From the course: Learning Music Notation
Join today to access over 22,600 courses taught by industry experts or purchase this course individually.
Alternate noteheads
Alternate note heads are often used in conjunction with slash and rhythmic notation when creating rhythm section parts. They can be used to indicate that the player should muffle strings, or ghost notes. Alternate note heads are also used in conventional notation with other instruments as well. So, let's take a look at a few examples and discuss their use. So, the most common alternate note head is the X note head, and its use varies by instrument. As I mentioned, it can be used to indicate that a player should ghost notes or muffle notes. For example, in guitar parts, X note heads are used to indicate to the player that they should hold their left hand over the strings, and muffle them, as they strike the strings with their right hand. So you get that muffled sound. Now, I've notated a rhythm pattern using X note heads and conventional note heads, in a number of different ways. So, in the first example here, we see the exact chord voicing that is desired by the composer, and the…
Download courses and learn on the go
Watch courses on your mobile device without an internet connection. Download courses using your iOS or Android LinkedIn Learning app.