We’ve got more work to do with ghost notes. There are a lot of great possibilities.
1 - More Single and Double Ghost Notes
Play-Along Video Workout Exercises
Let’s continue with our ghost note studies. We need to spend some time on our ghost notes to get them soft and smooth.
Look at Funk Drumming, p. 74 – 76, watch the following exercise videos and play them along with me. We’ll play each line 4 x’s and go down the page. 72 BPM
2 - Pullouts
A pullout is a ghost note followed by an accented snare drum note or a rim shot.
A. Pullout Ghost Note Exercise
To develop the pullout concept I use the following exercise. This is simply a double stroke roll in 16th note form, but it starts on the last 16th of the previous measure instead of on 1. Accent the second stroke of each double.
This exercise also helps smooth out doubles in general as we usually tend to accent the first stroke. (This sticking can also be the basis of some very funky rhythms, if spread between the hi-hat and snare drum.)
When using the pullout in an actual beat you will accent the second note even more, and most of the time you will play the second note as a rim shot as you’ll see in the examples below.
B. Pullout Ghost Note Beat 1
In the following beat the pullout happens on the “a” of “3” and “4.”
C. Pullout Ghost Note Beat 2
This beat has a pullout followed by a bass drum note - one of my favorite sounds.
D. Song Examples
1) "Look-Ka Py Py" – The Meters, Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste, drums.
a) Pullout on the “a of 2” and “3”
The drums in this song have what we call a swing feel. In other words the 16ths aren’t exactly straight, perfectly spaced 16ths. They’re swung a little. The second 16th of a group of two 16ths is pushed a little closer to the third 16th to create this jazz type feel. We’ll talk about this more later. It’s not something that’s overly complex. It’s fairly easy to add some swing feel to your playing.
b) Jim Playing Look-Ka Py Py
2) “Memphis Soul Stew” – King Curtis, Bernard Purdie, drums.
Check out the pullout on the “a of 3” and “4”.
King Curtis
Steve Gadd, Ray Lucas, Bernard Purdie, and Jim Payne
3) “Give It Up Or Turn It A Loose” – James Brown, “Sex Machine, Live In Atlanta,” Clyde Stubblefield, drums.
Sex Machine Album Cover
Clyde Stubblefield
This song contains Clyde Stubblefield’s famous drum break which includes a pullout on the “a of 3” and “4.”
This is the complete song. The drum break is around 5:15.
Here’s a slowed down version of the drum break:
Student Ping Hung Tu from China playing to Clyde Stubblefield drum break slow:
Workbook
1. Funk Drumming, p. 74, 75 and #28 on top of p. 76.
Quarter note = 65 BPM
Play each line 4 X’s and go down the pages without stopping.
2. Play on top of Clyde’s Drum Break Slow (click "Download”)
3. Workbook Track – Groove 12 Slow, Tommy Igoe, Groove Essentials 1.0
This is a fairly slow funky track. It’s all in 16 bar sections. Play appropriate fills between the sections as you see fit. Check out the chart in the book.
At letter B you can get looser but don’t go overboard. Keep the groove and embellish it. This is not a solo!!! More like a drum break.
USE THIS BEAT with a pullout on the “a of 3” and “4” plus other ghost notes:
