Grace Notes
Grace notes, also known as flams, refer to notes on different columns that are so close to each other in terms of timing that they are hit with almost a single motion. Typically, these can refer to rhythmic intervals ranging anywhere from 24ths to 192nds, depending on tempo and context. They are appealing to use because they can make rhythms more interesting, and the colors of the notes in a grace note usually pop out, making them feel exciting to hit.
Grace notes can be used literally, following grace notes found within the music already, but they can also have other functions that are not as straightforward. We will outline some of these techniques in this article. In general though, the most effective non-literal applications of the grace note include rhythmic variation, accent, color, and misdirection. Many of these applications are particularly common in the treatment of effects.
Here are some examples of how certain effects can be highlighted with grace notes. When a particular instrument plays at a certain register and suddenly jumps in pitch, such as with a guitar wail, the wail can be represented with a two-handed grace note, moving towards the right, held down. The reason why this is effective is because both the jump in pitch is exemplified and dramatized, and there is a separate hand connotation for the vibrato bar or pedal. A sudden move to the right exaggerates the pitch relevance significance, simulating the wail. This similar technique can also be applied to other effects including (but not limited to) guitar distortion or vibrato.
Most of the grace notes utilized here are literal in terms of pitch or attack. However, there is another more interesting usage of them: Notice the attacks on the pair of hold notes are grace notes, which simlulate the wailing guitar, in contrast with the rest of the guitar solo.
Grace notes work brilliantly as embellishments or as ways of achieving directional control. If a piece has a melody that is rich in dynamic contrast and expression, following it with basic notes might result in a very bland interpretation. One option that will add a lot of depth to the flow of the chart is to embellish it using grace notes. Directional flow is easily controlled with grace notes, since the grace notes can craft a sudden feeling of directional change or exaggerate a particular motion. This creates movement, which, if harnessed correctly, is far more interesting than more static patterns.
The grace notes here don't actually exist in the song itself (thus they are considered ghost notes), but provide embellishment to the accordian melody, giving it a playful quality, as if the music had a "skip in its step".
Grace notes can be used to denote additional richness and timbre within a sound. The additional notes with a slight drift signal to the player that there is something "more" happening, which causes the player to pay more attention to those sounds. As such, this is also valid as a layering technique: By deliberately separately two notes from each other on a time scale, the player may intuitively understand they are following different sounds and make it easier to create the connotation of layering. Of course, with techniques such as these, it is important to not overdo on grace notes, or else the chart may get messy very quickly, thus diminishing the effectiveness of the technique.