Jamaican styles of music

From Jamaica Wiki

Jamaicans love music. It has always been an integral part of their lives. The origins of Jamaican music are found in the African as well as the Caribbean heritage. It is also influenced by Europe, especially England and France.

Mento is the ancestor of most of the Jamaican modern styles of music including reggae. Mento is a folk music genre. It is usually confused with calypso – another form of folk music originated in Trinidat. Calypso music also had influence over the Jamaican music genres development.

The 1950s were great years for the Jamaican music. During that period the Jamaican youths were interested in American music. This influence actually changed the face of the Jamaican music and several new genres were developed.

Ska is one of the Jamaican music genres that were found during the 60s. It combines the sound of the New Orleans blues with the traditional Jamaican mento. In fact most of the early ska songs were covers of American songs. Ska turned out to be the music of the poor and was very popular among the young people of Jamaica.

Some historians believe that the first ska song recorded was "No More Doggin'" by Roscoe Gordon, a Memphis piano player. However other thinks that the first true Jamaican ska song was played by Theophilus Beckford - "Easy Snapping", in 1959.

Ska as a music genre typical for Jamaica also changed with years. It evolved into the Jamaican rock steady genre – the father of reggae and the modern punk ska genres. Rock steady music was much more relaxed while had the same tempo as ska music. A significant difference between the rock steady genre and the ska music genre is that the drums are less prominent in rock steady. They role has been taken over by the bass guitar. Also the vocal possibilities of rock steady were increased as the horns were reduced and the beat was less-rigid.

Reggae may be the most popular Jamaican music genre was found in 1969. It is closer to chanting and has a Nyabinghi sound. Some refer it to be a musical meditation. Reggae is played in 4/4 time, and has a prominent bass similar to the mento music genre. The difference between reggae and pop music is in the strongly felt beats which are beats 2 and 4, opposite to most pop music. Some even claim that this difference is making reggae very difficult for the North America's instrumentalists.

Rastafari music genre is close to reggae music and that is why many people link the two genres to each other.

Recently Jamaican music have changed a lot. Many new styles were developed. Dub music is one of the modern Jamaican music styles. It is a result of the engineer restructuring the sound on the mixing board. Dancehall is another modern style of Jamaican music. The Jamaicans traveling around the world and especially in Europe and North America brought new sounds into the Jamaican culture. They blended the new with the traditional Jamaican reggae.