Week 2 : 11th -14th January 2010

This week we looked at playing the hi hats and in particular the use of open hi hat as an effect within a groove and as an accent effect in fills.

A quick bit of history - thanks to Iain H. Foot operated cymbals were originally 'Low Hats' - two cymbals that were played with the foot, very simply crashing together. These then developed into 'Hi Hats' that could be played with the sticks as an integral part of the drum kit. This is an image from an old Premier catalogue showing a pair of 'Low Hats'.

We began by playing an 'open' Hi Hat with a basic 8th Note groove pattern. Play through the exercises below at your own pace. Remember to focus not only on which beat the open hi hat is on but also where the foot will close the hi hat (usually the next beat that you will play).

Then we looked a series of exercises using a basic 16th note pattern on the snare drum, using the open hi hat as an accent.