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