Learn Ska Guitar | Ska Guitar Lessons

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If you like reggae, and you like punk, then the chances are you either love ska, or you just haven’t heard of it yet.

Ska is reggae-punk fusion styled music with upbeat tempo and happy go lucky rhythms. Today we will be discussing the basics of ska in a short ska guitar lesson.

First off, you will need to develop a sense of rhythm. Ska is all about rhythm, and if you have trouble keeping a steady beat, I highly recommend that you take some time to work with a metronome to better your rhythm. A great way to help develop your rhythm especially for ska is to play eighth notes followed by eighth note rests for full 4/4 measures.

Once you have a handle on your rhythm, you will need to learn how to simplify chords. Ska is almost completely based off of simplified chords. Simplifying chords is a way of shortening a chord, making it easier to play and allowing you to bar the chord.

If you play an a minor chord, which consists of the notes A, C, and E, you would have to play six total notes. Simplifying this chord is achieved by removing the root and its octave and playing the secondary notes (the higher notes) instead. This would leave you with a second inversion a minor triad instead. Not only is a second inversion a minor triad easier to play because it consists of only three notes, it also sounds far more upbeat in its inverted form, as the minor qualities are almost transparent.

This technique can be applied to any barred guitar chord, which coincidentally is the most used chord type in reggae and punk, making it prime for ska.

Once you understand how to simplify your chords, the next ska guitar lesson involves wrist movement. Unlike metal, jazz or blue, ska has an almost unruly wrist motion involved. The ska strum is created by two different means.

The first way is to use a traditional punk strum. Punk guitarists often strum chords by lifting and lowering their arms instead of using their wrists. While this isn’t unsafe, it is tiring after a short amount of playing.

The second means is to use a hammering motion with your wrist. When you hammer a nail into wood, your wrist is almost completely limp and moves back and forth with a jerking motion. Ska guitarists often utilize this hammer motion due to the abruptness of chords in the music style.

Ska picking is extremely exaggerated for what it is. You may see some guitarists hands flailing, but this is completely unnecessary, and unlike the two given techniques, the torque created by flailing your wrist will cause injury.

Our final ska guitar lesson involves rests. As mentioned above, ska utilizes rests between notes. It is important that you develop a good palm muting technique to properly achieve these rests. When playing, try resting your palm against the strings in between notes.

Hold your palm against the strings for the length of the previous chord and then play your next chord, repeating the action. After a bit of practice, you will find that these on and off chord patterns become second nature.

As with all styles of music, the best way to increase your skill is to study other musicians. Watch your favorite bands play and take note over their techniques, then try them out for yourself. Good luck!

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