Welcome to lesson 1 of the Reggae Guitar series presented by Stuart Ziff! This lesson details the origins of reggae. In addition, Stuart gets you started with the basic ska comping pattern. Enjoy!
Taught by Stuart Ziff in Reggae with Stuart Ziff seriesLength: 8:22Difficulty: 1.0 of 5

Reggae is a unique genre of music filled with history and passion. In this series Stuart will do his best to distill the essence of the genre and cover it's core techniques.
Lesson 1
Welcome to lesson 1 of the Reggae Guitar series presented by Stuart Ziff! This lesson details the origins of reggae. In addition, Stuart gets you started with the basic ska comping pattern. Enjoy!
Length: 8:22 Difficulty: 1.0 Members OnlyLesson 2
In this lesson, Stuart explains and demonstrates the "skank" rhythm. Practice this simple rhythmic pattern along with a "one drop" backing track.
Length: 6:37 Difficulty: 0.5 Members OnlyLesson 3
Now that you have learned the "skank" rhythm, it's time to add in some melodic ideas. Stuart demonstrates how to play some guitar lines that layer nicely with the rest of the band.
Length: 9:42 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 4
Stuart delves into all the different aspects of how R&B guitar has had an impact within reggae music.
Length: 9:54 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 5
Stuart demonstrates how the delay effect can greatly enhance the music as well as how your rock & roll chops can easily be applied within the reggae genre.
Length: 7:16 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 6
This quick lesson demonstrates how to utilize space within reggae music and how to create solo type material to add into the overall song.
Length: 5:00 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 7
Yet again, Stuart covers some tips on how to apply heavy rock & roll chops within reggae music. This is another great example of how this genre has been influenced by other genres.
Length: 5:18 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 8
Stuart demonstrates some techniques that are used in more modern / contemporary reggae music.
Length: 6:14 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 9
Stuart summarizes the last 8 lessons and explains how each topic covered is a defining characteristic of reggae music.
Length: 3:32 Difficulty: 0.5 Members Only
About Stuart Ziff
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A veteran guitarist fluent in, Blues, R&B, Funk, Rock, Reggae and everything in between. As a Studio Musician playing guitar on numerous commercials, demos for singer songwriters and records
. A career as a songwriter that began with Warner Bros recording artist David Ball’s first Nashville CD in 1994 “ Thinking Problem .“ Stuart was co writer on the hit song “ Thinking Problem.” Also playing on the record supplying acoustic and electric guitar. Since 2000, He’s been living in Los Angles. Presently the Guitarist for the band WAR, touring and recording with them. As a songwriter for Film & TV: “ National Lampoons Cattle Call ,“ Americas Funniest Home Videos and Bad Girls. Songs on recordings by Eric Burden, Johnny Adams, Gary Hoey and Theresa James. Since 2005, a member of the faculty at Musician’s Institute in Hollywood.
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Member Comments about this Lesson
Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.93 Years of Experience ! Still looking young for someone 100+ :) I'm from Jamaica and i'm thoroughly enjoying the lessons and learning new chords shapes that are better suited for Reggae.
Stuart is the greatest
This is cool! Can't wait to add reggae to my skills :)
Nice! Looking forward to adding some reggae to my playing.
Great addition to the site, looking forward to working through this series!
Yeah Reggae ;)
Not before time.This should have happened long long ago,all the metal herel gets predictable...did I really say that.Lets hope we get some bass lessons too now that will be challenging.Thanks!
Cool!!!
Fantastic!! Been waiting for this series!!! As a Rasta and a guitarist. This is exciting
Stuart, what kind of pick you use for these upstrokes?, because i feel more comfortable with the light picks though i always use mediums .
Nice lesson Stuart, GJ. Love that you are already playing with tracks.
I knew something was missing! Great idea. Looking forward to it.
This is awesome, just this afternoon I was thinking I wish JamPlay had a Reggae series!
Welcome Stuart, should be a fun series!
exciting !