Mar 1, 2023

A Fun Easy Reggae (Rock Steady, Ska or Backbeat) Strum for Beginners - Use it for any song!


This fun easy strum is perfect for everyone... Beginners or advanced players. 

A Fun Easy Reggae (Rock Steady, Ska or Backbeat) Strum for Beginners - Use it for any song!

You can use it for any song!

You will Learn More and Play More with Play Ukulele NOW.

Find out for yourself why teachers and students have depended on Play Ukulele NOW Methods and Songbooks since 2009


DISCLOSURE: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING I GET A COMMISSION IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE THROUGH MY LINKS, AT NO COST TO YOU. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.

This fun easy strum can be used for any song (as long as it's in 4/4 time), don't make the mistake of using this only for reggae songs.

Strums like this (strumming on the &'s or on the backbeat) appear in all styles of music...

Watch:


NOTES: Make sure the right hand is relaxed don't hit the uke too hard. When you hit the use you are muting the strings.

Up strums can be with all your fingers to keep it simple and relaxed...



Variations; Reggae or Backbeat


Here's the strum in the video, we slap on the beats and strum on the &'s:

A Fun Easy Reggae (Rock Steady, Ska or Backbeat) Strum for Beginners - Use it for any song!

Here's a variation, we slap on 1 and 3 and strum on 2 and 4. This could also be called a backbeat strum because we're strumming on the backbeat:

A Fun Easy Reggae (Rock Steady, Ska or Backbeat) Strum for Beginners - Use it for any song!



The backbeat strum may be called a chop - a mandolin player would do something like this to play on the backbeats, since so many other things are happening on the upbeats (1 & 3). If your in a similar situation the backbeat chop might be a perfect fit for you.
 

Play a Rock Steady or Ska Strum


You can also vary the tempo to get the kinds of strums you might find in different styles of music.

Good Idea to get a metronome to do this...

Here's a great, inexpensive metronome, its a good idea to use it every time you practice




Rock steady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae.

The rock steady strum is simply the reggae strum (with the strum on the &'s) played between 75 and 100 beats per minute.

Take some of the easy songs you already know and set the metronome for a rock steady strum and play along. Try some different numbers in between 75 and 100 beats per minute (these numbers can vary depending on who you talk to).

Ska is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950's and was the precursor to rock steady and reggae.

The ska strum is simply a reggae strum (with the strum on the &'s) played between 110 and 140 beats per minute.

Take some of the easy songs you already know and set the metronome for a ska strum and play along. Try some different numbers in between 110 and 140 beats per minute.

Have fun... Remember these can be used for any song...

Share me!

A Fun Easy Reggae (Rock Steady, Ska or Backbeat) Strum for Beginners - Use it for any song



Get your FREE eBook!

* indicates required


No comments:

Post a Comment

Popular Posts