Known as “the Third World’s first superstar,” Jamaican-born singer/ songwriter/guitarist Bob Marley is widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Introducing reggae to an intrigued but skeptical outside world in the ‘60s, Marley (and his band the Wailers), persevered, and by the early ’70s succeeded in establishing the music as a respected and globally-popular art form. Marley lived a short life (he died of cancer in 1981 at the age of 36), but he left behind a vast musical repertoire. And, while some remember him as a revolutionary, it’s important to point out that, while his lyrics often speak out against social oppression, they also promote faith, devotion, love, and tolerance. One such positive song (and also one of his most commercially-successful), is “Is This Love,” from the 1978 album, Kaya.

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THE SKANK RHYTHM
In reggae music, the rhythm guitar usually plays a choppy rhythm part called the “skank.” Although often played with subtle variations, the heart of the rhythm involves a staccato attack on beats 2 and 4 of each measure. Each chord (usually voiced on the top three or four strings) is quickly muted after each attack, with damping techniques supplied by both hands. After each chord attack, release your grip on the voicing but keep your fretting fingers lightly resting on the strings. At the same time, mute the strings (just above the bridge of the guitar) with the heel of your strumming hand. Gtr. 3 (clean electric w/ reverb) supplies the skank rhythms in this transcription. Don’t be confused by the inclusions “Rhy. Fig. 1, Rhy. Fig. 2, etc.” These mainly refer to the chord progressions. Rhythmically, the part never varies from the “2” and “4” accents. There are places however, where Gtr. 3 sheds rhythm chores to join in on single-note passages. These spots occur in the Intro and the Bridge sections.

THE INTRO RIFF
The song opens with three guitars playing the same riff in unison. (Gtrs. 1 & 3 are clean-toned electrics, while Gtr. 2 is an acoustic 12-string.) Like the majority of the riffs in the song, it’s crafted from the notes of the A major scale (A–B–C#–D–E–F#–G#). The phrases played over the F#m chords are the easiest to handle. Use your index finger to grab the notes on the second fret (use an index-barre for the C#/A dyad), and your ring finger for the fourth-fret notes. The other phrases (over the D, A, and E/G# chords), however, are more complex. Figs. 1A–B offer fingering and picking suggestions for occurrences in measures 3–4 (Fig. 1A), and 8 (Fig. 1B). Take the time to go over these, as many of the riffs and fills in the song are derived from the establishing riff. Keep in mind that all eighth-notes are to be played with a shuffle, or “swing” feel. (See the metric notation at the top of the transcription.) If you’re confused about the quarter-note triplet notation (Fig. 1B), this signifies that three quarter-note rhythms are played in the same time value as two quarter notes. Listen to the recording and you’ll hear this rhythm being played throughout the song.

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THE VERSES
In the verses, Gtr. 3 (panned hard-left on the recording) plays the skank, while Gtrs. 1 & 2 perform riffs and fills. (Be aware that each verse begins with an off-set, three-measure pattern: one measure of F#m, one measure of D, and one measure of A to E. From there, it doubles the length of the F#m chord (two measures), creating an even, four-bar pattern that is cycled from there on.) In Verse 1, Gtrs. 1 & 2 team up to play variations on the opening riff. Half- way through the Verse (measure 12), they break away to perform subtle variations on each other’s parts, culminating with Gtr. 1 capping off the section with a bend-y, A major-pentatonic (A–B– C#–E–F#) lick. This back-and-forth, complimentary style of playing continues in the second and third verses. Basically, Gtr. 2 holds things down with riff variations, while Gtr. 1 dances around those parts, interspersing A major-pentatonic licks in ever-increasing doses. Figs. 2A–B show the two patterns that these licks, and many others in the song, are derived from. THE CHORUS AND BRIDGE At the Chorus, Gtr. 3 continues with the skank rhythm, while Gtr. 2 shifts to a riff (Riff B) that is based on arpeggios (notes of a chord played one- string-at-a-time). (Notice that the shapes follow the same contours as the chords that Gtr. 3 plays.) While this is going on, Gtr. 1 (and an additional Gtr. 4) sprinkles A major-pentatonic licks between the vocal phrases.

The first half of the Bridge is quite different from the rest of the song in that Gtrs. 1 & 2 play “Allman Brothers-esque” harmony lines, while Gtr. 3 abandons the skank groove to play response melodies in measures 3–4 and 7–8. At measure 9, Gtr. 3 picks up the skank again, while Gtrs. 1 & 2 play parts that are reminiscent of their Chorus figures.

Want more? Check out these cool links at guitaredge.com

•    Get more Bob Marley guitar tab at guitarinstructor.com
•    Get the “One Love: The Very Best of Bob Marley & The Wailers” guitar tab book at musicdispatch.com
•    Download “Is This Love” from iTunes
•    Check out Bob Marley online at bobmarley.com
•    Get cool Bob Marley gear at oldglory.com

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