How to Play Reggae Guitar

When most people think of reggae, they only think of vocals. However, in reality, reggae is often accompanied by instruments. The most common instrument used in reggae music is the guitar. Are you interested in learning how to play reggae guitar? Do you want to join in on one of today's hottest music genres? If so, read on!

Reggae, originally started in the 1960's in Jamaica, has been rising in popularity ever since. Bob Marley is by far the most commonly known reggae artist, who used a guitar in most of his songs. If you want to know how to play reggae guitar, you should know that music reggae style, which is very similar to ska music, is played at a very slow pace. The music is usually not very complicated, but it can take some getting used to.

The most important thing you need to have before starting to learn how to play reggae guitar is a basic sense of rhythm. Reggae music relies heavily on rhythm, and without at least a basic knowledge of beats, you will find learning how to play reggae guitar very challenging. If you don't think that you have good internal rhythm, try some simple exercises. One good way to practice your rhythm is to tap along with a metronome, then turn the metronome off and continue the beat for a while. After a minute or so, turn the metronome back on, and see how well you maintained the beat.

When you are learning how to play reggae guitar, you will discover quite quickly that most notes in your music land on the off-beat. What this means is that if you are playing along with a metronome, most of your notes will be played while the metronome is NOT playing. The time between metronome beats is called the off-beat. Learning to play on the off-beat can be difficult at first, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes very natural.

If you are having trouble and can't seem to figure out just how to play reggae guitar, a very good thing to do is watch a professional. This can be done either by hiring a tutor, or simply watching videos of professionals playing. If you can afford a tutor, I would highly recommend getting one. If you cannot, there are also a number of affordable internet courses that teach you in the same way a private tutor would, but for much less money.