Reggae Bubble???

Hello!

Does Sonar 6 PE have Reggae organ to get bubble sound? Is there any software out there, where I just set the tempo, and chords and then it starts to play me Reggae bubble? Samples are not enough, as I need to decide the tempo and chord progression. No, I don´t wanna buy an organ nor keyboard - it should be a software, that gives me a pro sound too.
Any help highly appreciated.

Regards, Yeppe

What, no one wants to bite on this one?

I listen to, Burning Spear, Alpha Wess, Alpha Bondy, Mefa Gaya, and others, and have never heard of a reggae bubble.

ORIGINAL: Ognis

I listen to, Burning Spear, Alpha Wess, Alpha Bondy, Mefa Gaya, and others, and have never heard of a reggae bubble.

I heard the term many times and I don't listen to Reggae at all.. the OP's request is really funny not because there aren't such things..there are many audio libraries with latin loops,rock,reggae..some drums and instruments loops or phrases..but Yeppe wants it MIDI OK, so there's Band in a Box or Jammer Pro ..their styles must have many organ chords played with that rhythm..just let them play on a good organ library of your choice.. don't forget to mess with it, a good keyboardist can create many kind of bubbles (!) with different tones (somewhat..it's reggae after all..hehe) .. true art! (u know, I did listen to UB40 some years ago..some great sounds/mixes there..lotsa bubbles)

I forgot - Ognis, you're not a keyboard player..it's mostly keyboardists who talk about "bubbles"...also "comping" isn't what we see here on the forums (and there were many "comping" threads..).."Rhythm changes" that have nothing to do with any rhythm.. I bet drummers have such confusing terms too..besides "paradiddle"

Does Sonar 6 PE have Reggae organ to get bubble sound?

I believe what he is looking for is a Rhodes/Electric Piano sound.
"bubbling" from my understanding is the way most reggae keyboardist 'strum' chords.

IMO, if you want a musicial sound, get a midi keyboard and record your performance as midi in Sonar - you can always change your samples using your favorite softsynth/sampler.

QUOTE::it should be a software, that gives me a pro sound too. UNQUOTE::
I dont think so.
Cj

ORIGINAL: Honest_Al

ORIGINAL: Ognis

I listen to, Burning Spear, Alpha Wess, Alpha Bondy, Mefa Gaya, and others, and have never heard of a reggae bubble.

I forgot - Ognis, you're not a keyboard player..it's mostly keyboardists who talk about "bubbles"...also "comping" isn't what we see here on the forums (and there were many "comping" threads..).."Rhythm changes" that have nothing to do with any rhythm.. I bet drummers have such confusing terms too..besides "paradiddle"

Only keys I play are my controler. Reggae is cool though.. Alpha Wess is by far my fav, you should check him out sometime,

http://www.myspace.com/alphawess

There is a song here too, http://www.donaba.net/musicvideo.php?rubrique=artiste&audio=98

believe what he is looking for is a Rhodes/Electric Piano sound.

I still think the majority is organ sounds .. mostly that with all the variations (Vox,Farfisa,Hammond,Korg etc.) ..probably there are also cases where you hear Fender Rhodes or other E.P's.

Although organs and electric pianos are different beasts I know many that confuse the names/sounds..calling a more "round" organ sound (no Leslie) an electric piano or "rhodes"

Hello,

The "bubble" is a rhythm style, not a particular sound. You can play the bubble on any kb (organ, piano, e. piano, clavinet).

GK

Hey mon! The bubble is goood... the bubble is my friend, Jah is love!!!! I-Rie!!! The bubble is floating around the room.... pass the dutchie! All is Jah!!!!!

ORIGINAL: j boy

Hey mon! The bubble is goood... the bubble is my friend, Jah is love!!!! I-Rie!!! The bubble is floating around the room.... pass the dutchie! All is Jah!!!!!

You mean "I and I and I and I"....

ORIGINAL: Geokauf

Hello,

The "bubble" is a rhythm style, not a particular sound. You can play the bubble on any kb (organ, piano, e. piano, clavinet).

GK

+1

(I'm in a reggae band, btw)

Once again, Wikipedia comes to the rescue:

Bubble Rhythm, an organ playing technique used heavily in reggae music, playing every 16th note except for numbered downbeats.

A bubble, a bubble
Looking for no trouble
But if you trouble, trouble
We'll give it to you double
- Bob Marley

ORIGINAL: bitflipper

Once again, Wikipedia comes to the rescue:

Bubble Rhythm, an organ playing technique used heavily in reggae music, playing every 16th note except for numbered downbeats.

correct as far as it goes, but incomplete. Accent is on the 'ands'... the strong beat itself being silent... "...e AND a.... e AND a.... e AND a ... e AND a...". The 'and's will also usually be higher, and describe the chord explicitly, whereas the 'e's and the 'a's may be incomplete chords or even 'ghost' notes, functioning more for their percussive effect. And a good reggae keyboard player will vary it somewhat.

Here's a good example from one of my favorite bands. Note that the guitar player is bubbling also.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxdyeIFHJB4

MOSTLY organs..didn't say ALWAYS but mostly..

most of the time..

"Far more frequently than..."

at least in the kind of Reggae that I was listening to

one of my favorite bands.

Aggrolite? I wouldn't have figured you for a skinhead -- but then I looked at your photo...

Just kidding. When I lived in England in 1969-1972, "aggro" was popular then. Short for "aggravation", and the preferred genre of football hooligans with shaved heads and steel-toed workboots, their preferred weapon for attacking minorities. Consequently this particular offshoot of reggae had a sinister aura about it. Mainstream musicians looked down on it as music for the ignorant masses. Admitting you liked it was like admitting you liked Spam and Twinkies.

Is there any software out there, where I just set the tempo, and chords and then it starts to play me Reggae bubble? Samples are not enough, as I need to decide the tempo and chord progression. No, I don´t wanna buy an organ nor keyboard - it should be a software, that gives me a pro sound too.

To quote Charles Babbage: "I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question."

ORIGINAL: bitflipper

one of my favorite bands.

Aggrolite? I wouldn't have figured you for a skinhead -- but then I looked at your photo...

Just kidding. When I lived in England in 1969-1972, "aggro" was popular then. Short for "aggravation", and the preferred genre of football hooligans with shaved heads and steel-toed workboots, their preferred weapon for attacking minorities. Consequently this particular offshoot of reggae had a sinister aura about it. Mainstream musicians looked down on it as music for the ignorant masses. Admitting you liked it was like admitting you liked Spam and Twinkies.

The aggrolites aren't a skinhead band.

Hi,
I've been doing dub and reggae for a hundred years and bubbling is a staple. Any old organ sound will do. A flanger will give a rotary cab sound and eq will pick out the sweet frequencies. All of my bubbling is, however, manual, that is, hand made. Haven't seen or encountererd "autobubble" in my travels.

Bubble organ is not actually that tricky for any novice, as you can set a manageable tempo and you don't need to play for 3.48, or 7 minutes if you're Lee Perry, as you can just cut up and loop the "good" bits.

the bubble on a keyboard is kinda hard to explain without writing it on a stave.

but i will try - if you divide the bar into 8th notes, the first note is a rest, second is the current chord played with the left hand, third is chord played with the right hand, fourth is left hand, then back to the rest, left,right,left pattern.

played this way your right hand is doing the 2 and the 4 beats like a reggae guitarist, and the left hand is playing in the spaces (except for the 1 beat wich is a rest).

it helps to use a sound with not much attack - you are playing a lot of notes!

I must add again (sorry) - you forgot about the straight or swing feel (and how much of that swing feel.. and the FEEL of the feel of course! LOL)

it helps to use a sound with not much attack - you are playing a lot of notes

Actually there are many different sounds used (mostly organs..oh, did I say that already!?) ..many organ sounds in Reggae actually have the opposite of what you say - they have the Percussion section on..and pretty loud! so many of them have a fast (sometimes sharp) attack..many times that attack includes some good ol' dirt (on older recordings..not only those) and some are clean and more "synthy"..i mentioned UB40..they have both types, depends on what year and the style they wanted.

and with the old analog stuff you can hear the contact noises..it gets you nice subtle variations on that attack and sometimes it's not subtle at all:) you can hear overloading or some distortions.. compressed as hell stuff isn't rare..some keyboards go thru old delays, plate reverbs, bad amps..hehe..modern boxes that emulate these.. real tape.. all the WARM stuff!

If UB40 is reggae, then Conway Twitty is heavy metal.

ORIGINAL: Ognis

If UB40 is reggae, then Conway Twitty is heavy metal.

Ognis..it's also Reggae there.. I should have said POP-Reggae maybe? anyways.. there are heavy influences like Madness using Ska rhythms in their songs but here the case with UB40 is clear - maybe it's not enough Reggae for you (yes, I played Bob Marley songs..covers you know..I did listen to some other reggae stuff..not much)
..you're the expert but what do you expect..hardcore reggae? it's (soft?..English..) UB40 after all!

Labour of Love (A&M, 1983)

UB40, the band that has received some of the most sustained popular support of any reggae act over the past two decades, first came to worldwide prominence with this collection of covers of hit reggae tunes from the late '60s and early '70s. The song that shot them into the world spotlight was "Red Red Wine," an excellent remake that slowed down the original Tony Tribe tune (itself a remake of a Neil Diamond cut) to groovy, sexy effect. Unfortunately, that is easily the best track on Labour of Love, although crisp production drives "Sweet Sensation" (originally by The Melodians) and the subdued "Please Don't Make Me Cry" (originally by Winston Groovy). "Red Red Wine" is the only song that improves on the original, with these latter two coming close, but "Johnny Too Bad" (originally by The Slickers) -- with its high-pitched, New Age, Yanni-like keyboards -- and "Many Rivers to Cross" (originally Jimmy Cliff) -- with its up-tempo beat, '80s synthesizers, and whiny vocals -- are horrific. I was fairly ambivalent about the three songs whose original versions I don't know very well -- "Guilty," "Version Girl," and "She Caught the Train" -- the latter being catchy, but sounding infinitely more like '80s pop than reggae.

Hey man, I like Sublime



But not UB40


edit, btw, would you call PM Dawn's "Set a Drift on Memory Bliss" reggae too ?

Just wondering

edit, btw, would you call PM Dawn's "Set a Drift on Memory Bliss" reggae too ?

Just wondering

not only that I don't know the song ... <blush icon here?> but it also doesn't matter if I call it reggae or not!

I bet it's 20%-40% less reggae than UB40

Styles and rhythms in music..there's so much in between it all.. let the fusion live.

I bet it's 20%-40% less reggae than UB40

lmao



And you have to remember this,

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Sy5AbMQZhq8

This topic became suddenly very active ...
I read that usually reggae people use Korg M1 and Korg 01W/FD keyboards. There are 3 kinds of Organ rhythmic patterns which are called BUBBLE - or sometimes they call it shuffle.

Bubble 1: double 8th notes on 2nd and 4th beat. Usually played on left hand, but never played by both hands TOGETHER.

Bubble 2: Right hand plays 8th note on beats 2 and 4 - it´s 2 times/bar. Left hand plays 8th note on all "Ands" - it´s 4 times/bar.

Bubble 3: Commonly played by the left hand alone. 8th note on every up beats ("and") - it´s 4 times/bar.

To get an authentic reggae bubble they edit Korg 01W´s gospel organ. I know the values if some one needs them.


Regards, Yeppe

A bubble, a bubble
Looking for no trouble
But if you trouble, trouble
I'll give it to you triple (or likely more - up to my mood)
- Yeppe

ORIGINAL: bitflipper
To quote Charles Babbage: "I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question."

... that's a lovely quote, very cute, but actually the OP has an interesting question. A VSTi dedicated to this function - nice tasty reggae organ comping with programmable chord progression - would be kinda neat. I would have no use for it myself (professional keyboardist), but it's not an entirely silly idea at all.

It sounds like the kind of thing that the free VSTi community might spit out one of these days; there are a few hobbyist developers who like to do peculiar specialized things like that, ethnic instruments with authentic tuning, and so on. Browse around KVR for a while and look for stuff like that, get in contact, make the suggestion... who knows?

For straight-up organ sounds that seem OK for the price (free), try Organized Trio: http://www.soundfonts.it/

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Sy5AbMQZhq8

oh...THAT remixed 80's stuff..AND rap on top I heard it on the radio (I still listen to the radio..about 12 minutes and 14 seconds each year!)

brings me back to the 80's.. Spandau Ballet..one of their bigger hits named "Gold"..

of course it's so far from Reggae..the drums of the remix play one of the (boring by now..done too many times) most used grooves/loops..

the electric guitar chords from Gold - the 2 places on the beat remind me other music styles..(latin..bossa) ..but sure not Reggae!

Yes, it is sometimes called shuffle. Here is the reggae organ part played with both left and right hands. Organized Trio is the VSTi:
Don't Worry - Organ 1

Here's the same organ part in the context of a song:
Don't Worry

Is this what could fix my problem: Korg Legacy Collection DIGITAL (Link: http://www.korg.co.uk/products/software_controllers/legacydigital/sc_legacy_digital.asp )?
Is MIDI keyboard needed to program this thing, or I can use mouse of my laptop to program my BUBBLES?

Thanks.

KR: Yeppe

Is MIDI keyboard needed to program this thing, or I can use mouse of my laptop to program my BUBBLES?

I have one thing to say about this.... PLAY! Those plugins won't help you getting the music you hear in your mind..they might provide you some sounds for the job but someone got to play them.

Keyboard Reggae parts (and the music itself) are pretty simple..even the BASS player often do more decisions of which note to play when ;) some nice basslines there. Keyboardists can be creative here and there but they're kind of stuck in a bubble most of the times

Yes, you'll need a keyboard for playing chords..harmony can't be played (realtime..practical) using a mouse. Anything you do with a mouse is slow and it's like data entry..(boring database input..no groove..just fields and fields..;)

Any program that offers playing the part for you might sound boring after a while (like auto-rhythms on portable keyboards) so consider learning some chords on a keyboard - think about it, less time to master the program to do what you want and more time spent on YOU playing the chords you want to hear, realtime variations...human feel.. the proud feeling of "it's my playing there"..etc.

I ment not to play with the mouse in real time, just wanted to make a bubble clip to my own reggae song, which I could copy to my sequencer. I used a drum machine which I programmed to play reggae style, then I played myself a lead guitar and rhythm guitar too, but song lacks of keyboard (my damned bubbles), also it lacks Bass, but bubbles I want so much (I´m a bubble man with this trouble ). Thanks.

KR: Yeppe

I ment not to play with the mouse in real time, just wanted to make a bubble clip

I know you didn't mean "realtime" playing but I tried to force you learning to play on a real keyboard I said it's not practical but of course many still use the Piano ROll view and such to enter notes one by one..figuring out what's the current note that is needed and mouse cursor position..time and pitch.. i see it as a waste of time compared to just playing the part.

I mentioned on page 1 the kind of softwares that create for you the actual MIDI events ("just like" playing) after you feed them the right rules - you choose a styles and then of course you need to insert the CHORD symbols..the software got to know which chords you want it to follow..the harmony of the song..chord progressions :)

Band in a Box...Jammer Pro .. not sure you'll like them (hint..hint..use Sonar and a keyboard..get better at the keyboard..oops i'm doing the same thing again..can't resist!)
Well, it's practical for some..maybe you'd like those kind of programs after all. There's some setting up to do there if you want to hear sounds from softsynths..like any sequencer the sound quality depends on what else you got there..and know how to use!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Sy5AbMQZhq8
If that's reggae I'm Jimi Hendrix

If that's reggae I'm Jimi Hendrix

Ognis just "tested" me..

Two chords of a guitar located on or in between some beats somewhere in a single measure doesn't mean it's Reggae..every kid knows that

Reggae is and should always have a very strong melodic base line. Everything else should float over that.

ORIGINAL: mwbrown

Reggae is and should always have a very strong melodic base line. Everything else should float over that.

strong..yeah pretty much..I would say that the basslines there are important but MELODY comes first place in most cases.
for example, can you imagine "regular people" (not musicians) singing or thinking about the bass of Bob Marley's "Is this love"? just hum the song for a few seconds..

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/bob+marley/is+this+love_20021758.html

I'm pretty sure that like most other great tunes (didn't want to say "different styles of music"..who cares about styles) the melody is the most important..that's where it really shines for most of the listeners..and I do love grooves and good bass ..i'm not saying they don't have their share...

So is someone gonna post some bubble in a midi format so the rest of us can get started on our remixes?

thanks,
mike

If that's reggae I'm Jimi Hendrix

It isn't, so you're not!

That's 'True' by Spandau Ballet over a funkydrummer sample with some new vocals. Hideous.

Some bubbles would have been good though.....

ORIGINAL: mike_mccue


So is someone gonna post some bubble in a midi format so the rest of us can get started on our remixes?

thanks,
mike

Here's a piano roll image showing two measures of the example that I gave on page one (Don't Worry - Organ 1):



The right hand plays the higher octave chord on beats 2 and 4, while the left hand plays the lower octave chord on the eights of each measure. Notice that all notes are not equal in lenght and do not fall precisely on the designated time lines. No human plays with that sort of precision. The pattern can be varied here and there to suit the flow of the song. The MIDI track can be used to drive any organ VSTi, even the organ patches in TTS-1 that comes with Sonar. If you're not a keyboard player, notes can be insreted one at a time and then use the various MIDI editing tools to humanize the pattern.

Bubbles? This is the guy you want for bubbles.


Turn offa da bubble machine. Wunerfull, wunerfull.

Thanks debro,
I'm bubbling now:

reggae_bubble.mp3 308kB

I was also thinking of the champange bubbles. Probably because I watch Lawrence Welk reruns most every Saturday evening. Sometimes I play along with my guitar.

mike

Ohhhhhhh, Yeeeeeeeeah! After I wrote enough many times about bubbles, people started to like them I should be a salesman

Honest Al, you should be a sales person too, as today, I went to a music store and I ordered one Korg Triton TR-61. He offered me a deal that I couldn´t leave....Dunno much about keyboards (or what ever it is, maybe it´s called Synth, Sampler, Keyboard or Piano - sorry, but I´m a guitarist), but I´ll study how to play BUBBLES . I´ll bubble, and I´ll bubble loud untill police come to nock my door .

Many thanks for your replies.

Regards, Yeppe

one of their bigger hits named "Gold"..

LOL!! I meant "True" but I was thinking about Gold at the same time!

Honest Al, you should be a sales person too, as today, I went to a music store and I ordered one Korg Triton TR-61. He offered me a deal that I couldn´t leave....Dunno much about keyboards (or what ever it is, maybe it´s called Synth, Sampler, Keyboard or Piano - sorry, but I´m a guitarist), but I´ll study how to play BUBBLES . I´ll bubble, and I´ll bubble loud untill police come to nock my door .

WOW Yeppe!...great news, good luck with the new keyboard! ROCK ON...err.. I mean Reggae on ;)

ORIGINAL: jamesg1213

If that's reggae I'm Jimi Hendrix

It isn't, so you're not!

That's 'True' by Spandau Ballet over a funkydrummer sample with some new vocals. Hideous.

Some bubbles would have been good though.....

OMG! I feel so so stupid for not realising that :0}

I saw a blurb in Keyboard Magazine about a product called Propellerhead Raggaeton ReFill, which might be of interest. I don't know any more about it than the 1-paragraph description in the magazine. The photo shows three modules: "melody box", "riddim box" and "sound box" so I gather it's a sequencer and tone generator. It appears to be an addon for Reason.

Propellerhead Software

It appears to be an addon for Reason

A Refill is always for Reason..it's simply a set of sounds for it (could be bank with audio loops, wav files organized into instruments and synth presets)

Reason doesn't have any built-in chord rules or chart (simple chord symbols) to MIDI functions..so unlike the other programs I mentioned you can't "tell it the chords" and let it render a pattern for you using its sounds.

I saw a blurb in Keyboard Magazine about a product called Propellerhead Raggaeton ReFill, which might be of interest. I don't know any more about it than the 1-paragraph description in the magazine. The photo shows three modules: "melody box", "riddim box" and "sound box" so I gather it's a sequencer and tone generator. It appears to be an addon for Reason.

Propellerhead Software

Reggaeton has more of a spanish influence with a mixture of hip-hop and dancehall (upbeat, dance-friendly reggae).
But i must admit that Reason has a wide range of sounds, out of the box, and includes effect to bubble untill he gets into trouble. i just hope the cops dont knock down his door.

"i just hope the cops dont knock down his door."


???????? because of Reggae? I don't get it.

best,
mike

"i just hope the cops dont knock down his door."


???????? because of Reggae? I don't get it.

best,
mike

Reggae is dangerous. Who knows what could happen if it caught on?

Studies have shown that reggae is a "gateway" genre, often leading to appreciation for even more insidious forms of happy pop music. First you put people in a good mood, then before you know it, nobody's depressed anymore and what happens to Goth Metal then?

Ah I see the poster is from Brooklyn.... I think it was an insider comment about how people from Jamaica get treated in Brooklyn. I'm sorry if anyone thought I was making light of that.

But Bitflipper I like where you took the thought. Nice save.

best,
mike

Power to the people..
this thread will never die!

ORIGINAL: mike_mccue

Ah I see the poster is from Brooklyn.... I think it was an insider comment about how people from Jamaica get treated in Brooklyn. I'm sorry if anyone thought I was making light of that.

But Bitflipper I like where you took the thought. Nice save.

best,
mike

And I thought it was just in reply to the OP's quote from Post #44:

I´ll bubble, and I´ll bubble loud untill police come to nock my door .

-Susan

Oh Susan, I like that a lot better.

thanks,
mike