When drumming, I like to put in “ghost notes” on the snare drum. These notes are played much softer than my backbeats or other accented notes. I like to use a rimshot for the bigger notes and then leave my stick close to the drum head for the ghost notes. I tend to play these notes very quietly which took a lot of practicing. I’ve been checking out Bernard Purdie, Steve Jordan and Dennis Chambers recently on youtube. These guys are the masters at this style. I believe that all of these drummers were influenced by the great Clyde Stubblefield and John “Jab’o” Starks with James Brown.
My goal is to blend the sound of the hi-hat with the sound of the ghost notes. I want the two sounds to percolate and create a train-like effect.
One of my students likes to call this way of drumming “whisper beats.” I had never heard someone use that phrase to describe this way of playing, but I love it!
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