Black Uhuru has undergone numerous lineup changes over the years, but it was from 1979 to 1986 that the band featured famous reggae producers Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare (Sly and Robbie).
In addition to being a successful reggae production team, Sly and Robbie were also a highly sought after rhythm section, playing drums and bass respectively.
Several guitarists have occupied the six-string chair throughout the history of Black Uhuru, probably the best known being Mikey Chung, who played on the albums. Hymn, Red and Chill Out. Black Uhuru’s current guitarist is Frank Stepanek, who made his first appearance with the band playing lead guitar on his 1986 album. Brutal.
Black Uhuru is associated with the “rockers” style of reggae, which is slightly different from the style of a drop associated with Bob Marley, and was demonstrated in last month’s article.
While a drop has a pattern where the drum is only played to rhythm three (often with a drum accent), the rocker style is more contemporary, with the kick played to rhythm 1 and the trap to rhythm three, as has heard. in countless rock and pop songs throughout the history of music.
The guitar “skank” was also simpler, with a basic out-of-rhythm strumming played in two and four beats, and no syncopated phantom note (see last month’s column for various permutations of reggae rhythm).
Black Uhuru has often performed dual guitar ensembles where the lead guitarist played single note lines, complementing rhythm guitar, bass and keys. These melodic figures are very rhythmic and integral to the sound of the theme, so they are the main focus of this month’s pieces.
The band has tended to favor minor tones, and as a result, the minor pentatonic scale is often used by guitarists to play melodies, as can be heard in Black Uhuru songs such as Puff She Puff, Party next door i Sinsemilla.
The track Sinsemilla it also includes a phaser, a common effect used by reggae guitarists to give a whirling sound to their lines. The phaser pedal replicates a Leslie speaker and works by filtering the guitar frequencies to create a series of peaks and crosses in the waveform.
This type of effect was used by psychedelic guitarists such as Gilmour and Hendrix but was also adopted by reggae guitarists, as the space of the music allowed the sound to shine.
This month’s examples and study piece focus on the type of single-note lines used by Mikey Chung and Frank Stepanek. It’s important to block yourself from the rhythm section, maintaining a relaxed feel and emulating the relaxed nature of reggae. If you have access to a phaser effect, this is a great opportunity to explore its psychedelic textures in a reggae context.
Get the tone
Amplifier settings: Gain 3, Bass 4, Middle 5, Treble 6, Reverb 4
Reggae ‘skank’ rhythms are usually played in a very clean tone, but no particular guitar or pickup is favored. For playing melodies, the tone is clean again, but it often sounds sweeter on the neck pill.
If you have a phaser, experiment with the controls to find the sound you like. A little light compression is also helpful, as well as a little light reverb.
Examples
Example 1. Basic skank style: This first idea sets the stage for the following examples. Use only downhill shots and aim for uniform dynamics and time. A little compression if you have it, helps keep the volume and dynamic levels even.
Example 2. Silence the palm of a single note line: Palm mute is widely used in reggae music to keep the sound tight and complement the bass. This example follows the progression of chords using the pentatonic scale A minor almost exclusively, with the exception of the note B in the fourth bar, which is used to profile the major sun chord.
Example 3. Single note lines using minor pentatonic: This example shows how a simple idea can be used with great effect. It is worth noting that there would be a vocal line above these ideas, so it is important that the guitar complements the melody but does not interfere. Ideas like this are perfect for the same reason.
Example 4. Single-note lines using the minor pentatonic scale: This example follows the above, showing how minor pentatonic is often the perfect tool to complement the rest of the band without hindrance. As with all examples, make sure you are listening to the bass and of course the bass drum and drums.
Example 5. Single-note lines with 16 notes: This final example includes a couple of 16th grade notes to add a little interest and a little more complexity to the lines. Note that the example begins with the “i” of time 1, as also seen in Example 3. We will see all the ideas from the examples in the full study piece that follows. Now stretch and dive into the reggae groove.
Study piece
[Bars 1-4] These bars introduce the chord progression for our study piece. We are using Am and Dm triads, both in 5th position. Be sure to mute the strings on the bass and keep these little chords sharp and short.
[Bars 5-12] Here’s an idea of a single pentatonic note in the minor in the “call and answer” style. The first four bars mostly go down the ladder while the answer for the next four bars goes up.
[Bars 13-20] Here we see another pentatonic idea in A minor. This time most chords are rooted, b7 (note only) and 5a (note mi). The piece ends with a cut from the minor triad. Learn the whole piece and then play it several times to get used to the rhythm of reggae.
