Does anyone ever play reggae mandolin?

[emzech]

Recently I happened across some of my old reggae stuff that I haven't listened to in a long while. I quickly remembered why I used to like it so much!

It seems that the backbeat reggae chop done on guitar is essentially the same as the bluegrass chop done on the mandolin so playing along came very easy.

I also found that improvising solos to reggae was relatively easy. I'm not quite at the point where I can improvise well at bluegrass-speed, but with the laid-back reggae tempo it was much easier and a lot of fun.

So I've been playing almost nothing but reggae for a few days and I'm having a blast with it. It got me wondering whether other mandolin players ever experiment with reggae? It seems to dove-tail naturally with what so many of us mandolin players already do that I figure some mandolin players must play a little Jah music. No?




(Ah, now if only my job let me hang out with kevbuch's neighbor )

[barney 59]

Sam Bush ---pretty much all the time in my opinion....at least in his rhythm playing which is strongly influenced by reggae. I doubt that Sam would deny that.

[emzech]

That's interesting barney. I've been wanting to get Sam's book on rhythm mandolin. I definitely have to check it out now.

[Steve Zawacki]

Recently I happened across some of my old reggae stuff that I haven't listened to in a long while. I quickly remembered why I used to like it so much!

It seems that the backbeat reggae chop done on guitar is essentially the same as the bluegrass chop done on the mandolin so playing along came very easy.

I also found that improvising solos to reggae was relatively easy. I'm not quite at the point where I can improvise well at bluegrass-speed, but with the laid-back reggae tempo it was much easier and a lot of fun.

So I've been playing almost nothing but reggae for a few days and I'm having a blast with it. It got me wondering whether other mandolin players ever experiment with reggae? It seems to dove-tail naturally with what so many of mandolin players already do that I figure some mandolin players must play a little Jah music. No?

Am with you on the tempo as more relaxing. There's something about chilling in the back yard with a cold one and strumming away on island time. Am more into "Gulf and Western" stuff, but reading your post has got me wanting to dig back into some of the older (only because I am older!) reggae that I remember from teaching at Ochy a while ago.

[greg_tsam]

I tried jamming on stage with a local reggae band and it was hard at first then was fun but I don't think I'll be getting paid gigs anytime soon.

[fentonjames]

[Jim]

Lot's of Reggae Mandolin here, the instrument suits it well. Polka too

[Ben Cooper]

I have been messing with "3 Little Birds" and "Redemption Song" but your post makes me want to play more reggae! Thank you!!

[Paul Merlo]

Does playing Police covers with my friends' band count? (So Lonely & Walking on the Moon)

I'll try to play some of my favorite songs reggae style sometimes too. I find it interesting that I'm able to do that better with some songs more than others. It's interesting to see which signature licks and riffs end up being featured more than others too.

[emzech]

Does playing Police covers with my friends' band count? (So Lonely & Walking on the Moon)

I'll try to play some of my favorite songs reggae style sometimes too. I find it interesting that I'm able to do that better with some songs more than others. It's interesting to see which signature licks and riffs end up being featured more than others too.

Walking on the moon is a great song.... haven't listened to it in ages. Gonna try it. Love the avatar picture (or whatever it's called), Paul. Very cute.

[Dagger Gordon]

Yes I've jammed along sometimes. Seems to suit the mandolin pretty well.
Don't see any reason why not at all.

Peter Rowan does a bit of reggae. There's a CD called Reggaebilly

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/peterrowan

[eadg145]

The goofy Hawai'ian String Band I play in worked up a couple of tunes from the other Isles in March. We've now taken to finishing the classic tongue-twisting tune "Mary Mack" with a verse at the end in 1/4 time in reggae/dub step fashion. It started out as a joke, but we do it all the time now. Go figure.

[dang]

As stated above, SAMMY BUSH!!!

also find I really enjoy hot buttered rum doing "small axe" (here with some Railroad earth and New Monsoon guests):

[Lord of the Badgers]

Our drummer keeps writing Reggae/Dub/Ska rhythms in his songs... I've no choice!!
But then... we also added a reggae coda to one of my murder ballad style tunes.

we don't really stick to folk templates.... this I have come to realise.

Mandolin is great for reggae rhythm. It works brilliantly.

[Tommcgtx]

Hmmm......Funky Kingston on Mandolin......

[Killian King]

I practice ska songs too for a bit more up tempo.

[JH Murray]

So what is the fingering of the A chord Sam Bush is referring to at the start of that One Love video?

[OldSausage]

I believe it's 2200. He's probably barring the two bass strings with one finger.

[Chris W.]

So what is the fingering of the A chord Sam Bush is referring to at the start of that One Love video?

Sounds like an open A to me. 2200, a mandolin power chord with just roots and fifths (AEAE) and using his left pinky to mute the strings during the dead string hits.

[OldSausage]

Sounds like an open A to me. 2200, a mandolin power chord with just roots and fifths (AEAE) and using his left pinky to mute the strings during the dead string hits.

There's one of those reggae slapback echoes in here.

[Chris W.]

There's one of those reggae slapback echoes in here.

Yeah. You posted whilst I was typing. I need to type faster. Maybe typing to a metronome will help my speed.

[Eddie Sheehy]

Not deliberately... but whilst playing Pachelbel's Canon recently my backing chords slid into a reggae beat, and it fitted in nicely...

[Cecily_Mandoliner]

I just got back from a cruise, and I savored every bit of reggae I could get while we were in The Bahamas; unfortunately, the DJs on the ship didn't play much of it, because the crowd was primarily Spring Breakers who wanted those mind-numbing, primal-thumping dance songs. (okay, the songs weren't too bad, but I missed the laid-back music).
Anyway, I brought my tiny ukelele with so I could keep practicing any music, and I heard Three Little Birds (that is, listened to it for the first time), and so I'm working on that, and I can See Clearly Now. Now that you've mentioned it, I will try these on the Mandolin. Should be fun!

[Steve Ostrander]

Peter Rowan recorded a Reggae-Billy CD.

[Joey Anchors]

I know this is an old thread. A little bit of a back story: I've been a bassist for 21 years and played in a ska/reggae band from 1996-2009. So when I first learned how to chop on mandolin naturally I started playing old Jamaican ska.

I'm thinking about starting a solo instrumental Jamaican ska/jazz project.