How to Write a Ska Song

Step-by-Step Guide

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   Step 1: Learn about the history of ska.

   Go on the Internet and learn about where ska came from, it shouldn't be too hard.
   
   There are a lot of different stories, but somewhere along the way, Jamaicans picked up jazz radio broadcasts from New Orleans.
   
   They liked the music and when they fused it with calypso and Caribbean mento, ska was born. (And consequently reggae came after that, but that's a whole different story)
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   Step 2: Learn about the big ska names

   He started out his career in a ska band called Bob Marley and The Wailers, before they gradually switched to the slower, more relaxed version of ska which was reggae.
   
   Ska is characterized into three waves.
   
   The first wave were the original Jamaican bands in the 1950s.
   
   The second wave is the wave that came into America...Big name bands like The Specials, The Toasters and Madness were pioneers of 2nd Wave ska, which started in England, but gradually came over to the U.S.
   
   The genre was called Two Tone Ska because at that point in time, most ska bands were signed to Two Tone record label.
   
   In America, when ska seemed to have died, the Third Wave was born.
   
   This wave consists of the most widely known ska bands, for their appearances in movies and commercials and what not.
   
   With Third Wave ska came Ska Punk, which combined two tone with punk.
   
   Associated with ska punk is ska core...(Now some people may argue that they're the same but in my opinion, ska core is a little heavier.) Some great ska punk and ska core bands are:
   Reel Big Fish, Operation Ivy, Sublime, Saving Ferris, Mustard Plug, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Big D and the Kids Table, Skankin Pickle, Catch 22, Streetlight Manifesto, and the pioneers and inventors of the ska core genre, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. , This is something that is totally constant no matter what sub genre of ska you may be working with.
   
   Here I will provide four links about ska guitar, ska bass, ska horns, and ska drums (Which isn't as important as the other three) Guitar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P99dj8j1xVM Bass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go_dl7Bj-E0 Horns:
   There was no "How To" video on this, BUT, here is a great video on 10 songs with GREAT horn riffs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUg5zUk-NIE Drums: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuHq2yOZa8w This is a reggae beat, but nonetheless still good , Now you want to write lyrics...Ska lyrics can be whatever you want, but they generally differ between what kind of ska you like...If your ska core, it wouldn't make sense to write a love song.
   
   If your two tone like the toasters, you wouldn't write about fighting or being a skinhead.
   
   So apply lyrics to your specific style.
   
   Also, ska isn't always so serious.
   
   A lot of it is fun!! So just keep that in mind.
   
   Have a rhythm that you can "skank" to.
   
   If you don't have a "skankable" song, its not ska. , By now you've noticed ska band names aren't always so serious...Big D and the Kids Table, The Pietasters, The Toasters, Reel Big Fish...You get it.
   
   So just make it fun.
   
   Ska is the funnest and most laid back music genre there is, whether or not its two tone or ska core.
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   Step 3: both old and new- Did you know Bob Marley was ska?

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   Step 4: Learn What Makes Ska..Ska- Ska is characterized by: The strumming rhythm of the guitar

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   Step 5: the walking bassline and horns.

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   Step 6: Put it all together

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   Step 7: learn some songs first

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   Step 8: learn some good bands and write your music.

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   Step 9: Give it a name.

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