Ghost Notes!?!

What are they and how do you make them?

they are just really quiet, almost inaudable(spell?) notes. no major secret there. cool name though :eek:

It was my impression that ghost notes can mean many things. You have to read the notation in the tabulature to find out for sure. Sometimes it means it's performed using some certain technique like natural harmonics.

Ghosting a note doesn't always mean the note is quiet. Try this: choose any fret and play that note. Immediatly after you pick it kinda slide to any of the adjacent frets really quickly. It's gotta be done quick. You just ghosted a note. You just barely heard the first note and then suddenly, it's the next note. I hope i explained it well. ghosting just means that you kinda give the illusion of the note actually being played.

A Ghost Note is a note that is implied but either not played or played quietly and provides more rhythmic value than harmonic or melodic value.

sometimes it is quite usefull to use google

http://www.guitarnoise.com/faq.php?id=44

Originally Posted by: Azraelsometimes it is quite usefull to use google

http://www.guitarnoise.com/faq.php?id=44

"The best description of a ghost note, is a note that is felt but not heard. You will play the note softer, and without emphasis."

I have to disagree with this quote from the Google link you posted.

A ghost note is not always played "softer" and "without emphasis".

A ghost note is used primarily for rhythmic contribution and therefore is sometimes played just as loud or louder (accented) than the melodic or harmonic line that you are embellishing.

This is not to say that a ghost note cannot be played softly.

every description of ghost notes tells you the same - even my guitarpro software makes a ghost note softer.

"What is a ghost note and how do you play it?

A ghost note is simply a note that is played "quieter" than the surrounding notes. They are very important in Funk drumming, and if they are applied correctly they tend to make the rhythm feel "lighter", "bouncier", and drive it forward with a good deal of energy. They're not hard to master. Listen to some funk drumming (Toto's "Rosanne" is a great funk rhythm, with plenty of ghost notes)." taken from Drummingweb.com

(for example)

Originally Posted by: Telebender"The best description of a ghost note, is a note that is felt but not heard. You will play the note softer, and without emphasis." [/QUOTE]
OK, so far I agree with this... good Google, Azrael...

But then here is where I think the distinction dies...
[QUOTE=Telebender][I]"A ghost note is used primarily for rhythmic contribution and therefore is sometimes played just as loud or louder (accented) than the melodic or harmonic line that you are embellishing.

Bender... If a note is played louder and more accented than the melody, it is either an "accented" note, a "staccato accent", or in some cases, just a dotted 16th or other small note value. The one thing that I think Azrael's definition lacked was the tiny bit of explanation saying that it does not have to be a drastic difference in audible volume, but it's just NOT an emphasized note.

Just my .02, but when I'm reading music and the note is "ghosted", I know that means it's going to be an embellishment, not a theme and that it is going to take on a lower value of volume than other notes played.

A lot of good explenations here....just figured I'd add a little to it.
I play drums and ghost notes, (depending on the type of music, style, and personal preferance) can/are be used a lot. Azrael touched on this, but there are a ton of applications to ghost notes (with both the snare and bass drum)

Take a standard rythm...(hh-high hat; sd-snare bd-bass)
*hope its not too hard to understand*
___1+2+3+4+
hh: X-X-X-X-
sd: -----X---
bd: X-------
*the snare is on the 3rd beat and bass on the 1str

Now lets make this beat a little more interesting....

___1+2+3+4+
hh: X-X-X-X-
sd: ----X---
bd: X--x----

___1+2+3+4+
hh: X-X-X-X-
sd: -x--X---
bd: X-------

In the first example, the bass ghost note comes on the and of 2.
In the second one, the snare ghost note comes on the and of 1.
I use ghost notes a lot when I drum, it's just an easy way (if you can move your limbs independantly) to add a little spark to the beat.
And the ghost notes are ususally played softer, not always on purpose, just kinda happens because a lot of times they come on an up beat. You have to play drums to understand what I mean I guess.

A ghost note on a bend, is essentially pick the note at bend, not before...i read that some where that was legit....cant remember now...

I agree with you all.

Myself and a lot of musicians I've worked with tend to call most non-pitched, rhythmic embellishments "ghost notes" whether they are softer or accented.

Some people may call these louder, non-pitched notes "Muted" notes.

But when I think of ghost notes or "ghosting" as a guitar or any pitched-instrument technique, it's practical application is for rhythmic embellishment which can include accented notes or unaccented notes.

Again, I am not disagreeing with any of you. I am just stating what the general consensus is of the pro musicians that I work with. I have played professionally for 20+ years, so I have worked with many.

I want to clarify that I'm not saying that "pro" players or myself know everything. There are great AND poor pro players just the same as amateur players. I am just giving my 2 cents and the niche of the music world that I come from.

I've run across ghost notes that are called as such when they're achieved by using volume swells. This whole thread brought to mind 'La Villa Strangiato' by Rush, the solo in particular 3:40-4:05. You don't hear the stroking of the note, it just swells to volume. I'd say of all definitions, this is the most 'ghostly', although not neccesarily most widely used.