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Need Help With Ghost Notes!!

Alex S

New Student
Nov 11, 2019
40
0
  • #1
    Hello everyone! I’m back at the forums again… I just wanted to say I’m thankful for how active and helpful everyone truly is! It makes me smile, lastly I hope everyone reading this is having a good day or has a good one. So let’s get into it. I’ve been learning Synyster’s So Far Away solo and there are some ghost notes. I’m struggling to understand them and produce the correct sound. Any help would be appreciated! I’m a little lost.. again! Cheers!
     
    J

    Jak Angelescu

    Guest
  • #2
    Hey Alex! Good to see you’re back on the forums again! I hope I can help in some way. I know that the HTTK solo had a ghost note in it and omg… I spent almost 20 hours on that part alone.
    A ghost note is neither a ‘rest’ or a ‘palm muted’ sound. It’s more of a rhythmic placeholder than anything else. It’s usually created unintentionally when a musician is really feeling something, OR if the musician doesn’t want to interrupt the melody they have already but the rhythm they’re looking for isn’t exactly right. To perform a ghost note, barely touch the strings with your fretting hand. A ghost note makes a “dunk” sound. Like the same sound you make when you can’t strum a full barre chord properly because some of the strings are muted. They take a LOT of practice to incorporate properly. So it’s so cool you’re doing it! I can’t wait to hear your work!
     

    Dan Shipway

    Slim Shady
  •
    • Nov 11, 2019
    726
    158
    9
  • #4
    Damn this is really helpful, I tried and am still trying to learn the first solo in Our New World by Dream Theater and the first 2 notes were a bitch to play. I never fully grasped what they are but this is a great explanation. Cheers Jak!
     
    J

    Jak Angelescu

    Guest
  • #7
    @lauren I covered it in my tutorial I posted up a long time ago. It’s in the descending economy lick right before the sweeps
    @dan i’m so glad I could help
    I would also like to kindly add, Lauren, that a lot of people miss the ghost note in the solo and it loses the rhythmic value of that section when they leave it out. They usually play it straight through with a consecutive run of 16th notes or I’ve even heard triplets before and that’s not the case.
    If I could equate the rhythmic value of that section to something, it would be like the sound you hear when you drop a coin on a hard wood floor: hits a free times and hits faster afterwards from bouncing. If that makes sense
     
    C

    Christopher Lonski

    Free Bird Player
    Nov 11, 2019
    275
    1
    58
  • #8
    If you’re trying to play ghost notes, just release the pressure of your fingers so it isnt touching the feet, but keep your finger on the string so it mutes it a bit. It doesnt work as well over the natural harmonics, which usually sit almost perfectly over several different frets, the easiest being frets 5, 7, 12, 19, 24(5&24 produce the same note and 7&19 produce the same note). It’s usually better to keep your fingers between 2 frets to avoid a harmonic.
     

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