Monday Drumday: Ghosts!

This seems appropriate for the Halloween time of year, but I am talking about ghost notes. In drumming these are notes that may be played between the standard beats at a lower volume. The change the feel of the beat.

Drumeo have a '10 day ghost notes' course with the same teacher I mentioned last week. She does a ten minute workout that has variations on the technique. I have condensed this for my video. You start with a standard beat and then add in the ghost notes. I start with one and then add a second. I do not find this easy. I have to practice slowly and build up. The latest lesson was actually faster than I am playing here, but I struggled to keep up.

I have encountered ghost notes before. They cropped up in a Red Hot Chilli Peppers song I played a while back. I need to keep working on them to add variety to my playing.

I was battling technology to get this video done. My tablet was reluctant to play the backing track. This video might have been longer (if anyone would watch more), but the tablet decided to shut down. I decided that was enough for now.

I have been rearranging my kit a little. I have moved the high hat up and across a bit to reduce chances of my hands clashing. I also moved the cymbals so that the ride is not so high.

I have some updates to my drum rig on the way, but they are more in the way of furniture than anything that makes a noise. I am also considering going to a local drum teacher to get some direct feedback on my playing as well as to play some acoustic drums. I keep looking at the Facebook market for some drums that might suit me. There are plenty of kits for sale.

Rock on!