The Talent Behind Ska

Ska. This is the three-letter word that offers nothing but confusion to whoever hasn’t heard of it already. I’ll explain it the best I can to newcomers: imagine throwing punk, reggae, and a horn section into a blender and hitting frappe. This is a very basic explanation. There are, of course, many bands that care to throw in their own styles or instrumentals. One thing that separates ska from other genres is that there is no set pattern, musically or lyrically. A wide variety of instruments leaves open endless possibilities with song creation. And as for lyrics: ska songs can be about whatever the writer can think of.

We all know of the overly stereotypical violent lyrics found in heavier music and ignorant political words used in punk music, but ska has no specific lyrical purpose, at least that I am aware of. Songs range from anecdotal and fast-paced songs, to insightful ballad types. (For my own protection, I want to let everybody know that I am a fan of all above mentioned genres, and used the generalizations to express a point.)

Okay, okay, but what about the title? I thought we were gong to discuss about the so-called talent associated with ska bands. Patience, friends and fellow musicians, I will get to that. But first I have to warn everybody that the entire article is not necessarily about guitars. (But what is on UG nowadays anyways, right?) So please spare the comment about this being a guitar website, because I know it is. Everybody here should.

So back on track—a major part of the ska music guitar is the up-beats. The upbeats are played on guitar with upstrokes, generally, for that brighter, slightly edgy sound. But there is a problem with that: after playing a few bars of eighth-note up-beats, musicians have a natural tendency to speed up or slow down to catch up to or fall back on the down-beats. Repetitious up-beat rhythms are more difficult to master than many other rhythms. (I say many because I’m sure lots of you out there would be more than eager to name songs that prove me wrong. So don’t waste your time, please.) Now I am to a point where I can pretty much just feel my way through the upbeats, but until then fast-tempo up-beats required of me more concentration then I thought would have to go into them.

So what does the bass do when the guitar-player is doing their thing? A lot of times, what they play is rather complex. I’m not talking Flea complex, but more than the skank-bass notes to corresponding guitar power chords. Okay, there are power chords in lots of ska, and the bass often does just play the same chord as them, but other than those instances, the bass usually does its own thing, leaving plenty of room for the bass player’s creativity and less dependency on guitar players.

I would mention something about the drums, because they are very important to the ensemble, but to be honest, I don’t know very much about drums at all. What does this look like, www.ultimate-drums.com? I don’t think so.

All right, and now the moment we have all been waiting for: the horn section. These guys are one of the main things that separate ska musicians from ordinary mortals. For the most part, the talent behind the horns is the same, but since I play the trombone, I will mostly talk about that. The talent behind the horn section is probably the most overlooked and underrated. I began playing trombone when I was eleven. And, like the first time I picked up a guitar, I sucked at first. Everybody does. Unknown to most people, the mouth is a muscle that can be trained and strengthened like any other muscle, and, in my case, takes years to acquire the endurance to play for an extended period of time and scales of three of four octaves. One day gone without practicing my particular instrument causes two or three day’s worth of muscle deterioration. This is quite different from the guitar, in which days and maybe weeks gone without practice has much less of an effect on your playing ability.

My point is that horn talent takes longer to develop than quick fingers and calluses. Sure, like in guitar, some people learn faster than others do, but the difference with horns is biological as well as musical. With trombone, there is such a thing as too much practice, and over-playing until you have “shot lips” and a numb face is actually damaging to playing ability. I am not trying at all to take away from the guitar, becasue I love it, but no matter how knowledgeable you are about music, it doesn’t matter in ska brass until you have built up the skill you need to play a horn successfully. So next time you hear a saxophone solo, or a trombone chorus, or trumpet harmonies, remember many of them went through more pain and agony than most people ever do learning to play guitar.

Long live Ska.

Parker Stotts

Comments

[MisterChainsaw]

Ska rules,

Long Live The Aquabats!

[ultradogfromhel]

ska is just so fun and happy, how cant people not like it.

[the_reaper]

haha you don't know shit about ska!

imagine throwing punk, reggae, and a horn section into a blender and hitting frappe

Ska came before both punk and reggae. And they are traditionally are supposed to have lyrics about peace and racial harmony. Hence the two tone theme you see on most rudies clothes. haha

[AnnaPlaysGuitar]

All of the skankers I know are self-consciencely ironic band nerds who sport "ska is dead" tees and walk around worshipping the Aquabat Gods. But they're cool, so it's cool.

[AnnaPlaysGuitar]

the_reaper, what "ska" was then has evolved into modern-day ska, of which this article is about.

[rockinlewis]

mmm skaaaa

[johnnycashCLASH]

ska rules! one love!

[Tom Martin]

I'm not a fan of ska. Even worse, I'm not a fan of skanking.
Whats wrong with a good old fashioned mosh pit?!?

[xOzzy_LAAx]

mosh pits are for kids with baggy jncos and slipknot shirts, its all about hardcore dancing

[theredskyismine]

lolol. Why do you think that ska is the only genre that can have diverse lyrics? As long as the writer is feeling creative any given genre can have lyrics about violent lyrics, "ignorant political lyrics, anecdotal and fast-paced songs, to insightful ballad types." I believe you have a huge bias in which you portray anything not ska, as not talented. If this is not true than you should re-write your article ASAP to avoid others thinking this too.

[theredskyismine]

oh ya, i voted one star simply because there was no "zero star."

[107]

the_reaper... i dont think he's saying that ska IS
"throwing punk, reggae, and a horn section into a blender and hitting frappe" but that that is a good way to describe the sound of a lot of ska (modern ska anyhow) and yes he should have put a section about the origins of ska (they're interesting, go look them up)

[ctb]

Ska good.

[nirvanafuk23]

i love ska, the clash use a lot of it like guns of brixton and london calling...it pretty cool. but you were a little weak on the talent about it

[ronnie clone]

ska rules

[Traitor_99]

Nice article! But could you suggest any good bands?

[IlikeTheSKA]

powerchords? Try barre chords.

Not a very good article.

[acdc101]

I disagree about you saying the horns are harder than guitar. I dont think it was a very good article anyway.

[Michaelpalkowsk]

ska is crap

[gaz12369]

powerchords? Try barre chords.

Not a very good article.

Well a lot of 'modern-ska' does make use of powerchords...just usually in a chorus with your typical distorted p/chords..



Also, this article didnt tell me why there was talent in ska...so it kinda sucked.

[Flowerpot]

Wooooh! Ska rocks! I play the trumpet and yes ^ it is harder than the guitar. A LOT harder. If you want to play it well that is.
you should hear the trumpeter in Streetlight Manifesto, hits a super D - that's one high note for the trumpet!
Suburban Legends also rock!
SKA RULES!

[JL2085]

ya ska is sweet. too bad less than jake started to lose the horns. Im a longtime sublime fan, just discovered the suicide machines the other day(i know not entirely ska).

[dkmfan4189]

theredskyismine:
lolol. Why do you think that ska is the only genre that can have diverse lyrics? As long as the writer is feeling creative any given genre can have lyrics about violent lyrics, "ignorant political lyrics, anecdotal and fast-paced songs, to insightful ballad types." I believe you have a huge bias in which you portray anything not ska, as not talented. If this is not true than you should re-write your article ASAP to avoid others thinking this too.

mosh pits started in the punk scene

[lessTHANjake]

ska is awesome and im not sayin this is a bad article. its great seeing some more ska enthusiats like myself. but with the power chords i feel not many people use them anymore in ska, my band {which is also ska} uses more of the upbeat and upstrokes and distortion. im not sayin power chords arent used at all but they dont seem to be used more often they they have. and i also agree with the comment from JL2085, it sucks that LESS THAN JAKE {my fav. band} has started to lose their horns they went through so many horn players all with great talent.

but great article!
and yes LONG LIVE SKA

[Iluvpowerchords]

I play Trombone and Guitar is way Harder but maybe thats because I'm teaching myself.....REEL BIG FISH are AWESOME

[Advilmonkeyman]

Ska rocks!!!

Long live the Specails, and the Salads

[psychodelia]

Brass is physically harder than guitar because it uses not only lips but the diaphragm. After extended periods of playing, even if your lips don't really hurt your diaphragm probably will from having to support the playing.


I like guitar better though... I could never really fall in love with brass instruments.

[IlikeTheSKA]

lessTHANjake:
but great article!
and yes LONG LIVE SKA

LTJ killed ska

[guitarfreak8448]

The Toasters anyone?!

[backup and lead]

ska is the only thing that motivates me into the mosh pit and i seen the salads live their pretty dope

[Ska4Life]

What's so great about a mosh pit? I mean.. all you do is just punch and shove each other. Skanking is some hardcore stuff!! The Toasters are the most fun to skank to. Ska is awsome.

Skank on my brothers.(and sisters)

[frauny]

Ska kicks ass

[5ironaudiorage]

If you like ragae ish ska slash rock, haha hard to explain, Check out Rx Bandits, greaaat stuff

[redsox193]

alright that article was a load of crap. Its cool if you like ska and all that, but you didnt explain one reason why ska takes talent. Every genre playing horns you have to develop talent. Every genre playing guitar you have to develop talent. Just because you have to gain lung efficiency doesnt make playing a horn harder then guitar too. Both take hard work and talent. Also it seems like the whole time you wrote the article you were trying to cover yourself.

[sargasm]

Well a lot of 'modern-ska' does make use of powerchords...just usually in a chorus with your typical distorted p/chords..

That's ska-core.

Anyway, not a very good article. You should probably know a thing or two about the subject at hand before writing an article about it.

[pistols]

Excuse me, did he say the TALENT behind ska?

[pistols]

Oh yeah, and ska is nothing like punk rock. Not in the slightest.

[Steph Bets]

nice work. its a shame you have to be so defensive thos, but i know why. everyone is so eager to criticise. shame you couldnt do more on drums, theyre really important. 8/10

[catempire]

Super D on a trumpet? Not that high really, not for pros.
I play a trumpet also, and I have to agree, it is heaps harder than a guitar.

[ad_lib_oz]

Yeah Brass instruments are difficult to play - I would know.


Word.

[linked_reality]

Just because you can't play guitar well does not necessarily imply that you need more talent to play a brass instrument. I've mastered the trumpet. Still, the guitar's my favourite instrument. Neither of them are harder or easier. Thats purely subjective, d*ckhead. I'm not saying ska sucks or anything like that... But it isn't as good as jazz either.

[redsox193]

you could have followed what the title of ur page was, and you should have been less defensive the whole time

[n0selfesteem]

Skas cool but this article isnt.

[Warm-And-Fuzzy]

n0selfesteem:
Skas cool but this article isnt.

Totally agree with you there, all I really have to say is, if you dont know.. shut up about it. Im afraid, because the ska is dead concert sold out in my area, and no more than 3 people (includeing me) fit the scene... I mean, I have no problem with it, its just I feel like the scence isnt getting its correct fan base...(down in fla. anyway.. )

[nirvanarhcp]

listen to sublime, brad nowell was one of the most underrated guitarists ever - there is the talent in ska!!!

[jeeba jaba]

It was a pretty good article, should've been longer, and you should have been more indepth with your explanation of things, and examples of people in ska that can play very well. But you play trombone, and we boners must stick together! Not too shabby an article.

[playonforever]

less than jake surely didn't help ska at all..... five iron frenzy is the best ska band there will every be....

[ANGUS/JIMI_ROCK]

FIF rules! yeah, i play trumpet and it's much harder than guitar. Oh yeah, and ska is nothing like punk rock. Not in the slightest.
you're wrong

[ANGUS/JIMI_ROCK]

dang it i can never get the quotes to work

[Opus Dei]

And all the band nerds come running..

So basically you're trying to say it's harder to play a brass instrument than a guitar? That's a very bold statement.. and i'm not going to sit hear and argue about it, but I will say this:

I HATE SKA. Brass instruments just sound like different pitched farting. Trumpets are high pitched farts, trombones are medium farts, and tubas are really low farts. They all give me a headache. Violins in rock.. now that's a different story (except yellowcard).

And don't sit here and say "Oh, when you play ska you can write about whatever you want!" Like when my band and I are writing, we sit down and say "Ok, we're a soft rock kind of band like the Goo Goo Dolls or Collective Soul, this means we are required to write songs about love and other such things. Bullshit. You can write whatever you want for any musical genre.

[newabortion]

No dice...I wishe there was something lower then one star

[ianian]

i agree with with him ^^^

[lifeguard]

it was my first article. give me a break. i was bored, and felt like writing. i play guitar in the band, but will occasionally whip out the bone for a solo. Really, I like guitar more, but I love trombone,too. And i really hate how everybody thinks you play a horn, you are automatically in the local marching band. Thanks for wasting time commenting on MY article. You guys should try writing sometime, and see what people have to say about your crappy articles. Expect more.

[lifeguard]

And i know all genres have lyrical freedom and talent. i was merely trying to explain what sets ska aprt from other genres and that, contrary to popular belief, they do have talent. ANd i know about history and all that shiz, i was trying to keep it basic for the ignorants. Beleive me, i read the other ska articles on this website.

[semolinapilchar]

lol and everyone that wrote about this article being bad just got slapped

[furioussktr]

ok for a first article, this was definately not something you wanted to discuss.
although horns may be a unique instrument, but there isnt many places to go with it, even if you are very good. good luck actually proving the difference between the type of lyrics in ska, and other genres, and, have you every actually listened, or read, any of the lyrics in heavy music, or punk, most of its either true, or they just sound angry, or are singing about happy stuff while screaming

[redsox193]

hey man, stop bashing on him its his first article, he is aloud to write bull in his first article

[AusFender911]

ska is the shit! I don't listen to much anymore but it started me off with regards to music. Five stars cos everyone being tossbags! And the article wasn't that bad too.

PS. I play guitar and violin, and i can tell u violin is ALOT MORE DIFFICULT. Or maybe its just the practise is boring so its harder to persist at.

[Blood_Covered]

ska sucks, this article sucked.

[milk_it_good]

Ska lyrics are verbal diarrhoa. People hear them and assume that there is some deeper meaning behind them, that's why they are so boring. People think that people play horns are in a marching band, because that's where they belong. They don't have crunching, distorted guitars and electronic keyboards in orchestra, it wouldn't be orchestra. Instruments partly make a genre, so mixing them just confuses things.

[punkrocklove999]

this didnt explain how there was talent in ska at all. you said they use lots of power chords and the bassist usually follows the guitar.....wow talent

[battleofla]

Too much procrastination not enough of what was ment to be there.

3 stars.

[redsox193]

milk it good thats not true. Instruments can mix in genres and it creates some pretty awsome music, as long as there clever with it

[R@fa88offspring]

he knows about ska, he's talking about 3rd wave ska, not original ska, which of course was way before punk and shit

[doughboy788]

Ska came before both punk and reggae. your the dumbass. ska was a different for of reggae that became popular in england after it was formed in jamacia

[MrLucky77713]

Umm wasn't Reggae the Second Wave of Ska? Punk didn't get thrown in until Third Wave... Maybe sargasm needs to have sex with me again so I remember...

[slash111391]

ska ska the musical fruit
the more u eat the more u toot
the more u toot the betta u feel
so eat ur ska at every meal

[SURFraptor7]

I for one liked the article

[darkstar9814]

ska bass players are good, like almost paul siminon good.

[Needled_24/7]

ive heard some ska bands from my friend who likes alot of music, by the way. he likes everything from realand old school punk to the heavy stuff i like. he likes everything from nofx to amon amarth. he let me listen to ska on his mp3, and let me tell you, its not very good. i dont know how he can like it, its so stupid, boring, terrible.

now i know that some people will want to defend their favourite style of music and will tell me that amon amarth and meshuggah suck because i said i like heavy stuff. so go ahead. i know that ska sucks, and death metal out of scandinavia is the best kind of music. and you know that death metal sucks and ska is the best thing going. so, lets agree to disagree and we all can shut up.

as for the article, not very good.

[dorte]

so first at all, people who dont like ska, why do you read this article?just to post "Ska is stupid"...?!?
...i think the article is pretty good ( i don't say that just because i know you!) for people who don't know a lot about ska, to give them an idea what its all about!
and to people who just complain, that he fergot something or that some things are not right...write your own article, if you think you know much more about it!
well look forward to your next article...
see ya dee

[Diceman42]

dorte:
so first at all, people who dont like ska, why do you read this article?just to post "Ska is stupid"...?!

Yeah. Ska sucks. Go *** yourself.

[Mr. Clean]

That's like making a column called "The Nonpartisan Politics Behind FOX News", you might think it's true, but you're not fooling any intelligent person

[12stringr]

yah ska is pretty gay and it sucks. No talent required for ska, just some barred powerchords and soem really gay and happy people dancing around.

[Wormboy]

two words: SKA SUCKS!

[axeslinger01]

first what on earth is ska, and second why is the second half of the article about this dude playin his trombone every day? this bloody sucks

[axeslinger01]

p.s. METAL 4 EVR!!!..

[lifeguard]

Hey everybody, its me the author. I feel like telling everybody now that i have another article in the works. This one is about hardcore. If you dont like hardcore, dont read the article, or you can read it and waste your time. I imagine i feel like an author would about a book; they know a lot of people might not like their books, but they dont care because they bought the books anyways. An article i wrote out of boredom was read by people out of boredom. maybe we should all get off the computer and play guitar huh?

[fractured]

Dude, playing horns is NOT that hard, and they dont deserve any more credit than any other musician.

12stringr is pretty much right, so is Axeslinger01, Why is the second half about some dude playing his trombone every day? You know, it was just weird.

Okay so what, in ska you have to keep timing while you play, lots of intelligeable music requires you to keep proper timing in order to play correctly, just because punks can spam powerchords and metalheads can just spam riffage out their ass, it doesn't mean that lots of music doesnt require timing..

Your article could have been more complex and went further into the details and it would have been better.

[lifeguard]

how many guys that comment on how easy horns are to play actually play them? Play it well, i mean. Any idiot can pick up a bone and spurt random crappings out of it. American Pie 2, anybody? Only a limited amount of people have the justified right to comment on the comparisons of difficulty between horns and guitar, and it seems most of them have declared horns as being more difficult all around. The others probably arent even sure which hole the horn goes to. Again back to American Pie 2... And just so people understand: I do love guitar more than trombone. I just hoped maybe people would be slightly enlightened about the genre by understanding more about what sets it apart from others. i suppose i overestimated the public's openmindedness.

[redsox193]

lol hey being a punk isnt gonna help you win the publics opinions. People are just negative towards you because your stating trying to get your point out, but your not giving any hard facts or anything.

[marley_man]

i guess youre right about the not playing a horn instrument you can lose ability and all but if you go without guitar for "days and weeks" like you said, youre gonna get worse, trust me.

[talius22]

The writer of this article is my very intelligent brother, so of course I am biased. But let me tell you, he is not a ska-only type dude. That is not what I heard all day at home. We listened to a mix of all types of music, and this guy does love music--playing, listening, eating--okay, not eating, but you get the picture. I can tell you all that this dude rocks and he knows his stuff.

Talia Stotts

[Mr. Clean]

Ive Punk fans dont respect Ska fans

[i_am_lamb]

Flowerpot:
Wooooh! Ska rocks! I play the trumpet and yes ^ it is harder than the guitar. A LOT harder. If you want to play it well that is.
you should hear the trumpeter in Streetlight Manifesto, hits a super D - that's one high note for the trumpet!
Suburban Legends also rock!
SKA RULES!

Same here.
Except I play tromone. Its pretty hard too, with all the slides..

[Evian]

Brass is not harder than Guitar...If you think that then your ignorant. I could list so many reasons why Guitar is much harder....

[lifeguard]

Do it. I dare you. And then I will come up with twice as many reasons why you're wrong.

[darkstar9814]

this isnt www.ultimate-horns.com either, mayb next time u can talk about SKA- its a good genre of music.

[lifeguard]

^Haha! Touchet! I stand corrected. I am surprised nobody else thought of that.

[Stonerpmp]

ska just sounds like shit to my ears >_

[ohmykramer]

ska just sounds like shit to my ears

Fucking Amen to that.
Oh, ska bass players actually have no talent- they just play root chords really fast and try pass themselves off as 'the kings of cool' in the bass world. Ska music is nothing but pop punk thats yet to hit puberty.
The article isnt bad, the music is.

[Sporkmaster]

Good article. For all of you that want to find out some good ska bands, here's a list of (mostly) third wave bands....

A Billion Ernies
Big D and the Kids Table
Catch-22
Distorted Penguins
Five Iron Frenzy
Insult to Tradition
Mustard Plug
Reel Big Fish
RX Bandits
Less Than Jake
The Specials
Spring-Heeled Jack
Suburban Legends
The Aquabats!
The Cheapskates
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
The O.C. Supertones
The Ska Daddyz
The Taj Motel Trio
The Toasters

Most ska bass players are far more talented than metal/hardcore/punk bass players. Not to say there isn't a lot of talent in those particular genres, but the average ska bass player is better than the average of most styles of music.

As far as horns go, no, horns are not harder to play than guitar. No, playing guitar is not harder than playing a horn. It all depends on the person. But the truth is - good guitar players are a dime a dozen. Good horn players are not, and it takes a lot more to develop a horn player's tone quality. Horn players also have to constantly adjust themselves to the world around them. They are much harder to keep in tune than your average guitar.

Am I saying that ska is the best genre of music? In my opinion - Yes. But I'm not gonna shove my crap in your face and tell you that my music is better than your music, unless you listen to country.

[lifeguard]

^ZING!^

[ohmykramer]

Sporkmaster, would you like to tell us what exactly makes a good bass player before you make a bold statement like that....

[Sporkmaster]

In my opinion, a good bass player is someone who can incorporate many different ideas into their playing, and into their bass lines, but in all actuallity, its really just my taste.

[Tyler the Great]

woodwinds aren't chromatic like a guitar, you have tons of messed up fingerings and alternate fingerings and "design flaw" fingerings. Not only that, you have to be able to blow well and hard at the same time, and adjust it based on what you are playing. you have to be able to make subtle changes in your airstream, much more subtle then strumming a guitar. to make a woodwind sound good is much harder then making a guitar sound good, that is what harder means. I personally like the guitar better, and I can't speak for brass.

[lessTHANjake]

ohmykramer:
ska just sounds like shit to my ears


Fucking Amen to that.

go to hell dude. ska kicks your ass

sporkmaster i love the list you got too: less than jake, reel big fish, might mighty bosstones. ska is talented in every area

love the article
Oh, ska bass players actually have no talent- they just play root chords really fast and try pass themselves off as 'the kings of cool' in the bass world. Ska music is nothing but pop punk thats yet to hit puberty.
The article isnt bad, the music is.
[POSTED: 02 March 2005 - 12:49]

[lessTHANjake]

that got written wrong too
the music does kick ass and ska bass does have talent

[lessTHANjake]

an too follow up again check out these 2 tabs

look at "Blitzkrieg Bop" by the Ramones, its punk rock bass, a 2 year old could play that

after you check that one out look at "Beer" by Reel Big Fish, ska bass compared to punk, the ska is much harder faggot

[Gumbi89]

i don't like ska, but the article is okay

[Cmoj&CP]

12stringr:
yah ska is pretty gay and it sucks. No talent required for ska, just some barred powerchords and soem really gay and happy people dancing around.

Interesting...less talent required for emo or metal. Just enough negative notes with enough distortion to make it sound decent, with a bunch of sad motherf***ers beating the shit out of each other then going home, crying, and cutting themselves?

See, I can be an ignorant asshole too!

[Cmoj&CP]

I also happen to live breathe and eat ska and am not gay.

[undeaded]

I may be uncultured but only ska band i've heard is Less than Jake. They are different. MY like of music isn't near ska, or even punk. Alternative Rock has lots of distinguished poeple, such as slash, still alive and banging in velvet revolver. But before my shit goes into your heads, it doesnt matter what genre of rock you listen to, we are a growing community and rock hasnt been this big in a long time. Long live Velvet Revolver :p

[that ska guy]

ska has to be one of the best ways to roke out and a respons to that guy undeaded hear are some names of ska bands, mighty mighty bosstons, reel big fish, sublime, buck-o-nine, the slackers, the toesters, save farris, and yes less than jake. and much much more pleas name a few more for thos people that have not discoverd ska if you pleas.

[Sporkmaster]

undeaded -

Less Than Jake was my first ska band, too. But believe me, it gets better from there. They are a starter ska band of sorts, but nonetheless, a really good band. Check my list a little further up if you want to check out some more.

And yeah, Slash freaking rules.

[danceXcore]

i cannot say i am a huge ska fan ,but it kinda looks fun dancing around. i am one for the 2 step so who knows.

[lessTHANjake]

YES "that ska guy" thank you for mentioning
BUCK - O - NINE i forgot them, great list all really good bands
and ska is not power chords people who said that, do you know what ska is?

[bass_maiden]

Check out skaboom by Weeble (www.myspace.com/weeble). Awesome local ska band, they've got two guitarists, bassist, drummer, congos and a four-man brass section. And ska bass can be fantastic but it's like every genre- there will always be people playing root notes and there will always be people who play fantastic basslines, it just depends who you listen to. Ska is fantastic, it makes you wana get up and dance. We had a signed band play in our very little town recently and everybody went home before this band even came on, because everybody turned out to see the local ska band and went home when they'd done.
Just because ska isn't you're favourite genre doesn't mean you should bash it, just don't comment

[Nadthoob]

-Alright let me Inform you about Ska.
-First of all the Clash is intensely awesome for assisting in its development.
-Aquabats are awesome for the their Ska playing, but they play a lot of other stuff than Ska.
-Now FIVE IRON FRENZIE is the best American Ska band thats ever existed.
-Suburban Legends is also Very good.
-Ska is not 'hard core'...it can make fun of being hard core.
-Its INTENSE and Groovy and its Super RAD
-Also to like SKA you don't have to dress funny, you can dress normal and still skank.

[Sporkmaster]

The Clash didn't exactly assist in the development of Ska, IMO.

The Clash played a couple of ska songs, but that's about it. Ska was around and thriving more than 10 years before the Clash.

As for the best American Ska band - you hit the nail right on the head. Five Iron Frenzy is my favorite, and in my opinion, the best ska band in the US, with RX Bandits being a close second.

Some of you need to just open your mind to more music. I used to be one of those kids that said stuff like "anything not metal sucks", until I ACTUALLY LISTENED TO SOMETHING THAT WAS NOT METAL!

Open your minds and ears.....and grow up. You sound like a bunch of 12-year-olds calling everything "gay".

[piss_off]

Ska originally started in the 1930s and 40s in Jamaica. it was to keep them dancing but slower because it was so hot. then came reggae and 2nd and 3rd wave ska. the ska we have today is thrid wave ska with the fast or slow upstroke guitar to keep a rhythm NOT to make it sound cool, the horn section to add melody, bass to go along with the melody but adding more lines and helping the guitar, and the drums and vocals to give power to it.

[danspencer]

Ska wasn't about unity - look at the real rude bwoys, or dance hall crashers (not bands, but people from 30s and 40s.

Two tone ska was the second wave, punk-ska in the 90s is the third wave. A few people think ska-kore (Voodoo Glow Skulls, Rollerstarter, some bosstones) is the 4th wave... I don't but whatever.

Ska wasn't orriginally fast paced. It wasn't ESPECIALLY slow, like regae - however, with the summer heat, it evolved into 'rock steady' which was slower, and eventually that became regae.

Skatalites are a good example of old ska (first wave). Specials and Madness for second wave. Toasters, Madcaddies for 3rd wave.


Horns are harder than guitar. With guitar theres a fret, and a string. You put your finger there, pick, and you have a note. With horn (brass at least) you put the right valves down, and then adjust your mouth, and hope the right note comes out. Bass is harder in ska than other genres (like punk or metal, when its generally just the root).
As someone who plays trombone, trumpet, guitar, and a bit of bass, I feel entitled to say that.

A few things to various posts out there - london calling isn't ska, its on the on beats not off beats, more like a swing beat than a ska beat. Less than jake are a good band, they have a good deal of ska/punk-ska (listen to one last cigarette on pezcore). SKA IS NOT ROCK IT IS SKA, modern stuff has merged the two but they aren't just offshoots of one another.


Skas about unity, so lets not just have posts taht say "I R RIGHT FAGGOT." You make yourself look like an idiot, and no one cares, except for the spam it causes.

I'm leaving out stuff, but I don't think i oppinionized too much in there.

Rock on, and listen the the mad caddies, so you can hear an awsome trumpeter and awsome trombonist.

[piss_off]

:cheers:

[Uber Bhudda Fat]

Long Live Ska!!!..
I went to a Less Than Jake show...and it was awesome, and everybody who says ska sux is gay & they can go suck a dick.

[piss_off]

Ska is awesome just dont whine or say anything like that when they just said their opinion.

[that ska guy]

its all about ska my friend.

[MCR_87]

all i know is ska sux!!! rude boys sux!!! skanking sux!!!

[cab00se]

ok i like ska...but i like anything rock...who cares what type of rock it is its all good so insted of smashing eachothers music why not go smash some of that preppy shit (hip-hop/rap) cuz seriously who likes listening to a repeating backbeat and lyrics about sex drugs and violence...but yes ska rocks, punk rocks, hevier stuff rocks so ya its all good

[Black6]

I just skimmed through btw, like i do most articles. But when you say playing on the up beats, you mean syncopation, which is putting an accent on the weak beats, which defines jazz. Now, you also mention the bass "doing its own thing...", describes jazz once more, and horn, well, we all know who Louis Armstrong is... the first jazz cat. For someone who has no idea what ska is, like myself, and I play Wes Montgomery and Joe Pass, you have not done a good job describing the music.

And as for playing horn, being harder to learn than guitar. Try playing jazz on strings stiff as concrete until your finger tips bleed. Same for playing some pre-war blues on a dobro. I have played so many years my knuckles are the size of giant marbles and I get cortizone shots every 3 months to relieve the pain in my wrists from carpal tunnel. My fingernails have ceased to grow on my left hand too. Not to mention all the fingernails I've torn off when strumming with my fingers. BTW, did you know you can get an infection under your nails if you play on old rusty strings, or someone else's nasty guitar. This is if you're a finger picker like myself at least. I also know classical guitarists who can confuse anyone into thinking they are playing a piano when they play Beethoven's moonlight sonata, and they went through, and still deal with, a lot of pain.

Not to say that playing a horn isn't hard, I think it's all equally challenging, and every instrument has its own sound and its own requirements of finese, practice and skill.

BOTTOM LINE = YOU'RE BRAND OF SUFFERING IS NO WORSE THAN MY OWN OR ANYBODY ELSE'S.

[Jimbo/Slash]

Matt Wong is the best ska bassist ever!!!
SKA RULES!!!

[lifeguard]

Ok...to MR. Black6 (though he will praobably never be back) I am familliar with jazz. And syncopation. and Louis armstrong. but most people on this site arent. and why should they be? I didnt use terminology people wouldnt understand to make myself look smarter than them. i tried to use a simple explaination so that people unfamilliar would have a basic understanding, so that if they heard a ska song, they could go "hey, maybe this is that 'ska' thing that guy was talking about..." Oh, and to make myself look like a tough guy, as you attempted: Try playing 4 octave scales nearly non-stop for hours with interfering orthodontia that cut, slice, dice, grind, and snag your cheeks and gums until they bleed, and you lose all feeling from your chin to your upper lip, so much that, along with powerful shortness of breath that results the excersises, you couldnt whistle much less speak by the time your done practicing. Boo hoo. What about getting cold sores from sharing horns...? wahhh... or pinching your finger on the trombone slide? *sheds a tear*. really...who cares? i do it because i love music, not because i want everybody to know how bad i have it.

[Surf3r]

Surprised not to many of you guys mentioned Sublime

[lifeissublime]

ok heres my 2 cents... I've been playing trumpet for 8 years and i would say im pretty good, and ive been playing bass for about 2 years, im ok. I can play any song on bass that i can play on trumpet, im not exactly sure what that means but its gotta say something. Trumpet does use alot more muscles then needed to play bass or guitar so therefore its more demanding physically making it harder. Talent wise, every genre has their talented musicians so its kinda biased to say only ska is talented etc etc but yes it does take talent to be a good ska band obviously. Im not a ska only kinda person i listen to NOFX sublime chocking victim, bob marley and so many other genres.bass is really fun to play and so is trumpet, i just go with the flow

[REHASHER2]

ok wat tha hell
THIS IS FUCKING CALLED 'THE TALENT OF SKA' WHERE THA FUCKING HELL DOES IT SAY ANYTHING THAT WILL HELP ANYONE PLAY SKA!!!!!
its a good article but u hav to ****ing stick to the title

[REHASHER2]

ok wat tha hell
THIS IS FUIKING CALLED 'THE TALENT OF SKA' WHERE THA FUKING HELL DOES IT SAY ANYTHING THAT WILL HELP ANYONE PLAY SKA!!!!!
its a good article but u hav to fuking stik to the title

[melgar]

Ska Is The Best! Ska Rules!!!!! Ralph

[Hattie_Cooke]

Mr Parker... i couldnt agree with you more. i am in a ska band in which i play guitar. Learning guitar was of course rather difficult. but i also play oboe which is a woodwind instrument. and if anyone thinks guitar is harder than a woodwind or brass instrument...you can shut up. i once played oboe for so long that i couldnt talk for a day, because i couldnt move my face. I've been playing guitar 2 years and ok i've had a couple of blisters but thats nothing.

Great article... never have such truer words been spoken. well written.

[Hattie_Cooke]

I play oboe and guitar and i can tell you that playing a woodwind or brass instrument is alot more difficult than playing guitar. I once couldnt speak for 3 hours after playing oboe my face just ached so much. Compared to that..what's a couple of blisters and a few achey fingers?? And as for my ska band, we wouldnt sound the same without our trusty sax player. Ska is food for the imaginative!

www.bandzoogle.com/users/offthemenu ( my site )

If you like ska..check us out

[PICKS r4 DICKS]

the_reaper wrote:

haha you don't know shit about ska!imagine throwing punk, reggae, and a horn section into a blender and hitting frappe
Ska came before both punk and reggae. And they are traditionally are supposed to have lyrics about peace and racial harmony.

dont be an ass hole about it. he was saying that ska sounds like punk from the lyrics that arnt a major part in ska and how its upbeat. and its reggae because of the upstroke guitar used in most ska songs, and the fast somewhat walking quarternote bassline. and obviously there are horns used in many ska songs.

and btw i played bass clarinet in my middle school band for 3 years and i know what you mean about goin a few days without practicing and how it afects how you play. and brass always did look more difficult than woodwinds.

nice article

[Dan Steinman]

i have the utmost respect for brass players, that is an intense playing experience. it's hard enough finding the right notes without having your freaking breathing restricted!

i also love the mix of horns and the guitar/bass/drum trio, it's refreshing to hear such an unusual collaboration.

[Jdahmer]

I applaud anyone who can post any columns on this site. It would be hard to post "the sky is often blue" without someone like the_reaper saying "not alwz stoopid wht aboot nigttime???!?!?." As readers, we are given a chance to comment on these, but there really should be some amount of restraint with our flaming.

Anyone who says that Ska is untalented has probably not played brass; I played trumpet back in the day, and I learned it much more slowly than guitar. This article discusses brass, ergo the title fits.

Good article, and thank you.

[iamtheguitarpro]

um ska started out as, basically, skinhead music.
but it's good now.

[J6strings21fret]

iamtheguitarpro wrote:

um ska started out as, basically, skinhead music.
but it's good now.

Ok buddy...

[stonegrove]

for "iamtheguitarpro"

Skinheads started out as a peaceful group of people who dressed similar and accepted all racial groups. the term skinhead was used due to the fact that the people who joined this group shaved their heads. part right of passage, part to show equality amonst the group. it wasn't till years later that a number of people disguised themselves as skinheads and went to a ska show and started a bunch of shit. The term skinhead was highjacked on that day, and never shall mean the same as it once did.

Ska guitar takes a ton of talent, besides the fact that you are expected to keep perfect time, there is a great deal of hand strength required to properly play ska guitar. (no palm muting, kids). On top of all that there is so much going on in a ska band, the desire to listen and become distracted is very high.

Kooter of the Stone Grove

[identityxcrysis]

Just wanna throw it out there, that he's more of referring to the 3rd wave of ska, because ska came before punk and reggae. That and, traditionally ska lyrics are about unity.

[pie_man_25]

I like ska, like reel big fish. that's a good band, I remember skanking with all my friends at a high school dance a couple of years ago, everyone thought we were crazy and shat themselves. It was hilarious.

[purgatory358]

REEL BIG FISH IS THE BEST SKA BAND ever

[cortez0]

Isn't there a big difference between ska and ska-punk? Cause you can't compare the skatalites, the specials to ska-p, less than jake and spunge.

[dannay]

Ska came before both punk and reggae. And they are traditionally are supposed to have lyrics about peace and racial harmony. Hence the two tone theme you see on most rudies clothes. haha

he wasnt saying ska came after those genres, he was just trying to explain what it sounds like to people who dont know much about it.

as for the song meanings, **** tradition. people can sing about whatever they want.

[KeganKatastrofe]

i was JUST talking about that.

Its so true that ska takes more skill than most genres. I'm sorry, i love metal and punk, but it's SO much easier to play than ska in ALL areas.

I'm a trumpet player and everything he said is completely true.

P.S. Kudos to you for playing the trombone, that's my next mountain to conquer
lol

[MarkCP]

Aww man this article was damn good...bout time people started respecting ska! Some of your information was a little sketchy, and it was lopsided, you kinda just leaned on how hard it was to play the trombone. I'm in a band, we play a lot of stuff, but mostly ska, and I'm planning on learning the trumpet soon, is it really that hard? Shit...well...better get started. Thanks for the good article.

[Drissi]

ska has so much talent behind it because all (six to fifteen people) the ska band has to be on time and in key play right notes etc. Ten times harder to practice in a ska band

[CerebrusX]

AnnaPlaysGuitar wrote:

All of the skankers I know are self-consciencely ironic band nerds who sport "ska is dead" tees and walk around worshipping the Aquabat Gods. But they're cool, so it's cool.

I was a band nerd. Hah. 'Spose I still am. I still have my trumpet resting peacefully in the corner. Kind of ironic. I was skinning my face off to some metal this morning and then at random I threw on some Reel Big Fish. ... You just got to love the upbeat awesomeness.

But anyway. I have yet to sport around a Ska is Dead shirt.

But; blah! The Aquabats are hilarious and awesome. Reel Big Fish are pure greatness. The Planet Smashers rock. And a fistful of others! Mustard Plug! Gimp! Catch 22/Streetlight Manifesto! Fishbone! Buck-o-Nine! Operation Ivy! Voodoo Glow Skulls!

Ska. Ain't. Dead.

[Fritz621]

HORNS FOREVER!!! lol

[bazman13]

you should check out the horn section in my ska band. our sax player had been playing for afew years, then our bass player went to my mate and said "if i get you a trombone, will you play it in our band??" he replyd "you know i can play a trombone?" its about a year and half later and we just got a trumpit player, she lernt trumpit for like year or 2 as a kid and then stoped. i play keys and had barly ever herd ska when i joined the band, and its been greaat fun. you can play it with barly any skill, or shitloads, just like any kind of music. aslong as you know how to play up your strengths and make a good party song you are fiine.