Reggae
A Jamaican style in which the off-beats carry the rhythm, with guitar playing short upstroke chords and little else.
Reggae inverts the usual emphasis: the bass and drums carry the weight of the groove while the guitar skanks on the second and fourth beats, chopping short chords on the upbeats and leaving the downbeats empty. The guitar is a rhythm instrument and is almost never the lead voice, so taste consists of playing very little in exactly the right place. Because the parts sit between the beats, a player who strums on the beat will make the whole band sound wrong.
Example: A song whose guitar plays short muted chord stabs on the off-beats while the bass carries the melody is reggae.
See also
Related
- PageSkank
- PageChuck
- PageSyncopation
- PageAmericana
- PageBebop
- PageBluegrass
- PageAaron Dessner
- PageAce Frehley