What came first reggae or ska?
Ska (/skɑː/; Jamaican: [skjæ]) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walking bass line accented with rhythms on the off beat.
What were the two earlier forms of reggae called?
Reggae grew out of earlier musical styles such as mento, ska and rocksteady. Mento is a Jamaican folk music based on traditions brought to Jamaica by West African slaves which blended with later influences such as the quadrille.
What name was given to the period between ska and rocksteady?
It was a type of music that I would choose to label ‘transitional ska’, and true to its name, it acted as a transition between ska and rocksteady, manifesting itself in the gradual disappearance of the hard-driven horns that had dominated ska in favour of more emphasis being placed on the basslines, and in general, the …
How did reggae and ska originate in Jamaica?
Indeed, reggae evolved from ska, and the story of how both of these musical styles originated in Jamaica is quite interesting. Ska evolved in the 1960s from traditional Jamaican and pan-Caribbean genres, like mento and calypso, combined with the dramatic new influences of North American rhythm and blues, jazz, and early rock ’n’ roll.
What kind of music is reggae based on?
According to an early definition in The Dictionary of Jamaican English (1980), reggae is based on ska, an earlier form of Jamaican popular music, and employs a heavy four-beat rhythm driven by drums, bass guitar, electric guitar, and the “scraper,” a corrugated stick that is rubbed by a plain stick.
Where did the music of ska come from?
Ska evolved in the 1960s from traditional Jamaican and pan-Caribbean genres, like mento and calypso, combined with the dramatic new influences of North American rhythm and blues, jazz, and early rock ’n’ roll.
Who was the first person to play reggae?
The shift from Rocksteady to reggae was illustrated by the organ shuffle pioneered by Jamaican musicians like Jackie Mittoo and Winston Wright and featured in transitional singles Say What You’re Saying (1967) by Clancy Eccles and People Funny Boy (1968) by Lee “Scratch” Perry.