Bob Marley & the History of Reggae

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MY RESEARCH ON REGGAE MUSIC AND BOB MARLEY student’s name: Abigail williams REGGAE MUSIC Reggae music began on the island of Jamaica in the late 1960s. Reggae derived from other genres such as jazz, ska and eventually rock steady. Successful reggae musicians, such as Bob Marley, helped the genre spread around the world and influenced other genres. Prior to reggae music becoming an international phenomenon from Jamaica, the genre started with jazz. While jazz music began to spread around the world via radio broadcasts in the 1940s, Jamaica picked up on the style and watched its own bands emerge. By the 1950s, Jamaica began a music label titled West Indian Record Limited (WIRL), which released recordings of local bands on the island. In the 1960s, Jamaican musicians grabbed their own identity in the music industry when they created an original genre known as ska. The people of Jamaica loved ska music because of its fast, catchy riffs and the fact that the lyrics fit the mood of current events in the country. At the time, Jamaica was receiving independence. Another genre derived from ska became known as rock steady music. This was a slowed down version of ska which did not require so much energy on the dance floor. According to Reggae.com, reggae derived from Jamaican musicians who mixed the calypso, rhythm and blues and ska they heard on American and Caribbean records and radio. The basic core of reggae is the tightly-synchronized bass and drum rhythms with staccato guitar strums with a "one drop" feel. The musicians avoid playing on beat one and instead emphasize beat three in a normal bar of 4/4 timing. A typical reggae song has a slow to medium tempo. Even dance songs tend to be driven by repetition of rhythms and thick bass lines instead of a fast drum beat like most rock and pop music. Reggae has its roots in the poor ghettos of Jamaica.

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