Do any of you use Ghost Notes much?

[Barca_bass]

Yes, when I was a much younger man I played with so many lousy drummers I got into the habit of tapping the strings between notes just to help me keep a decent rhythm.

Now I can't stop doing it and, to be honest, sometimes it drives me nuts!

This is the reason I do it as well.

 

[jmac]

I'm not sure I should admit this in a public forum, but...I was playing them before I knew what they were or that I was even doing it. I found out when I was given a compliment on it.

 

[Zooberwerx]

More so than I ever realized.

FWIW, the not-so-popular white foam packing peanuts are actually ghost turds.

Riis

 

[rtslinger]

Sure do doesn't everyone?

 

[4dog]

If you ever played w/ out a drummer in a live situation i think ghost notes happen w/ out thinking about it,, dead air is just dead air and sounds very dead ,,at times too quiet or dead,, the more you play i think the more you will do it,, of course the next post will tell ya different so thats ok too

 

[Jazzdogg]

I do when it's appropriate to the genre.

Not so much with a walking bass line in jazz, or Bach.

 

[paganjack]

OMG YES. All the time, in the right band context (i.e. R&B/funk/soul).

"I was haunted by your ghost notes"

 

[JimK]

Not so much with a walking bass line in jazz, or Bach.

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

 

[Mystic Michael]

From time to time, yes. Depends entirely on the genre/style of music I'm playing.

For rock playing, I rarely use ghost notes. But for any kind of uptempo, highly-rhythmic playing (i.e funk/soul/R&B), then yes, definitely.

MM

 

[Gaius46]

Like many others it depends on the genre. They're pretty much required for funk or r&b. Not so much for rock and not at all for classical.

 

[elgecko]

I do when it's appropriate to the genre.

Not so much with a walking bass line in jazz, or Bach.

Okay, not with Bach...but not when you walk? Walking bass is a great place for ghost notes!

 

[Jazzdogg]

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

Tripletted drops, yes. Walking quarter-notes, not so much.

 

[FunkHead]

I use 'Em. Not so much for walking. Some times I prefer the Greasy approach when I walk(Think Southbound)

 

[Rip Topaz]

All the time. Especially with funk, or when I want to accent the holes in the groove.

 

[RED J]

Well Put! I love 'em.

Ghost notes are very much a part of my style. It lets my inner percussionist out.

 

[mellowinman]

I ain't afraid a no ghost notes.

 

[MEKer]

I use them. They can be a sweet percussive lead-in to a new direction on a riff or can be more effective than a note of silence at times. I find I generally only use them when playing fast and hard, when a song is really steam-rolling along. Sometimes a ghost note will be a single, sometimes 3-4 16th notes in duration.

 

[hover]

constantly. in fact, I eschew actual notes for them. I don't even fret with my left hand so much as just precisely positional muting.

 

[Gintaras]

I spent 15 years as a drummer so playing ghost notes seems very natural to me. I sometimes have a problem that I overuse it.

 

[musicianary]

I use a pretty decent bit of then. Just adds a little texture in there!