The Reggae & Ska Guitar Book

Learn Authentic Rhythm & Lead Parts for Reggae, Ska, Rocksteady, Dub and More

It's no understatement to say that reggae music forever changed the world. A compelling mix of soul, jazz, R&B and Jamaican mento, it's the ultimate feel good music with its hypnotic, laidback grooves.

The Reggae & Ska Guitar Book is a one-of-a-kind guide to the guitar styles at the heart of reggae. 

In fact, it's is a chronological guide to the development of reggae through the decades and shows how to play its many sub-genres with authentic, stylistically accurate guitar parts. 

Your journey includes scheduled stops at:

• Ska, the early years - how American R&B combined with elements of calypso and mento
• Rocksteady - the bridge between the original ska and later reggae eras
• Reggae - the emergence of seminal groups including Bob Marley & The Wailers
• Dub - how versions or "doubles" creatively expanded the sound of reggae
• Ska revival - an offshoot of the punk/mod eras, explore the sounds of The Specials, Madness, The Selecter and more
• The Third Wave - how ska burst upon the US from a California-based revival, with bands like Reel Big Fish, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Sublime
• Lovers Rock - reggae surfaces again, this time combining the sweet melodic soul of Motown with laidback Jamaican grooves
• Going Full Circle - how reggae influenced world music and artists such as Paul Simon, Eric Clapton and The Police
• Dancehall and Beyond - fusing island musical sensibilities with hip-hop, dancehall adopted a new type of reggae drum groove that has influenced countless contemporary pop records ever since

Learn the Essential Techniques of Reggae Guitar

With each sub-genre of reggae and ska came refinements and changes to the role of the guitar. There is so much more to it than hitting chord stabs on the up-beats! You'll learn...

• The skank groove that forms the backbone of the ska sound
• Stylistically accurate major and minor chord voicings
• How to introduce double-stops, triplet ideas and sliding articulations
• Single-note pentatonic riffs and fills
• How to play the chicken scratch technique pioneered by Hux Brown
• Using delay pedal effects to expand your sonic arsenal
• Adding jazz, rock 'n' roll licks, and even modal scales to spice up single-note accompaniments in the style of the greats
• The rhythms and approach of the ska-punk movement of the Third Wave