BASS
USING GHOST NOTES TO FUNKIFY YOUR LINES | Adam Nitti
Ghost notes are like ‘ sugar ’ that can sweeten up your bass lines by embellishing their momentum . A ghost note , or ‘ dead ’ note , as it is sometimes called , reduces a bass note to nothing but its attack . Ghost notes are used in bass grooves to help propel the lines rhythmically and establish accents for timing reference . They can give lines more of a ‘ funky ’ sound and increase the level of perceived activity without making the lines more complicated melodically . Ghost notes can also help a bass player to keep more solid internal time by applying more subdivision content to the performance that helps meter his / her pulse . Regardless of how many ghost notes make up the composition of your grooves , they are a musical tool that every bass player should have experience with .
GHOST NOTE PRIMER If you have never played ghost notes before , a good way to get familiar with the sound and feel is to practice playing notes without playing pitch . To get started , try playing any fretted note on the fingerboard normally , allowing your plucking hand to pluck the note while your fretting hand frets the note . The two hands work together to give energy and duration to the pitch being played . Now do the same thing , but this time ‘ un-fret ’ the note with your fretting hand by releasing fretting pressure while keeping fretting hand contact with the string . You will release the amount of tension needed to fret the note , but you will still be keeping your finger placed on the string being plucked to prevent it from vibrating . This is the same approach used when playing natural harmonics on the bass , but in this case , we don ’ t want a harmonic to be produced ; instead , we just want the sound of the attack from the plucking hand on the suspended string which results in more of a ‘ thud-like ’ sound . To get this sounding consistent , you may find that you must move your fretting finger slightly forward or rearward to avoid getting a harmonic , but this will be influenced directly by what position your fretting hand is in .
Focus on getting the sound correct by only working with a single note at a time . After that , alternate between fretted note and ghost note so that you can seamlessly alternate the required techniques . The normal fretted notes should be played with long , smooth durations to allow them to contrast fully against the sound of the dead notes . Example 1 shows an example of how you might practice alternating notes and their ghost notes using the 3rd fret ‘ G ’ on the E string . ( The note heads with the ‘ X ’ are the ghost notes ) Example 1
From here , you can practice different ghost note rhythms across different strings as you get more confident with the technique . Because the scope of this column is more dedicated to embellishing bass lines with ghost notes , I will leave the woodshedding of the basic technique to you if you are new to this .
EMBELLISHING GROOVES Now let ’ s look at a handful of bass lines that establish a basic groove and then ‘ decorate ’ each of them with some ghost notes . In each example , first take some time to get the basic groove comfortable in your hands and in your ears before attempting the ghost note version . Analyze how both versions differ in terms of how they make you feel or react . You will notice that the energy changes when going back and forth from line to line . One will not necessarily ‘ feel ’ better than the other ; however , you may find that the energy of each version might pull you more in one direction than another when you play . These internal nuances are what I want you to focus on once you get past getting the lines under your fingers . The more mindful you are of these differences , the quicker you will be able to
adapt spontaneously in performance situations . And ultimately , you want your creativity to be spontaneous and interactive .
Exercise 1a ( on the following page ) is a sixteenth note syncopated line in D minor . Start this line slow so that you are playing the rhythms accurately before moving on to the ghost note embellished version in Exercise 1b . This groove can also be swung to make it feel more like a James Brown type of groove ...
Exercise 2a is an A minor line with an eighth note subdivision played in a legato fashion . Make sure to play the line paying attention to the full duration of the notes . Then , notice how the pulse becomes more ‘ pointed ’ when the ghost notes are added in Exercise 2b .
Exercise 3a is an E minor funk line . Once again pay attention to the specific durations of each note when you learn the line , making sure not to ignore the space that is created by the rests . Exercise 3b will sound like there is a lot more activity to the line , even though we are not adding more pitches to it . Notice how the ghost notes add ‘ kicks ’ to the line ’ s rhythm and make it even more funky .
I hope these exercises have inspired you to come up with your own approaches using ghost notes . You can take any bass line and dress it up with this useful technique ; just make sure to maintain rhythmic accuracy and cleanliness . Keep in mind there will be diminishing returns if you overuse any type of enhancement or embellishment , so remember to keep it tasteful and musical . Until next time-
Adam Nitti Nashville-based Adam Nitti balances his roles as a solo artist , sideman , and educator . He has filled the bass chair for Kenny Loggins , Carrie Underwood , Dave Weckl Band , Michael McDonald , Susan Tedeschi , Steven Curtis Chapman , Mike Stern , Brent Mason , Wayne Krantz , and Christopher Cross , while also releasing five solo CDs to date . As a Nashville session bassist he has played on multiple Grammywinning and Grammy-nominated albums , and is also the founder of ...
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