Help with tab notation

Please tell me what the x means? I keep running across it.
13%20AM

Jim

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Jim -

The X is a ghost note. It means that you’re plucking the string with your right hand to create a rhythmic sound, but the left hand is not fretting a note - the Left Hand is laying lightly on the strings so that no true tone is produced. It makes a cool thud-like sound.
I couldn’t find a Josh lesson that was focused on this specifically, but I did find this:

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Gio had described this matter in a wonderful way. This X had been confused me for years, since I had tried to understand bass and related notes that came across. Thx Gio you had helped 2 guys in here! Wonderful

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@meyouem Make that 3 guys! lol :wink:

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Ha! The dreaded “X”! I will always and forever associate those Xs with Jaco Pastorius’ bass line in Come On, Come Over. I worked on that one for a good long while with my teacher. Oh, the ghost notes!! They were everywhere…

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Would the X in tab be the same as parentheses around a note in sheet music?

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Did some digging around, and it appears that parentheses around notes in sheet music could indicate several things, but they usually mean ghost notes . . .

:slight_smile:

HTH, Joe

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Yessir! It’s also contextual, but I’d bet that 9/10 times you can use that rule.

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There’s no 100% standardized rule on this. Personally, when writing music I do it like this:

  • Normal notes - full clarity
  • Parentheses notes - muffly
  • X notes - totally dead, almost no pitch

Or in other words - parentheses means it still matters where you play it, X means it doesn’t really so much.

Again, that’s just how I do it, not a universal rule.

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Thanks Josh! Your way makes sense, but I guess if I’m looking at a song I know I can listen for the sound, if it’s a song I don’t know I suppose trial and error would be in order to try and figure it out.

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