Are you scared yet? Let‘s look at ghost notes.
The movie cliché about ghosts are that they are some form of entity that can only interfere with the corporeal world in very limited capacities. In analogy ghost notes can only influence the harmony in our music in limited capacities. But they allow the guitar to support the rhythm like almost no other instrument. To make the most out of this concept let’s first define our terms.
What are ghost notes?
For our purposes we define ghost notes as notes that are muted to the point that no pitch is recognizable. One of the most prominent examples can be heard in Nirvana’s Smells like teen spirit after the first three strums. This pattern supports the forward pushing rhythm in this section of the song.
How do I produce ghost notes?
The guitar is one of few instruments that are able to produce ghost notes naturally. To achieve that level of muting the typical palm mute may not suffice and the left hand is employed to mute the strings. The fingers are laid on the frets but don’t employ enough force on them to produce clear sounding notes. If the notes are picked or strummed we hear a percussive kind of sound.
How can I use ghost notes?
Here are my favorite three uses of ghost notes:
I’m sure you can find your own variations and applications of ghost notes. Have fun and don’t get scared!
This article was brought to you by Rene Kerkdyk. He is former physicist teaching guitar in Germany. If you are searching for guitar lessons in Hildesheim, Germany be sure to contact him.
What are ghost notes?
For our purposes we define ghost notes as notes that are muted to the point that no pitch is recognizable. One of the most prominent examples can be heard in Nirvana’s Smells like teen spirit after the first three strums. This pattern supports the forward pushing rhythm in this section of the song.
How do I produce ghost notes?
The guitar is one of few instruments that are able to produce ghost notes naturally. To achieve that level of muting the typical palm mute may not suffice and the left hand is employed to mute the strings. The fingers are laid on the frets but don’t employ enough force on them to produce clear sounding notes. If the notes are picked or strummed we hear a percussive kind of sound.
How can I use ghost notes?
Here are my favorite three uses of ghost notes:
- Insert a percussive background into your guitar playing.
This is especially useful if you are playing on your own and do not have a drummer to support you. If you insert ghost note strums into your playing you can to a certain degree give yourself a rhythmic background. Good times to insert those are on the 2 and 4 of a 4/4 beat. - Start your phrase with a rake followed by the first note.
- Delayed resolution with ghost notes.
I’m sure you can find your own variations and applications of ghost notes. Have fun and don’t get scared!
This article was brought to you by Rene Kerkdyk. He is former physicist teaching guitar in Germany. If you are searching for guitar lessons in Hildesheim, Germany be sure to contact him.
