ghost note
Barely there beat
A ghost note is a musical note played very softly, often barely audible, serving more as rhythmic texture than melodic content.
In drumming, ghost notes are quiet snare hits between main beats that add groove and feel: The drummer's ghost notes gave the track its swing.
In other instruments, they're notes implied or half-suppressed rather than fully articulated.
Rhythmic pulse or strike
- pulseArterial blood throb
- sixteenthOrdinal for 16
- shuffleRandomize by mixing
- swingSuspended recreational seat
funk · pocket · timing · flow · pattern · subdivide · offbeat · upbeat
Device for catching prey
- hi-hatPedal-controlled cymbal pair
- backbeatAccent on weak beats
- syncopationStressed unexpected beats
- grooveNarrow cut or routine
drumstick · accent · dynamics · stick control · rebound · tap · bounce · fill
Made quieter or softer
Slight shade of difference
- hintIndirect suggestion
- whisperSpeech without full voice
- understatedDeliberately minimized in expression
- softYielding to touch
delicate · implied · suggestion · texture · shadow · trace · felt · subliminal
beat
Rhythmic pulse or strike
swing · funk · pocket · timing · flow · pattern · subdivide · offbeat · upbeat · downbeat
snare
Device for catching prey
- hi-hatPedal-controlled cymbal pair
- backbeatAccent on weak beats
- syncopationStressed unexpected beats
groove · drumstick · accent · dynamics · stick control · rebound · tap · bounce · fill · rudiment
muted
Made quieter or softer
dampened · faint · hushed · buried · sotto voce · breath · rustle
nuance
Slight shade of difference
- hintIndirect suggestion
- whisperSpeech without full voice
- understatedDeliberately minimized in expression
soft · delicate · implied · suggestion · texture · shadow · trace · felt · subliminal · peripheral
- drum soundsbeat, boom, drumroll, hit, kick
- drummingsnare drum, drum roll, drumroll, beat, drumsticks
- drum techniquesdrumming, drum roll, paradiddle, flam, double stroke
- pitch techniquespitch bend, bend, vibrato, glissando, portamento
- ornamentsornaments, ornament, decoration, decor, adornment
- guitar techniquesshredding, fingerpicking, bends, arpeggios, hammer-on