Drummer Cafe Community Forum

Lately i've been trying to figure out exactly how to accomplish some reggae drumming. My friends have been asking me to play Santeria by Sublime, and unless i'm mistaken thats pretty much a reggae groove. However, i don't really understand how its done. Could anyone show me some notation for reggae hat work? thats the part that i don't get. I'll ask my teacher tomorrow for some, but just wanted to see what all of you could offer too.

If I remember right, that's a shuffle on that tune.

The reggae flavor comes from the guitar playing the off eighths.

I'm stretching my memory here though. Maybe someone else will weigh in that has the tune handy.

I wouldn't exactly call Santeria a reggae song.  If you want to learn how to play that song, listen to it a bunch and play along with it.  There is very little to do with reggae or ska going on in the drums on this song, if I remeber correctly.  Its a pretty straightforward shuffle.

That song cruises a pretty good clip too. Playing a fast, strong shuffle isn’t the easiest thing in the world for a budding drummer (that I suspect the original poster to be).

I’d lobby against doing the tune with your friends until you have it mastered, and that will take some effort.

Shuffles are deceptively difficult, especially for those that are new to them.

we talkin' "one drop" stuff?

My mistake. just figured since sublime is a form of reggae/rock then itd be rather close to a reggae beat. Guess it's a shuffle then.  What exactly would you guys say is a perfect example of reggae drumming then? I'm assuming i'm going to get a lot of Bob Marley ;p

Well... that's a good start!  ;D

The "one-drop" that jokerjkny mentioned is (IMHO) the "essential" reggae beat that can carry most anyone through a reggae tune, even if they've never done it before, etc...  

This can be heard on many other artist's recordings than Marley.  

Edumacate yaself.  ;)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/bluessoulreggae/guide_reggae.shtml

Google is your friend.

I think Bob Marley its the first teacher to the basics reggae flavor, then if you want some inspiration on reggae grooves, listen to Luke Dube's drummer (I don't now his name).

He's the most impressive reggae drummer i've listen. He's amazing. Its very creative, smooth and play incredible fills and grooves.

I have the "Luke Dube - Taxman" record and I love it.

Remember, listen to any LUKE DUBE's songs, you would'nt be dissapointed.

Good book is Carmine Appice's " REALISTIC REGGAE ROCK"

Try going back farther than bob marly to what came before raggae, which is ska. Take a look at Toots and the maytals, lee scratch perry, sublime is just an american interpretation of raggae fused with ska and rock. To me raggae approaches the beat much differently than rock, its very bass drum oriented, the backbeat is just taht...a back beat, the groove really isn't led by the snare. I'd work on your half time shuffles, i think if you can really get your half time shuffles in order you'll start to see the light. I could be wrong though.

I used to play in a ska/raggae band in the 80's and although all that old stuff is interesting and explains how a lot of that stuff originated - it still sounds 'old' to me. To me Bob Marley is the king! I would rank him right up there as one of the greatest song writers of all time... and his unbelievable 'ridim' section : Aston Barret (bass) & Carlton Barret (drums) - were true pioneers who laid down the groove for others to follow (for years and years).

Don't get me wrong, I agree Marley is one of the greatest if not hte greatest, but I find alot of ppl seem to think he started it, and I think its good to scope out the stuff before him. When I first heard bob marley i was like "waht the hell is the drummer playing?"

I thought he was from a different planet - with the beat upside down etc..

At that point in my life I was so rooted in punk rock it was weird to hear the bass drum really keep the beat. In modern rock in my oppinion the back beat on 2 and 4 with the sanre is really not the back beat at all its right up in front so it was like a 180 degree switch to me.

Well was showing my drum teacher "Got the life" by korn on the drums and he said that's a reggae beat so i know it's like this.
 
b=bass drum.
hh=hi hats.
sn=snare.
in this sequence. I don't know the propper notation for it, i just learnt it by listening to the song over and over

b+hh+sn+hh  b+hh+sn+hh  b+hh+sn+hh. If you keep playing that you should get how the beat goes after a few tries.