StringNavigator

McCartney's great. Something, Penny Lane... I've never had the need to go to these forums, though. Mostly a "by-ear" player, I'm afraid. Or sheet music. Have they helped you much?

I accept the blocks and censoring with honour, Truth is never well received. Au revoir!

THAT Reggae did not come from English boys... LOL! Location is not culture... Cultural theft to claim that as yours. But Culture can be brought to wherever people of that culture go to work. Transplanted.... by them. But it's not yours. Don't ever think that Reggae is British just because Caribbean people transplant their culture into new Caribbean communities. Britain did not invent everything. Perhaps it stole everything from others. Don't claim another people's cultural music as yours, just because they play it in your country. Your post is the epitome of Cultural Appropriation...

LOL! Sounds like the poster boy for cultural appropriation... You and your fellow islanders have been in the EU for too long. English playing Reggae is like Germans playing Funk... Please don't do it...! Please... From Wikipedia: Cultural appropriation is the adoption of elements of a minority culture by members of the dominant culture. Because of the presence of power imbalances that are a by-product of colonialism and oppression, cultural appropriation is distinct from equal cultural exchange. Particularly in the 21st century, cultural appropriation is often considered harmful, and to be a violation of the collective intellectual property rights of the originating, minority cultures, notably indigenous cultures and those living under colonial rule. Often unavoidable when multiple cultures come together, cultural appropriation can include using other cultures' cultural and religious traditions, fashion, symbols, language, and songs. Suck it up, son...

But this is a Reggae Band... They're not a bunch of Euro boys mimicking Reggae... You're argument has no basis. Reggae comes from Jamaica... No matter what English boys want to believe... The world no loner belongs to you... Stop being so insular. The whole world is not here just for you.

That does not make it yours...

I don't see any cultural appropriation in what you're describing... Do you know the difference between culture and location? Do you often switch the meaning of words to suit your argument? God Save The Queen and Cultural Appropriation...? Really...? Your ancestors have been in the business of cultural appropriation and assimilation for centuries until they nearly wiped out hundreds of cultures and hundreds of peoples. The latest generation of corporate cultural pirates no matter how loud they sing.

Reggae does not come from the streets where you were raised... Pointing out Cultural Appropriation is not racism. Cultural Appropriation is racism. Look in the mirror... It's like informing an addict that he's stealing a man's ideas to gain fame or fortune for himself. All he can reply is "Deny, Deny, Deny!" (Or retaliate by name-calling.) Always remember that name-calling is the last refuge of an empty mind. As I said before, I love and understand Reggae music and play it well. But I would never take to the stage as Euros do and "pretend" like a poseur that it's MY music... That's the very definition of cultural appropriation under the guise of multiculturalism.

LOL! Seven boys in shorts and sandals think they smug 'cuz they pose with two sisters... Damn... This is a good example of Cultural Appropriation Plus +++...And this photo is in defense of what, exactly...? What does this mean...? ""Speaking of playing behind the beat..... 🤨"" ??? An' they look like they never seen the sun in their lives... (And what's that bandana for...? To prevent sweat pouring down his face as he cuts cane in the field...? Does the word "poseurs" come to mind...?

I'm not at all surprised by the smell of smug superiority and self-entitled retaliation. After all, has not the entire world from America to India to Africa suffered under barbaric Colonialism at the point of a gun? "Collecting" artifacts from other nations under the guise of Archeology to make money and stealing music and culture from other nations to make money is an old family tradition, innit...? Being insular can often make one myopic and preclude understanding, as they stumble blindly along the same sin trodden path of their ancestors. Anyone in the world can play European music. That is not Cultural Appropriation in spite of fools who try to turn the argument. Because they never invaded, enslaved or appropriated Euro culture. But to witness a young well-fed Euro musician cavorting around a stage in dreadlocks with jerk chicken in one hand and a guitar in the other shouting Jamaican patois and trying hard to copy Caribbean music like Calypso, Ska, Reggae and Rock Steady is the very definition of Cultural Appropriation. It's truly an embarrassment, innit...? It's "in the blood" of some and the DNA of others to regard the culture, aspirations, freedom and even lives of people of the Caribbean to be somehow "owned" by them; the Smell of Smug... If Reggae was fair game for Britz, they would not have to seek instruction in how it should be done. Do you need to ask how to play a Beatles tune or one by the Bay City Rollers? No. Because in those two cases you are not stealing someone else's culture. We had a case in Canada recently, of an European artist who made a career out of copying Innuit Art. Once the Innuit brought it to light, patrons ceased to buy it. Thousands of people realised the extent of Cultural Appropriation. It was high theft. Mass production of Innuit Art by Europeans with the profits going elsewhere. I guess millions still cannot understand. It's like trying to tell a European lad in 1776 that slavery is a high crime... Bands I've been in, when considering repertoire, have taken a pass on I Shot The Sheriff knowing how foolish it would look on stage. "Whee! Look at me! I'm a Reggay Man!"... European tourists in the Caribbean DO NOT want to see Europeans playing steel pan or Calypso or Reggae. That is fact, not opinion. However, they can buy a steel pan and take it home for personal enjoyment. But don't try and perform in public and turn a buck out of Caribbean music. Or any other people's music. Speaking out on Cultural Appropriation is not racism. Hiring Euro lads to play Reggae is. Why can't you hire people who are of the culture you are trying so hard to assimilate? Multiculturalism never ever meant that you could turn a profit by selling other people's culture. Go and play a Jig or copy The Beatles in a look-alike band. Reggay is the culture and religious belief of millions of people living in the Caribbean. It's not just a Pub song for someone's drunken enjoyment.

That's because they have a culture of their own. And they like it! (Big fan of the pied-pipers, I am...!)

No, but it helps... However, Bach is an exponent of European music from its classical era. Even English people can play it. Going back to the OP's initial query; sometimes a small example is worth a thousand words in how not to play the Reggay. (Don't watch the entire tediously cringe-worthy clip.Italian spaghetti and Reggie band. How good can it get in the UK, eh...? ) OK, Me Lads...! Show 'em how much rhythm we can muster! Let's all go do a really cool Reggie number, now...!!

You need to go to Reggae School! Search "Devon Bradshaw" on YouTube. I would make a playlist of Reggae songs to listen to. It's really about listening first. And there's lot's to be learned, so don't beat yourself up about it. And there's a philosophy behind it that needs to be absorbed. In Classic Rock, the bass line is most often the harmonic skeleton of the entire song from start to finish. In Reggae, the bass player and drummer each have a "part" or function. The parts must lock-in. It's mostly an improv style, but records lead one to believe that there's a static bass line, when it's really the best parts of an improvisation The bass player is playing "congas" more that a melodic ostinato bass line. You have to "bubble" and leave space; you're no longer the ostinato glue for the harmonic changes. The guitar "stabs" take care of the changes, but the vocals do the most of the harmony.. Personally, if I only had to play only one reggae song, and have to do all the work to incorporate that style into my playing I'd change out the band for another that wants to play music closer to my natural cultural inclinations or music that I was raised with. Who in the band is pushing this one song? But that's just me. I play Reggae on my own with records because I had lots of R&B in my childhood years, and I like the feel. I'm not forced into it by a band dictator. Playing Reggae with other English lads in public just reeks of CA (Cultural Appropriation). Next they'll all be sporting dreadlocks along with their Doc Martins. Unless the audience is clamouring for more Reggae, what is their point? "Wheee, look at me!" "I'm English and I can play Reggae!" There's so many great local Reggae bands, who live and breathe Caribbean Culture, that it just looks like your band is trying to edge them out. I'd feel ridiculous doing it in public. I was once slammed with CA for playing upright in a Dixieland band. But I AM Dixieland in my heart, and it's origins are mixed. So I just laughed at him for being so jealous that he couldn't play his own musical heritage as well. I have lots of time for Bob Marley, but I have no time for Eric Clapton. One sounds warm; the other sounds cold. I wouldn't play Reggae as a band unless I was actually born in the Caribbean. Anyone not actually born there is going out of their way, and is a fake, a foolish wannabee. But, you won't go wrong listening to the "Devon Bradshaw" videos. I'd just play Reggae at home.

Grief! Makes one wonder why they even hired a band. Who could foresee that? Must have been a long night...

Rule 3: Put the plug in the hole. Rule 4. Turn on your amp! Rule 5. Wake up the drummer. Rule 6. Tell the guitard you're seeing his old girlfiend. Rule 7. Wake up the drummer.