Beginner · Intermediate · Advanced · 9 units · 44 etudes

Ghost note exercises

A ghost note is a snare stroke so soft you feel it more than hear it — the stick drops from just 2–3 cm. Ghost notes are what give a groove depth and flow. This course starts from a plain beat and adds the quiet notes step by step: a single ghost, then doubles, then a left hand that fills every empty sixteenth.

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The real challenge is contrast: a strong backbeat, a whispered ghost. The app measures both the timing and the loudness of every stroke, so you can see whether your ghosts really stay quiet. Later units move on to linear grooves, where kick and ghosts take turns, and to groups of 3 and 5 that cross the bar line.

What you'll learn

Who it's for

Drummers who can play a basic rock beat and want to bring funk, soul and R&B feel into their grooves.

Practice screen: drum notation with notes coloured green, orange and red by timing

Units

Beginner
01Basic groove5 etudes

Eighth-note hi-hat, snare on 2 and 4, kick on 1 and 3. Keep every stroke even.

  1. Straight beat
  2. Kick on the & of 3
  3. Kick on the & of 1
  4. Two-bar kick phrase
  5. Quarter-note hi-hat
Open in the app →
02Open hi-hat4 etudes

Close the open hi-hat with your foot on the next beat. The open-close is part of the groove.

  1. Open on & of 4
  2. Open on & of 2
  3. Two opens
  4. Disco open hats
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03First ghost notes6 etudes

Ghost note: drop the tip from 2–3 cm, barely audible. Make the contrast with the backbeat big.

  1. One ghost before 2
  2. One ghost before 4
  3. One ghost after 2
  4. One ghost after 4
  5. Before and after
  6. Two per half bar
Open in the app →
04Ghost doubles6 etudes

Two ghosts in a row, both equally soft. Loose wrist; don't let the second one grow.

  1. a of 2 + e of 3
  2. &-a of 1
  3. &-a of 3
  4. Two doubles
  5. Doubles between kicks
  6. Two-bar phrase
Open in the app →
05Half-time4 etudes

Snare only on beat 3, so the groove feels half speed. Ghosts fill the space; don't rush.

  1. Plain half-time
  2. Half-time with ghosts
  3. Half-time with ghosts 2
  4. Two-bar half-time
Open in the app →
Intermediate
06Filled sixteenths5 etudes

Ghosts on every empty sixteenth. Right hand stays on eighths, left hand plays the ghosts. Start slow.

  1. Triple ghost
  2. Shared with the kick
  3. Constant ghosts
  4. With gaps
  5. With sixteenth hi-hat
Open in the app →
07Talking kick6 etudes

The kick lands on off-sixteenths, ghosts fill the gaps. Kick and ghost never on the same spot.

  1. Kick on a of 1
  2. Kick on e of 2
  3. Kick on a of 3
  4. Syncopated kick
  5. Double kick
  6. Two-bar kick melody
Open in the app →
Advanced
08Linear grooves4 etudes

Linear: no two limbs ever play together. Hi-hat, snare and kick take turns.

  1. Linear 1
  2. Linear 2 (dense)
  3. Linear 3
  4. Linear 4 (offbeat hats)
Open in the app →
09Repeating groups4 etudes

The pattern repeats every 3 or 5 sixteenths and crosses the bar line. Keep counting.

  1. Kick in groups of 3
  2. Ghosts in groups of 3
  3. Group of 5
  4. Threes over two bars
Open in the app →

How you practise

Every etude is real notation, like in a book. You play with a metronome, spoken counting and a tempo ladder; your e-kit or microphone listens to every stroke and colours the notes green, orange or red. In a tricky bar, wait mode pauses until you hit the right drum.

Other courses

15 minutes today. A little better tomorrow.

Try it free for 14 days — no card needed.

Try it free for 14 days