Do any of you use Ghost Notes much?

[Wwolof]

I ain't afraid of no goat.

[bassteban]

Yes, many of us do. Some rarely do, I suppose, and others may not at all. I hope this helps.

[Jazz Ad]

I use them moderately but constantly. They are in all my lines.

I see them like adverbs in a sentence. You can do without them but they help your style and accuracy. If you use too many you sound pedantic.

On a plucked string instrument like ours, there is a wide area between a plain note and a ghost note, with different qualities of pitch and muting. It's a great tool.

[oniman7]

Yes. As another poster said, with something like Bach I do not. However, with anything else I play there's a good chance I'll throw one in. I do it when the guitars do it (which happens a lot in some of the groovier rock and metal I listen to). Sometimes I do it if I have more of a lead passage, or if I'm playing something with an almost funky 16th note pattern like Tool or Rage Against the Machine.

[sloasdaylight]

I use ghost and grace notes constantly in my playing.

[CnB77]

I do. Before I even knew what a ghost note was I was using them. I think it started as a way to help me keep time in tough pieces, and then I realized they had a cool sound that added a new element to my playing. Like others said, it becomes a percussion instrument as well; this is good because I don't get to play with a drummer as much as I like and just bass on its own can be very boring. Adding the ghost notes can make it sound more interesting.

I pretty much do it automatically now, I don't really need to think where they go I just put them in according to feel. Sometimes I don't even notice I'm doing it

[Commreman]

Yes.

[john m]

ROCCO

Listen to Tower of Power

[JoZac21]

I probably play more ghost notes than regular notes, to be honest...

I suppose it's my inner desire to be Rocco Prestia coming out...

[Tupac]

I'm funk trained, so all the time.

[JoZac21]

Originally Posted by Tupac

I'm funk trained, so all the time.

Tupac? Wow... I really thought you were dead. I have some conspiracy theorist I have to apologize to now...

[intheory]

Yes, I use a lot of ghost notes! They are awesome (IMO) and come naturally.

[cycler]

It seems strange to me that the OP would even consider asking the question unless new to the whole concept as the technique is so fundamental to the instrument. DB players had been doing it long before Leo cut up some planks. Maybe if coming solely from a metal background. But yes, people do use ghost notes, even when they think they don't.

[St Drogo]

It depends on the style. In funk, all the time. It breathes life into my lines, it is what makes it funkay. Sometimes it can be hard to leave them out when the situation doesn't call for them, almost like they're a rhythmical crutch for me. It's very much like what jimk said on page 1; keeping your plucking/picking/slapping hand going can be like a metronome. Keeps you anchored to the groove.

[Richland123]

Originally Posted by cycler

It seems strange to me that the OP would even consider asking the question unless new to the whole concept as the technique is so fundamental to the instrument. DB players had been doing it long before Leo cut up some planks. Maybe if coming solely from a metal background. But yes, people do use ghost notes, even when they think they don't.

Being the OP, ghost notes and such are not new to me at all. I have been using them during my 43 years of playing bass. I was just posing a question as a curiosity as to what other players do since some use them a little, some a lot, and some not at all.

[EricF]

Ghost notes are a simply another weapon in the aresenal of a competent bass player. Use them when it's appropriate for the music.

[mongo2]

When called for.

[jerry]

Originally Posted by JimK

Bach..no.
Walking bass? I hear them a lot...especially those Tripletted drops.

The 'deputy-dog' drop.

[deeptubes]

No. But, sometimes if I have a rest and there's no drummer, I will tap the drumline on my pickguard. The pickups catch it. When I first started doing it, it threw my guitarist off, even though he knew what he was hearing.

Now that I think about it, I suppose I sort of do it when I slap.

As I continue to think about it, I also mute with my left hand while hitting the strings to get an almost percussive sound with a touch of fret clank.

[Pilgrim]

I have used them in jams when I'm lost...I mute the strings with my left hand and discretely play percussion with my right. It's surprisingly effective at carrying me for a few measures until I can connect with the music again.