Ska is not an extremely difficult genre to play, but getting the hang of it can be hard. There are a few things you should know before trying to play ska: Barre Chords, How To Play off-beat, and what ska actually is.
Barre Chords:
Using your index finger to barre all the frets, then directly the fret beneath playing mainly either the e major chord or a major chord shape. The E style barre chord is easier to play. The e barre chord gets it's root note and the name of the chord from the bass note or the fret you are playing on the bottom E string, for example fret 5 is A. A shape barre chords can be found by the note on the A string. Some basic barre chord shapes: F#
E[--2-----
B[--2-----
G[--3-----
D[--4-----
A[--4-----
E[--2-----,
E[--3-----
B[--3-----
G[--4-----G major,
D[--5-----
A[--5-----
E[--3-----
E[--5-----
B[--5-----
G[--6-----A Major
D[--7-----
A[--7-----
E[--5-----
E[--1-----
B[--1-----
G[--2-----F major is always played as a barre chord when using full chords.
D[--3-----
A[--3-----
E[--1-----
A Shape:
E[--2-----
B[--2-----
G[--4-----
D[--4-----
A[--2-----B Major
E[--2-----.
There are also minor barre chords too. For the e shape, use the e minor shape instead of a major, and the same for a.
Ska Chords:
Ska chords are barre chords played on the top three strings, which are used in many ska/punk songs (check out operation ivy tabs).
Some examples:
E[--5-----
B[--5-----
G[--6-----A Major
D[--------
A[--------
E[--------
How to get the ska sound:
Very simple. On down strokes, raise your fretting fingers slightly so when you strum you hear a click sound.
Some songs to try: OPERATION IVY- SOUND SYSTEM
A A G G D D D D
E|X--5--X--5--X--3--X--3--|X--2--X--2--X--2--X--2--|
B|X--5--X--5--X--3--X--3--|X--3--X--3--X--3--X--3--|
G|X--6--X--6--X--4--X--4--|X--2--X--2--X--2--X--2--|
D|X--7--X--7--X--5--X--5--|X--4--X--4--X--4--X--4--|
A|------------------------|------------------------|
E|------------------------|------------------------|
Sound Systems gonna bring me back up yah
A A G G D D D D
E|X--5--X--5--X--3--X--2--|X--2--X--2--X--2--X--2--|
B|X--5--X--5--X--3--X--3--|X--3--X--3--X--3--X--3--|
G|X--6--X--6--X--4--X--4--|X--2--X--2--X--2--X--2--|
D|X--7--X--7--X--5--X--5--|X--4--X--4--X--4--X--4--|
A|------------------------|------------------------|
E|------------------------|------------------------|
One thing that I can depend on
SUBLIME- SANTERIA
VERSES(1ST,2ND,3RD): Upstroke Ska
e|-x---x---x---x---x-4-x-4-x-4-x-4-x-4-x-4-x-4-x-4-x-7-x-7-x-7-x-7--|
B|-x-9-x-9-x-9-x-9-x-4-x-4-x-4-x-4-x-5-x-5-x-5-x-5-x-7-x-7-x-7-x-7--|
G|-x-9-x-9-x-9-x-9-x-5-x-5-x-5-x-5-x-6-x-6-x-6-x-6-x-8-x-8-x-8-x-8--|
D|-x-9-x-9-x-9-x-9--------------------------------------------------|
A|------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|------------------------------------------------------------------|Enjoy!
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