Yes, yes, I know Halloween is long and gone, but please cut me some slack. I just couldn't resist adding the picture of the ghosts because today I want to talk about adding "ghost" notes as a production technique!
I'm currently working on a new song right now. I'm not sure what I'll call it, but for now the working title is just MiniMoog Graduation Song. Yea, it's not too creative, I know, but for every synth I finish learning I promised myself that I would write a "graduation" song using only sounds from that synth!
The MiniMoog, like many other synthesizers, has a "glide" feature that allows for a portamento slide between note values. In particular, the pad sound I tweaked has a really cool glide to it, so while I was composing, I was inspired to integrate it into the song... but how?
The answer was to use a ghost note! (For anyone who doesn't know what that is, it is usually talked about when people add notes that have no real pitch value, simply for rhythm. However, in my case, I am referring to a note which has no discernible sound but serves another purpose.). Above, I've circled the note.
See, when sliding, the default behavior of most synths is to slide up from the previous note that was played. Therefore, the "ghost" note serves to reset the bottom value of the portamento slide the synth will use for sliding to the next note. This way, I can set up a slide in my midi roll without having to tweak anything in the synth patch! Please be on the lookout for it in my next song.
It is worth mentioning that muting the note will not work in most cases, because the note in the synth must be triggered. So, we need to make a real note. The only problem is that needs to be small enough to be triggered, but not heard. So even if it is a note that it just a millisecond long, it should work!
Otherwise, you won't have a ghost of a chance of getting the trick to work.
Till next time,
SCOPS
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