Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

Ghost notes

#1

I am working on one of bens tabs, eighth of January by tony rice. I noticed there are notes that you fret but it does not have any pick strokes. So I am guessing they are sort of like hammer ons but I am not sure. Any clarification on this would be great. I did try to watch a video on the subject but the guy was talking and felt like he was never going to get to it.

Also Banjo Ben, thanks so much for the pick strokes in your tabs. I used to never pay attention to them and never realized I was alternating picking the wrong way. Things people don’t tell you. I always thought if you had a down pick and your next note was on the lower string ( example going from the a string to the d string) you followed with a down pick since the momentum was already going down. It was a very hard habit to break but I finally got it down.

#2

I haven’t worked on that song, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I’d guess that he probably described it in the video. Looking at the tab it’s a ghost note. A ghost note is just barely audible. The way I play them is to not fully fret the note. In other words, put your noting finger on the string over the note but don’t press the string down to fret the note. When you pluck it, it will sound like a muted note.
A) I hope that’s correct for what you are looking at
B) I hope it helps

#3

I don’t think banjo Ben has a video of the lesson, just the tab.

#4

In my looks around a ghost note is one you put in there but does not take up any time . so to speak a fast hammer on pull off sort of like lilting the notes in the same time frame. Does that makes sense ? like fitting three notes into one space and making a sound different than what was written . and a lot of people do put them in there .In between 1/8 notes . I may not be right but that is the way I look at them .

#5

In music, a ghost note, dead note, muted note, silenced note or false note, is a musical note with a rhythmic value, but no discernible pitch when played. On stringed instruments, this is played by sounding a muted string. “Muted to the point where it is more percussive sounding than obvious and clear in pitch. There is a pitch, to be sure, but its musical value is more rhythmic than melodic or harmonic…they add momentum and drive to any bass line.”[1] In musical notation, this is represented by an “X” or a note head in parentheses.[2] Occurring in a rhythmic figure they are purposely deemphasized, often to the point of near silence. In popular music drumming these notes are played, “very softly between the ‘main’ notes,” (off the beat on the sixteenth notes) most often on the snare drum in a drum kit.[3]

forgive me but I went to Wiki on this one LOL