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.”