Eclectic Range of Instruments Creates Soothing Music

A song that is produced typically is made up of various musical instruments creating beats that make a melody out of the combination of instrumennts. Each type of music usually use the same variation of instruments, and are noticably different compared to other genres of music. Reggae is majorly consisted of the drums, bass, guitar, keyboard, and horn. Vocals are also used in songs and provide the lyrics used to express thoughts and feelings from the artist.

                The standard drum kit is most popularly used in reggae with the snare drum being second most popular, and tom-tom drums following the snare. One song that is popular for its use of percussion is “One Drop” by Bob Marley and the Wailers. Cowbells, bongos, and shakers are also widely used percussion instruments used in reggae. The bass guitar and the drums played together is what creates the rhythm in reggae music. The noises produced by the bass are often low and heavy. To shake the deep, low rhythm up a little bit they incorporate the guitar into songs sometimes because it produces a short and scratchy sound that counterbalances the rest of the music. Keyboards were especially popular from the late 60’s to the early 80’s and were/are used to create a choppy feel. Horns are very rarely used in reggae music, and are used to create a soothing feel when they are being used. All of these instruments played together create the mellow, soothing, reggae music that you hear today.

Therapeutic Music

Who would have ever guessed that reggae music could help with health benefits? There has been research that shows that music indeed has a positive effect on your body both physically and psychologically. Music Therapy is a real practiced therapy that is used to help cancer patients, and people diagnosed with ADHD. It has also been known to help with depression, ease muscle tension, and calm patients. Therapy sessions have been known to use reggae music to help the patient relax and remember happy moments.

            Music with a strong beat has the ability to stimulate brainwaves. Faster beats promote sharper concentration and let the brain become more alert, and a slower beat promotes the mind to become calmer. Reggae brings a little bit of both to the table. Reggae songs mostly consist of a strong back beat and consists of songs that are both fast and slow paced.

            Most people relate reggae music to a laid back, peaceful state of mind. This is why this type of music is so beneficial to one’s breathing and heart rate. The slower a beat is, the more likely one will breathe slower which means a slower heart rate and more relaxation. Relaxing helps prevent chronic stress and promotes better health. Less stress means less irritability and more sleep.  A good song for relaxation is The Harvest by Tribal Seeds. 

Growing Popularity Becomes Stronger

With popularity comes a seed that starts the growth of it all. In the case of the genre of music, reggae, Bob Marley would be the sprouting seed. While he was with his group The Wailers he made an Album called Burnin. This album was the cause of spreading the popularity of reggae music all over the world. His hard work and contributions to the music that he put out in the 36 years of life that he had makes him the most popular artist to ever exist in the reggae world. Popularity in the United States began in 1973 with a concert in San Francisco that the Wailers performed at. There was a radio station there that broadcasted the band live. The effect of this live broadcasting caused the popularity of reggae music to spread throughout the country. Heavily populated reggae listeners mostly reside in areas near the beach such as California, and Florida. With the widespread popularity of reggae, there are now many radio stations that play this type of music. You can check out channel 32 on Sirius XM radio. It is called Reggae Rhythms and plays various reggae songs both new and old. There are also online radio stations that you can listen to if purchasing Sirius XM radio is a problem. Many people find reggae appealing because of it’s happy, and soothing rhythms. Maybe if you give listening to this type of music a shot, you will take interest in it too.

King of All Reggae

When most people hear the word reggae they think about Jamaica, the beach, and most importantly Bob Marley. On February 6, 1945 Robert Nesta Marley, otherwise better known as Bob Marley, was born in St. Ann, Jamaica to Captain Norval Marley and Cedalla Booker. Throughout much of Marleys childhood he rarely saw his father due to the unfortunate fact that he walked out on his family shortly after Bob was born. Being a son of a single parent mother, they moved constantly searching for employment. Eventually they ended up settling down in a big city called Trenchtown. There Marley was exposed to the ever evolving Jamaican music and started to follow his dreams of becoming a musician at the age of 16. His first record producer was Leslie Kong, and after two failed singles Marley left her because she wouldn’t pay him. The next year, Marley and a few friends formed the band Wailing Wailers where they recorded their first song “Simmer Down” that did fairly well in Jamaica. On February 10, 1966  Marley married Rita Anderson and they left for the United States the next day to visit his mother. When they came back to Jamaica, the Wailing Wailers’ music started to have more of a rock style and less ska. Their record company didn’t like what was taking place so the band left them and renamed themselves the Wailers. They then formed their own label called Wail ‘N’ Soul. In the spring of 1973 the Wailers had their first three month tour of Britain following with 17 shows that took place in the States. One show they had was in San Francisco where there was a concert broadcast for a radio station. This broadcast helped boost their popularity enormously in North America.

On December 5, 1976 Marley decided to give a free concert at Kingston’s National Heroes Park to send a peaceful message against the ghetto wars that were occurring in Trenchtown at the time.  Right after this concert, the band left for the UK. During this European tour, the band did shows at the Rainbow Theatre located in London. Right before the shows, Marley hurt his toe playing football, and came to find out that it was diagnosed as cancerous. The doctor told him that he would have to have his toe amputated if he wanted the cancer to stop spreading but Marley didn’t think it was a big deal. Throughout the years his cancer started to spread throughout his body without a clue that it would become deadly. The day after a show in New York Marley went running in Central Park where he collapsed and was taken to the hospital. There the doctors gave him one month to live, and during that time had treatment done that helped him live a little bit longer. Less then a year later he passed away on May 11, 1981 in a Miami hospital during a trip for a show. Thousands of people mourned for Marley and attended his funeral including the Jamaican President and the Leader of Opposition. After his death he was awarded Jamaica’s Order of Merit.

Many may have seen Bob Marley just as a marijuana loving, free spirited reggae artist, but now after reading this what do you see him as?

How it all got Started

Music. Everybody loves music. Whether it soothes the soul or makes you want to dance, everyone has their different preferences. One genre that many people have probably heard of but may be less familiar with is reggae. The word was devised in Jamaica during the early 1960’s due to its “ragged” style of dance like music. Although soon after the word was invented, reggae started to pick up more of a steady beat, and less “raggedness” in its rhythm. What is ironic about this genre of music is that it wasn’t founded in Jamaica, like most people tend to believe, but in the United States and Africa. Jamaican music was first known to be associated with gang violence, and was extremely popular in the UK thanks to an artist known as Prince Buster in 1967. It wasn’t until 1969 when reggae started to become known for “peace and love”.

Well-known music artist Bob Marley can be thanked for spreading the popularity of reggae. Starting as a member of the band, the Wailers, he helped promote the first album of reggae in 1970. A few years later he branched away from the band and recorded his own music, becoming more popular with hits such as I Shot The Sheriff, and Stir It Up. Reggae started to especially become popular on radio stations out west thanks to the movie “The Harder They Come”. This soothing, and empowering genre of music has steadily increased its popularity throughout the years and is continues to expand to this day.