  a 
riddim  (rhythm),  a  (usually  simple)  piece  of  music  that  is  used  repeatedly  by  different  artists  to 
write  and  record  songs  with.  Hundreds  of  reggae  singers  have  released  different  songs 
recorded  over  the  same  rhythm.  The  central  role  of  the  bass  can  be  particularly  heard  in  dub 
music  –  which  gives  an  even  bigger  role  to  the  drum  and  bass  line,  reducing  the  vocals  and 
other instruments to peripheral roles. 
 

In  this  typical  reggae  bass  line,  the 

roots  of  the  chords  are  emphasized,  with 
musical  interest  created  by  going  from 
the  root  down  to  the  fifth  of  the  chord.  A 
dotted  quarter  note  and  eighth  note 
rhythm  is  used  repeatedly.  The  bass 
sound  in  reggae  is  thick  and  heavy,  and 
equalized  so  the  upper  frequencies  are 
removed  and  the  lower  frequencies 
emphasized.  The  bass  line  is  often  a 
repeated  two  or  four  bar  riff  when simple 
chord  progressions  are  used.  The 
simplest  example  of  this might be Robbie 
Shakespeare's  bass  line  for  the  Black 
Uhuru  hit  "Shine  Eye  Gal".  In  the  case  of 
more  complex  harmonic  structures,  such 
as  John  Holt's  version  of  "Stranger  in 
Love",  these  simpler  patterns  are  altered 
to  follow  the  chord  progression  either  by 
directly  moving  the  pattern  around  or  by 
changing some of the interior notes in the 

phrase to better support the chords.  

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Reggae Guitar 

The  guitar  in  reggae  usually  plays  on  the  off  beat of the rhythm. So if one is counting in 
4/4  time  and  counting  "1  and  2  and  3  and  4  and  ..."  one  would  play a downstroke on the "and" 
part  of the beat. A musical figure known as skank or the 'bang" has a very dampened, short and 
scratchy  chop  sound,  almost  like  a  percussion  instrument.  Sometimes  a  double  chop  is  used 
when  the  guitar  still  plays  the  off  beats,  but  also  plays  the  following  eighth-note  beats  on  the 
up-stroke.  An  example  is  the  intro  to  "Stir  It  Up"  by  The  Wailers.  Artist  and  producer  Derrick 
Harriott  says,  "What  happened  was  the  musical  thing  was  really  widespread, but only among a 
certain  sort  of  people.  It  was  always  a  down-town  thing,  but  more  than  just  hearing  the music. 
The equipment was so powerful and the vibe so strong that we felt it."  
 

Keyboards 

From  the  earliest  days  of  Ska  recordings,  a  piano  was  used  to  double  the  rhythm 
guitar's  skank,  playing  the  chords  in  a  staccato  style  to add body, and playing occasional extra 
beats,  runs  and  riffs.  The  piano  part  was  widely  taken  over  by  synthesizers  during  the  1980s, 
although  synthesizers  have  been  used  in  a  peripheral  role  since  the  1970s  to  play  incidental 
melodies  and  countermelodies.  Larger  bands  may  include  either  an  additional  keyboardist,  to 
cover  or  replace  horn  and  melody  lines,  or  the  main  keyboardist  filling  these  roles  on  two  or 
more keyboards.  
 

Horns 

Horn sections are frequently used in reggae, often playing introductions and 
countermelodies. Instruments included in a typical reggae horn section include saxophone, 
trumpet or trombone. In more recent times, real horns are sometimes replaced in reggae by 
synthesizers or recorded samples. The horn section is often arranged around the first horn, 
playing a simple melody or counter melody. The first horn is usually accompanied by the 
second horn playing the same melodic phrase in unison, one octave higher. The third horn 
usually plays the melody an octave and a fifth higher than the first horn. The horns are 
generally played fairly softly, usually resulting in a soothing sound. However, sometimes 
punchier, louder phrases are played for a more up-tempo and aggressive sound. 

   

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The Greatest reggae artist of all time 

Bob Marley 

Robert Nesta Marley was born on 6 February 1945 at the farm of his maternal 
grandfather in Nine Mile, Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica, to Norval Sinclair Marley and Cedella 
Malcolm.[14] Norval Marley was a white Jamaican from Clarendon Parish, Jamaica, whose family 
claimed to have Syrian Jewish origins. Norval claimed to have been a captain in the Royal 
Marines at the time of his marriage to Cedella Malcolm, an Afro-Jamaican then 18 years old, he 
was employed as a plantation overseer. Bob Marley's full name is Robert Nesta Marley, though 
some sources give his birth name as Nesta Robert Marley, with a story that when Marley was 
still a boy a Jamaican passport official reversed his first and middle names because Nesta 
sounded like a girl's name. Norval provided financial support for his wife and child but seldom 
saw them as he was often away. Bob Marley attended Stepney Primary and Junior High School 
which serves the catchment area of Saint Ann. In 1955, when Bob Marley was 10 years old, his 
father died of a heart attack at the age of 70. Marley's mother went on later to marry Edward 
Booker, a civil servant from the United States, giving Marley two half-brothers: Richard and 
Anthony. 

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Bob Marley and Neville Livingston (later known as Bunny Wailer) had been childhood 
friends in Nine Mile. They had started to play music together while at Stepney Primary and 
Junior High School. Marley left Nine Mile with his mother when he was 12 and moved to 
Trenchtown, Kingston. She and Thadeus Livingston (Bunny Wailer's father) had a daughter 
together whom they named Claudette Pearl, who was a younger sister to both Bob and Bunny. 
Now that Marley and Livingston were living together in the same house in Trenchtown, their 
musical explorations deepened to include the latest R&B from United States radio stations 
whose broadcasts reached Jamaica, and the new ska music.  

The move to Trenchtown was proving to be fortuitous, and Marley soon found himself in 
a vocal group with Bunny Wailer, Peter Tosh, Beverley Kelso and Junior Braithwaite. Joe Higgs, 
who was part of the successful vocal act Higgs and Wilson, resided on 3rd St., and his singing 
partner Roy Wilson had been raised by the grandmother of Junior Braithwaite. Higgs and 
Wilson would rehearse at the back of the houses between 2nd and 3rd Streets, and soon, 
Marley (now residing on 2nd St.), Junior Braithwaite and the others were congregating around 
this successful duo. Marley and the others did not play any instruments at this time, and were 
more interested in being a vocal harmony group. Higgs was glad to help them develop their 
vocal harmonies, although more importantly, he had started to teach Marley how to play 
guitar—thereby creating the bedrock that would later allow Marley to construct some of ​the 
biggest-selling reggae songs​ in the history of the genre. 

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The Journey of Reggae 

What is the meaning of the term ‘Reggae’? 

Reggae was derived from ‘rege-rege’ which is a Jamaican phrase which means ‘ragged 
clothing’ or ‘rags.’ It is used to describe a raggedy style of music. Bob Marley claimed that the 
word reggae came from a spanish term for ‘the king’s music.’ A compilation of Christian gospel 
reggae suggests that the word is derived from the latin word ‘regi’ meaning ‘to the king.’ 
 

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What is Reggae’s influence on other genres of music? 

The culture of Hip-Hop music originated in the late 70s in Bronx NY. The founding 
fathers being a native of Kingston, Jamaica always allowed them to give credit to the roots of 
Jamaica and its cultural development. The Reggae music tradition of dubbing out tracks led to 
the sampling in Hip-Hop music. Various elements of Reggae can be traced back to the 
techniques that came from Jamaica years later. During the year of 1960 Reggae music 
participated in the birth of the skinhead movement in the U.K even though it wasn’t as 
developed yet.  

Reggae also impacted western punk, rock/ pop cultures and inspired upcoming rappers 
in the United States. During the late 80s and 90s reggae and Hip-Hop finally crossed paths. 
This crossover style became very dominant on the East Coast of New York. The structure of 
Hip Hop is owed to the Reggae Jamaican culture. Producers would often take the lyrics of a 
very popular Reggae song and place them on a very popular Hip-Hop track. Reggae also 
impacted Western Punk, rock and pop culture. The influence of Ska and Reggae music is also 
most evident in the United Kingdom. Former members of the British Empire and Jamaicans 
immigrated to England in the 1960s and 1970s. This migration also helped with the impact that 
Reggae had on Ska. 

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How did Reggae music spread to other countries/regions? 

Reggae music spread rapidly through migration. Jamaican immigrants in the 50s and 
60s brought music with them when they migrated to countries like Britain and the U.K. 
Migration in the U.K in the early 1970s also helped with the skinhead movement evolving. 
During the 1970s Reggae music became an international style that was particularly popular in 
Britain, the United States and Africa. Migration played a huge role in Reggae music spreading 
to other countries but diffusion also played a huge role. Kingston Jamaica is the heart of 
Reggae culture but migration to the United States allowed Reggae to be known to the 
individuals there also.  

 
 

Expansion  diffusion  caused  Reggae 

music  from  fans  in  the  Caribbean  to Florida 
and  upwards  through  the  United  States. 
Relocation  and  Contagious  diffusion 
occurred  when  fans would follow artists like 
Bob  Marley  to  different  cities  and  the  fans 
would spread the music to others especially 
when  relocating.  Stimulus  diffusion 
happened  on  the  East  Coast  of  the  U.S, 
where  reggae  began  to  fose  into 
reggae-funk,  reggae-disco,  reggae-pop, 
and  reggae-rock.  During  the  1970s  Reggae 
became  an  international  style  that  was 
popular  in  Britain,  the  United  States  and 
Africa.  Random  fact:  Jamaica’s  civil  unrest 
especially  in  the  2010,  Tivoli  incursion 
temporarily  prevented  the  spread  of 
Reggae.  But  this  didn’t  stop  Reggae  from 
quickly  emerging  as the country’s dominant 
music. 

   

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Overall significance of Reggae impact on society 

Jamaica Carnival 2019 

Reggae  music  is  important  because  of  its  understanding  of  Jamaican  lifestyle  and  it’s 
unique  culture.  Reggae  is  a  way  to  properly  celebrate  the  country’s  nationalism.  Reggae 
influenced  societies  throughout  the  world.  It  contributes  to  the  development  of  new 
counterculture  movements  (in  Europe,  The  U.S,  Africa).  Reggae  influence  in  Latin  America, 
Brazil  with  the  development  of  Samba-Reggae  since  the  early  1980  is also a huge impact. Bob 
Marley's  success played a role in spreading fundamental elements of Jamaican culture. Reggae 
is  appreciated  for  its  ability  to  deliver  a  spiritual  yet  rebellious  message.  Reggae  is  significant 
because  it  remained  to  be  one  of  the  weapons  of  choice  for  the  urban  poor.  Bob  Marley 
impacted  Africa,  ‘Africa  unite,’  and  became  a  symbol  for  African  youth,  started  identifying  with 
Jamaicans and the rasta culture. 

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Reggae - Wikipedia 

The 7 best reggae artists of all-time | musicGuard 

Bob Marley - Wikipedia 

Reggae Instrument | Reggae Republic (wordpress.com) 

The Journey of Reggae (arcgis.com) 

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