Adrian Attempts: Reggae

[@abrigospardos]

If there is one thing that really distinguishes you from 99.9% of KZbin guitar teachers it is definitely your huge comfort zone: in terms of styles and genres you run the whole gamut, I mean from punk to jazz, you name it! So, why not reggae? As a frequent watcher of your tutorials, I can only say it's a welcome addition. As a result, I now might be willing to make an attempt myself. Thank you!!

[@andredecaires2]

Great job Adrian. I'm from the Caribbean, so I grew up with reggae music. You nailed it.

[@giannibrixton]

I've been playing rocksteady guitar for 13 years now and I think this is an excellent tutorial. Well researched!

[@teodelfuego]

When I saw him in the beginning of the video doing those up-strums, I got worried, then I remembered how much research and diligence Adrian puts into his videos. Excellent! Thank you!

[@tezfestival4009]

Me too - upstroke emphasis is Ska 😎

[@teodelfuego]

@@tezfestival4009 And Calypso

[@tezfestival4009]

@@teodelfuego I bow to your wisdom 😀👍

[@punkinmyvitamins1]

When that drum beat first kicked in, it made me think of Bauhaus’ Bella Lugosi Is Dead and remembered how much dub is a part of their sound.

[@chriswareham]

I seem to recall a comment by Kevin Haskins where he said that the beat he used in "Bela Lugosi's Dead" came about because his drum teacher had just taught him the bossa nova rhythm. Bauhaus obviously owed a huge debt to reggae and dub though!

[@SD_UK]

Has to be one of the very, very best guitar tutorial sites on YT. Informative and (here's the big difference) always totally relatable. Really enjoyed the reggae shared journey here. Thank you Adrian. Off to hone my Reggae chops .. / skanks

[@s.i.g.4861]

I saw Steel Pulse and Misty In Roots at various times in the early 80s and their guitarists did this and so much more. That tranche of British reggae bands (add in Matumbi and early Aswad) were a great night out. However, the one that blew me away completely was Steel Pulse's Basil Gabbidon, he slipped in genuine solos into their songs and during one song, and for the life of my I which I could remember what it was, during a gig in Leicester in 1983 he suddenly "went off on one" and started to what we might describe today as "shred". It was so unexpected but so affective for that and my goodness did his fingers move! I'd always loved Steel Pulse for their great melodies, harmonies, arrangements etc but they'd suddenly injected something else into the mix. It wouldn't work more than once in a show and to be honest it's not the sort of playing I'd go out of my way to listen to normally but for sheer unexpected, tear the roof down impact it was utterly memorable.

[@rapeter3382]

You never fail to amaze me by choosing my favourite styles of music. Also I dig you getting out of your comfort zone. This is great stuff. Thanks!

[@jayjay5640]

Concrete jungle has some of the best guitar work going on.Good stuff Adrian.

[@sirtogii5216]

It's only when you get outside your comfort zone you develop, simple as that. Great video and ideas to get the tone reasonably authentic.

[@johnpandolfino8663]

I had a close friend and colleague who was Jamaican....grew up in Jamaica and played in a reggae band growing up and when he moved to the States....he said to me one day can you play reggae and I said no I don't think I can.... I'm white and didn't grow up on an island.....he said to me you can....just approach your playing like your walking.....so that is how I learned to play reggae.....thanks Eric.... Spiduki....love you always.... Great lesson Adrian

[@tonyharley5230]

Exceptional video. I'm a tribute band (UB40) reggae guitarist and its the only genre I play. I look out for all such videos and you have done a great service here. I read the description as the video started and thought, I hope this isn't yet another upstroke demonstration as around 95% of reggae guitar videos advocate this but in my opinion this is wrong. I feel the upstoke method is a way of avoiding the offbeat time change and physically playing on beat. Another great mention was the use of phaser. Most mention was but phaser is the dominant effect in reggae and was heavily used by the guys I tribute in their early original material. As I said an Exceptional video right up there with a channel called Xyan Guitar. BTW there's a name for playing the muted bass notes. It's called playing the "stuck line". Thank you for posting this 👊

[@tonyharley5230]

Sorry, wah not was.

[@willgoodall6104]

Apart from the great content, this is a masterclass in how to deliver an on-line guitar lesson. Fabulous Adrian.

[@pabcrane]

Great video. I too was introduced to Reggae through The Clash - although they were four white blokes from England I think they were trying to be respectful. Good work.

[@matth3572]

Hi,you should make a special video about all your guitars only. I know, you speak about it sometimes, but all your guitars in one video should be great !

[@sweetnsourchick1761]

Adrian "Attempts" Reggae? I think not! YOU NAILED IT!!!!! Now it's time for a field trip to the island for advanced study. 🇯🇲 🌴 😉 👏

[@78tag]

Very thoughtful explanation. I bounce back and forth with this as my interest wanders (as usual). You have provided a pretty good template for my scattered playing. Thank you.

[@bobdenmore]

Agree with you on the soul influences in a lot of the earlier reggae in particular. You could see that in the cover versions chose, like ‘Walk and Don’t Look Back’

[@jefsut]

Love the "Adrian Attempts" concept ... just subscribed to Patreon coupe of days ago ... love it so far!

[@janwilson9485]

I love these Adrian Attempts videos - very motivating and interesting - Thanks😊

[@FilmFlam]

This series is is great. Thanks for setting a great example for the rest of us.

[@SuiGenerisMan]

I watch about a dozen youtube teachers, and that list was widdled down from over 20. Firstly, he has the best taste in music - king above all other teachers, they tend to be music nerds and love bands like YES and RUSH. I learn something new and useful, every single time I watch. I wasn't even looking for a reggae lesson, youtube autoplay just started playing it and 20 minutes later - my rhythm has improved 100%

[@nofseratu]

You are right, the videos for reggae out there are pretty bad....but now there is a good one on your channel!

[@stevenbrownlie2095]

Nice lesson Adrian. Very well played examples. Thank you for that. Love your eclectic taste in music because it often mirrors my own.

[@Mudplucker]

15:56 👍🏻 muted single notes on CYBL spot on, great tutorial as always Adrian

[@wemiems7800]

Amazing and simple! Thank you alot

[@jeanlikkewaan5605]

Perhaps an Adrian attempts Bass? I found myself enamoured with the 4 string and its more classical sensibilities ala McCartney and the wonderful world of Alex James recently. It is by no means, if done well, a fall back for failed guitarists. Cheers!

[@MrFab0117]

Just thanks for this awesome lesson ! 🙏😎

[@canopy-guitarsgear5615]

Love this video. In my own research on reggae guitar pretty much the only source til KZbins prominence were books and videos by Ray Hitchins which refers to what this video calls double skank as a ‘checka’ which mimics the sound it makes :-)

[@barrettisgold]

Lovely presentation Adrian. Appreciate the time and effort put into these videos. Thank you.

[@reidhowland]

You're a brave man, taking this on. The fact that I have sounded so fake attempting to play any of this music has kept me from investigating it further as a guitar player, but now, maybe...anyway, beautifully done. Cheers!

[@chriswareham]

Reggae has had such a massive influence on genres that outsiders to those genres would probably be quite surprised to learn about. My main musical loves are punk, new wave and the goth bands of the early to mid 1980s. Apart from the obvious punk bands like the Clash and Ruts, you can hear reggae influences in bands as disparate as Bauhaus, Spear Of Destiny, Killing Joke and even Joy Division/New Order. I can't speak for how it came to influence those bands, but when I was growing up the sound of reggae was all around - particularly from the pirate radio stations that my friends and I listened to as an alternative to the mostly bland fare of Radio 1. For me personally, the rhythms and tempos are just utterly hypnotic. Years later when I had started to play bass guitar in bands, I was lucky enough to rehearse in a North London studio that was run by a Rastafari guy who played bass. He gave me a crash course in reggae bass, and it struck me that it's all about playing *against* the beat - on the "ands" in a "one and two and three and four and", as well as the almost instinctive sixteenth note parts adding rhythmic variation.

[@muddymike10]

As usual Adrian, you have nailed "it" & present it in a logical manner...

[@Timjstewart]

Perfect mix of instruction and demonstration. Excellent job researching and describing this amazing style of music. You inspired me!

[@elevensbest]

I would hesitate to make this particular suggestion to a run-of-the-mill KZbinr, Adrian, but I would trust you to be spot on with a breakdown of anything off of the first two Television LPs. Fender tone heaven!

[@sangirardiecavicchi648]

Excellent, thanks

[@peterl0815]

You nailed it. *reggaelover here*

[@BlackRaven156]

Oh my Gosh, what a fantastical tutorial!!!! Amazing! Thank you!

[@guitourney]

I just want to say, and please take it the right way, that I've been recently going thru some of your old videos and your stuttering has improved A LOT! Well done mate

[@10julesmusic]

So humble Adrian 💕

[@ardiris2715]

I didn't much like playing reggae. Then one day, I played it on an acoustic, and I have been hooked since. (:

[@iantaylor827]

Great lesson, Adrian. I get called on to try this once in a while and this helps a lot. Thanks

[@mikaso]

A great introduction, thank you very much! I find it easier to get the chops clean if you don't hit the bass strings so much. Using a noisegate can also be nice to deaden some undesired ringing. Also, having the guitar signal very loud, and playing with a really soft strumming hand - makes the controlled muting much easier. And P90:ies are just right for the ting!

[@TheHercalways]

Thanks!

[@heirrose1606]

So happy you hit on reggae Thank you

[@georgehatherill8288]

Yeah! Costello was influenced by that album, on Detectives, lee scratch perry, so it IS rock and roll

[@PeteLoughlin]

Exceptionally good lesson Adrian. Thank you

[@Bodyknowledge77]

I anticipated when you stated; "In preparation for this". That you were going to say; "I smoked ample ganja". :-0

[@acpg]

haha of course that goes without saying!

[@bryanfarnet2037]

Fascinating mate. I really enjoyed that 👍

[@SSRT_JubyDuby8742]

When you initially started with up chops, I must say that I was surprised. Excellent lesson, Steel Pulse might interest you, they were quite well received during the punk era 😁 Like deployed 👍 😎🎙🎸✅️

[@mikaelsjoberg1894]

Theres an excellent video of The Polices drummer Stewart Copeland in which he explains reggae drumming...

[@acpg]

Sounds interesting, must check that out!

[@lamper2]

@@acpg I think it was originally on the Ovation channel or Arts & entertainment but hopefully it's here on the Tube!

[@sebjohnson5028]

Truly inspirational video!!! Has really encouraged me to take another look at reggae after a few years away from it. Would be really interested to know which tutorials you found the most enlightening.! As for suggestions how about "Adrian attempts Marc Ribot" ? And while on the subject, something by James Calvin Wilsey from El Dorado? Thanks a lot mate, you're up there with the best!

[@BillyKernkampMusic]

This is GREAT 👍🏻 THANK YOU 🙏

[@IsisMusic]

I got to reggae from punk music too. A backbeat guitar, groovy drums and a bass line like Paul Simonon. That´s reggae for me

[@ThomasHope73]

You approached this in the best way possible. 👌👏 Kudos for mentioning the phaser. 😉👍 Note: I wouldn’t refer to Bob Marley as a “guitarist” really; he played guitar, but more like a singer songwriter might; mostly cowboy chords. The actual “Reggae Guitar” chops would have been played by a side musician (one of the Wailers).

[@Gerry2210]

Excellent video Adrian, thanks.

[@PetefromSouthOz]

Thanks again Adrian.

[@Galactivation528]

Brilliantly done!

[@ShlomirBareket]

IRIE! Classic lesson this one! Much respect!

[@scenario1236]

Outstanding insight and outline of some very useful skills cheers

[@WS102]

You mention that the music is usually played with a down stroke which is correct. Reggae is traditionally played with a downstroke. The upstroke is usually more common when playing calypso music, a really similar type of music.

[@TerryVibes]

Good stuff..

[@philipellis7039]

Not watched a second yet but I suddenly feel validated😮 (Or whoever you did pay attention to should feel validated). Looking forward to this 😀

[@philipellis7039]

Excellent Adrian, thank you. I started playing ska and some reggae in bands about 12 years ago maybe. Mostly as ‘the lead’ player but it quickly became apparent to me how little I understood when I was playing rhythm or muted parts and that it never sounded authentic. I pieced it all together eventually ( I think) and have watched pretty much everything I could on KZbin on the subject over the years. Some of the videos were okay, some focused more on the 90s ska-punk and some were just plain wrong. I certainly never found a good start to finish tutorial on reggae guitar and your video here beats anything I have previously watched. Yes, lots of phaser in 70s reggae, occasional wah as well. I love the use of delay in dub reggae but that’s mostly added at mix stage although a delay on your pedalboard for a bit of that flavour live is cool. If you watch live performances by relatively recent artists such as Alpha Blondy or Protoje there’s often one guitar being quite rock/ distorted and then one locked into clean rhythm mode, so plenty of guitar playing going on for those who think reggae can’t be ‘guitar music.’ As a man of a certain age reggae/ ska influenced punk/post punk is a big thing for me. The Clash, The Ruts, The Police, The Slits, Scritti Politti, the whole 2 Tone movement. Even Bauhaus (whom you’ve previously covered) had obviously listened to dub reggae based on their use of delays and much of their sonic pallet. Viv Albertine of The Slits was a self taught naif guitarist so her lines tend to be simple but unorthodox. A lesson on any of her playing from the album Cut (produced by British reggae legend Dennis Bovell) and would be at home on your channel’s format. Cheers 🥂

[@grahamrp]

Hi Adrian, great lesson and love the concept. Huge reggae fan but never quite mastered, until or your video. You are a great way of explaining things. How about a few more Adrian attempts....disco, jazz, flamenco!?

[@gilmour81]

Great job Adrian! There is nothing worst as a Reggae lover than to hear somebody butcher a Reggae song by playing a ska upstroke. Always on the downstroke!

[@solomonwaigani4512]

Superb! Many thanks! 😀👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@martynspooner5822]

Really helpful lesson, thanks a lot.

[@robertdocking]

great as always adrian, thanks!

[@matthewprimeau8552]

thanks for the grooves!!

[@lamper2]

I like this idea What's next up Polka? Zydeco? 14:04 muted strings! -Has any reggae band explored the possibilities of Mrs Brown you've got a lovely daughter? a hit waiting to happen! Having watched this whole video, I think you can change "attempts" to "teaches"

[@theclashcalling_]

Hilariously self-deprecating ACG. Much respect for your (and I'm paraphrasing) 'people think it's easy to play and it's not' statement - quite right!

[@ellenzinni673]

Love your reggae, Maann. Fran

[@SamLowryDZ-015]

I hear the phrase 'cod reggae' and always think first of The Police and then of the late Jeremy Harding 'singing' Roxanne

[@Ricc131]

How about Adrian attempts …..Bluegrass flatpicking etc

[@misorodzinak8829]

Oh yes, that would be nice.

[@marleenvos4126]

great video! thanks for sharing

[@andrewhibben8327]

Adrian attempts = Adrian nails it…again. The guitarist for Linton Kwesi Johnson (John Kpiaye?) from memory is one of my absolute favorites. Well played, sir, but now could Adrian attempt Tom Verlaine?

[@jonheal1523]

Adrian has done some Television parts in the past, well worth looking up. He’s a big fan!

[@AFaceintheCrowd01]

Kpiaye is also one of my favorite players - in fact, Dennis Bovell’s Dub Band is an outstanding band in all areas.

[@darrenbrignell8482]

Adrian attempting Reggae??. Are you sure you don't have heritage somehow! Very good!!!!

[@bankjibbernow]

Don’t forget the delay for Dub music 💥💥💥

[@acpg]

Yeah! Think there's a whole other video to be made on dub...

[@StratsRUs]

Well done ! Peter Tosh's version of Johnny B. Goode is fantastic.A great blend.They used Marshalls. Easy All Stars have done dub takes on Radiohead ( Radiodread), Pink Floyd (Dub Side Of The Moon) and The Beatles ( Lonely Hearts Dub Band) .

[@duaneulman9915]

Thank you

[@liviots]

Great video 😊 your patreon is the best among those i subscribe

[@DisabilityExams]

You really need a Teisco guitar for authentic roots reggae.

[@koho]

Gold.

[@FerrisFlyer]

Awesome.

[@jon.wilson]

Downstroke is the way to go. It kind of does something different to your brain when you're not doing the normal upstrokes on the 2 and 4 that we're used to.

[@TheHercalways]

Uh? How did I get here? Anyway, Mr. Beato is great, so my money is for the right thing - MUSIC! THX Mr. Beato!!

[@Sm-ne8ff]

Easy peasy man

[@neilcarroll5250]

Hey Adrian another great guitar lesson from the coolest guitar teacher on you tube,( in my humble opinion )Can you have a listen to Safesurfer by Julian Cope and give a lesson on this great tune sometime in the future. Keep on keeping on.cheers Neil

[@teodelfuego]

Hey! Fellow Julian Cope fan here!

[@lordclancharlie1325]

very interesting !

[@robsthedon]

Nice

[@malcolmmcatee3752]

The delay settings can make the upstroke sometimes

[@IsisMusic]

the rest was great :)

[@bigbear450]

super

[@reidanderson9901]

Hey Adrian, thank you so much for another great video. Would you be able to go into more detail about the embellishment section of the video - particularly the “soulful 6ths” - and possibly create tabs for them? ❤

[@reidanderson9901]

Dw I slowed the video down till u were drunk and I think I got it 😎👌

[@danmillward7358]

Also....sorry keep commenting but i love this video lol....some of bobs first albums on island had white rock guitar session players on it so...rock it up to lol

[@DjangoSkaReggae]

Classic era musicians would call it the "chop" or "chip". Skank is a later terminology, pretty much frowned on by "those in the know."

[@acpg]

Interesting thanks - when I was researching this there didn't seem to be any real consensus on what the "correct" terminology is, but this is good to know.

[@julienpatriarcamango2277]

You can say Skank cos’ it’s the nowadays word! True that it’s originally call the chop or chip or chik ;)

[@therover4141]

Why is it frowned on to use that term?

[@jon.wilson]

Well skank is the dance isn't it? You dance to the beat of the chop/skank

[@DjangoSkaReggae]

@@therover4141 Simply because it's not the term the musicians of the time used [I learned this from people who were actually there at the time.] Calling it the skank isn't "authentic," but of course it has come into latter day use.

[@danmillward7358]

Also the double chop as you call it is Reggea....Re...being the first chop ggea...being the second chop

[@IsisMusic]

White Man from Hammersmith Palais, Guns of Brixton, all the Marley songs. Not even Marley played "pure" reggae. Sometimes all you need is that backbeat guitar

[@azbluesdog]

Were you to release an “Adrian Attempts” album, I’d buy it on the off beat! 😉

[@theselector4733]

Great video Adrian. Btw, what guitar is that you're playing? Cheers