Ghost Notes

pg.1

Pt.1 - Rock "8-Beat" Feel

The following exercises are designed to help you incorporate ghost notes into your playing. Ghost notes are
quiet, subtle notes that can be added to grooves and fills to "thicken" your sound. They can add another
dimension to your drumming by creating "texture" and "flow".
Unlike graces notes which are the quiet notes used, for example, in flams and drags, ghost notes have an exact
placement in time that can be clearly notated.
Using a really simple 4/4 "8-Beat" rock groove let's start working on some different ghost note placements. Once
you've developed the necessary techniques and coordination, to play ghost notes in this basic rock feel, you can
of course work on adding ghosts into more complex grooves and in different genres.

4
4 ..
1

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5
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.
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5
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Ghost Notes

pg.2

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15

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5x x

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5x x

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x x x
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x x

5x x

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5

x x
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.. .. x

x x x
e 5 e

18

x
e

x 5x x

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x x x
e 5

23

25

x
e

x x x
e 5

x x

e e

Pt.1 - Rock "8-Beat" Feel

e e

.. x x

5x x

.. .. x x

5x x

e e

..

x 5x x .
.

e e

x 5x x

..

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x 5x ex ex

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32

x 5x ex .
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x x x
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.

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22

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5x x

x 5x ex

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x x 5x

5x x
e

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x .
.

Ghost Notes

pg.3

x x 5x
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x x
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5x x

5x ex

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x x
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x x
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5x x

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x x 5x

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x x
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e

x . .x x
. .
34

5x x

5x ex

x ex 5x

x
e

5x ex x

x x
5

Pt.1 - Rock "8-Beat" Feel

.. x

5x ex

..

x 5x ex
e

5x

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x x
5

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x x x

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x 5x e x

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5x ex ..

.. .. ex e ex e 5x e ex e ex e ex e 5x e ex e ..
48

44

xe . 46. ex
. .

5x

..

x x
5
e

40

5x x x x 5x

.. x x

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38

xe . 42. x
. .

5x e x

x x
e 5
x 5x

x
.. .. e
36