ghost notes (drums)

[blurred]

ur take on ghost notes. when to play, when not to play, how to play it. how loud? how soft? wat style? wat are ur influences for ghost notes?

 

[Frozen]

A ghost note is just a tap softer than normal taps.

So It'll be like:

| Accented Notes
|
| Normal Notes
|
| Ghost Notes
V

Softer as you go down.

There's a tutorial on it on the vic firth site.

 

[blurred]

oh thanks dude, i'm more interested in why u play them and when u play them instead of how u play them. like do play them all the time between ur rythms? do u not play them sometimes cause they might interfere with the guitarist? things like that than the mechanics of it. thanks

 

[Funkifized]

You play them to add more colour to the music... and also to fatten the groove. It all depends on what the music asks for. You can take your cue on when to play them (or not) based on the music or more specifically, the melody.

Treat ghost notes as another hihat, a whole different instrument altogether rather than just playing softly... that way you'll think of it in a more musical way.

Another way of looking at it is that it helps you keep time when the groove has particular loose phrasing... helps you to lock in the time, coz when the 'gaps' are big, it's easy to go out of time.

 

[Vio]

i don't play them cos i dun know how to.

 

[blurred]

funkified, thanks for that, that was exactly the advice i was looking for. okie when wld u play a groove peppered with ghost notes and when wld u not?

 

[mel80]

I would play ghost notes probably in verses/bridges of songs, particularly when all the instruments are more mellow. It gives the song more dynamics in the mellow parts. Either that or I play ghost notes if the song requires a lot of groove, eg. funk/R&B kinda song.

I tend not to play any ghost notes in choruses. I usually go for the full whack in choruses for the impact. Works for me for most instances.

 

[Vio]

Ghost notes are a little like pepper on soup.

Adding pepper in a hot bowl of full-flavoured chicken broth will enhance the flavour and make it that much tastier. Without it, it just feels like it lacks a little something to make it PERFECT. *smack lips*


Adding pepper into a bowl of clear, relaxing, cooling herbal soup would really be unnecessary and spoiling the "feel" of the soup. :evil:


In all cases, doing without ghost notes is just a lack of the icing on the cake, but adding too much always spoils the taste.


Oops... i should mention that this is my perception. It's not a fact. And i'm getting hungry after reding this... :wink:

 

[drummar-buah]

i usually get very carried away with ghost notes and tend to play them EVEN IN METAL SONGS...haha lots of ghost notes...but mostly u can't hear them cuz i'm banging on the drums and the ghost notes suonds like i'm playing from 100miles away..
but i usually play funk.. and the ghost notes makes my rhythms more.. packed in a way.. creates a whole new feeling for funk. cuz it sort of helps to bring up the original funk rhythm that ur playing.

 

[blurred]

hey guys, thanks for the ghost notes tips. i was playing ard they other day and i tried ghosting on the edge of the snare instead of the center. it gave a different sound, more resonant. ghosting on the rim on the snare is pretty interesting as well. when ur doing a side stick or rim click try it with ur fingers.

 

[Funkifized]

If you play a barrell tip, try using a steep angle to ghost your notes. Provides a very different texture. It's easier to do it with traditional grip though.

 

[blurred]

thanks for the tip man will check it out. u reckon playing in traditional makes u think and play in a different way?

 

[Funkifized]

Hell yes... sometimes you gotta think about what's impossible with traditional grip, but most of them, the benefits of it outweigh the bad stuff... for me at least...

It will take a lot more work to get your left hand up to speed... but it is possible.

Playing in traditional grip helps me to think independently (no shit)... like my left hand is now a sepate entity from my right hand... but still it's nowhere near the pros like Donati and Bozzio... those guys are nuts!

 

[drummar-buah]

nah i don't think so...
personally i use trad grip too..and i can perform ghost notes very fluently..
but!! playing with a matched grip is slightly harder as this very natural grip of ours are normally used to roll up newspapers and whack someone's bloody head open..that's y u gotta learn to control your strength and muscles..learn to play really light taps with your matched grip too.

Kontrol is the Key 8)

 

[turbochicken]

hmmm really?

which means matched grip equips you with more control?

from what you said...

 

[drummar-buah]

nonono i din say that.. i mean u can learn to have the exact same control as when u are playing ghost notes with your traditional grip.

 

[turbochicken]

orrh.

but personally traditional is tougher to attain.

 

[drummar-buah]

with practice...u can fly..

 

[blurred]

well i understand wat u mean by the independence thing, maybe it's from playing jazz in trad jazz that it bleeds into ur other styles. for moving ard the kit i feel that trad grips makes u twist awkwardly it's great for like snare work or rythm playing though. just my preference

 

[drummar-buah]

well maybe u gotta twist ur drumset setup witht he motion and flow of your body..maybe that'll help.. cuz i don't really find technical problems when i play with a trad grip..