Harmonically the music is essentially the same as any other modern popular genre with a tendency to make use of simple chord progressions. It is this slower tempo, the guitar/piano offbeats, the emphasis on the third beat, and the use of syncopated, melodic bass lines that differentiate reggae from other music, although other musical styles have incorporated some of these innovations.
The tempo of reggae is usually slower than ska and rocksteady. This is in contrast to the way most other popular genres focus on beat one, the “downbeat”.
The reggae offbeat can be counted so that it falls between each count as an “and” (example: 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and etc.) or counted as a half-time feel at twice the tempo so it falls on beats 2 and 4. This rhythmic pattern accents the second and fourth beats in each bar and combines with the drum’s emphasis on beat three to create a unique sense of phrasing. One of the most easily recognizable elements is offbeat rhythms staccato chords played by a guitar or piano (or both) on the offbeats of the measure, often referred to as the skank. Reggae is played in 4/4 time because the symmetrical rhythmic pattern does not lend itself to other time signatures such as 3/4 time. Stylistically, reggae incorporates some of the musical elements of rhythm and blues (R&B), jazz, mento, calypso, African, and Latin American music, as well as other genres.
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