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A Musical Life: Brian Tiemeyer

Brian Tiemeyer is a Kansas-based musician who focuses on acoustic soul and reggae music. Here, he discusses one of the difficulties some musicians discover when playing reggae.

“The basic rhythm is called a skank. I think the reason it’s confusing for a lot of people is that many musicians are traditionally trained. The beat is a standard 1,2,3,4. Most reggae has an emphasis on the offbeat, a hard three. The syncopation’s really different. It can throw a lot of players, even really good players. Luckily, for me, punk rock, reggae, ska, that was the first stuff I learned, so it wasn’t as difficult for me.”

Jedd Beaudoin is host/producer of the nationally syndicated program Strange Currency. He created and host the podcast Into Music, which examines musical mentorship and creative approaches to the composition, recording and performance of songs. As a music journalist, his work has appeared in PopMatters, Vox, No Depression and Keyboard Magazine.