Ghost notes

Ghost notes are beats which are played very quietly on a drum. They have two main purposes. First, they allow the drummer to keep time more evenly. Second, the quiet beats provide a backing tone to the music.

Related Topics:
Beat - Drum - Drummer - Music

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Take, for example, this pattern,

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^ ^ ^ ^ ^

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R L R L R L R L R L R L R L R L

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where the ^ characters indicate the accented beats, and the

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letters indicate the handing. All of the other beats are ghost beats.

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This pattern provides a main rhythm usually counted as "1, 2, 3, 1 2" (not evenly spaced). The ghost notes provide a constant evenly spaced rhythm underneath.

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This rhythm is a variation on the theme known as "3-2 clave" (3-2 after the main accented pattern), and is commonly used in samba and Cuban music.

Related Topics:
Samba - Cuban music

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