Hi-Hat Stepping (Lift & Close on every beat)

Hmmm.

I'm not sure I understand your last post, but perhaps you are overthinking it?

Since you're still just developing the coordination and technique, just focus on the 'tap tap tap tap...' of your foot, or 'down down down down ...'. Don't worry about the up motion. This is why I suggested playing in synchronicity with your right-hand, to get used to the coordination.
 
Hello there,

I am desperate to learn how to do what I think would be described as hi-hat steps (open & close) using 8th notes (or if this does not describe what I mean, opening and closing the hi-hat on every beat like Chadd Smith in Californication and Dom Howard from Muse in a few songs).

I cannot get my left foot to play independently from the bass drum in this instance. When I try, I either start copying what I am doing on the bass drum or copying what I am doing on the hi-hat onto the bass drum.

I am able to do most other combinations, like alternating between hi-hat and bass drum every other note but this has been beyond me for a while and I haven't been able to find any material or advise on this particular subject.

I would be extremely grateful if you could share your experience and advice.

Thank you so much in advance,

Shaun.

I used to be like this. It was as simple as slowing WAY down and counting. I mean slow as in....there were huge gaps sometimes between each note. Granted I wasn't always sober practicing it...but I would sit there at my desk and practice on my lap for like 8 hours a day sometimes... I practiced lots of independence exercises. I used to play Rh Lf Rf Lf and throw a diddle around it. so RR lh rf lf, rh LL rf lf, rh lh RR lf...etc etc
 
Just keep practising.

It's not going to happen overnight, you have to work on it. It'll happen when it happens :)

It could be a week - it could be 6 months. You've been given plenty of good advice, so go and apply it :).

Also, don't forget the obvious - practise JUST tapping your left foot on the hihat while doing nothing else. Focus on the technique, try to avoid letting the pedal 'top out' (where the spring forces it to full extension and creates an audible clicking noise).

Just go and practise it and you'll get it :)
 
Here's a method I came up with to get past these roadblocks that has worked out very well for me. Play whatever pattern you are having trouble with....without your hi hat foot. What you need to do is first vocalize your hi hat part. Try saying the word "chick" every time you want your hi hat to close. Or if that is too hard, just grunt. If you can't vocalize the part, you won't be able to play the part. When you are able to vocalize the part, it's much easier to try to make your left foot follow your vocal.

If you have trouble vocalizing the part, what I do, is to downshift into just thinking the word "chick". When you can think it in time, then try saying it in time. When you can say it in time, then try playing it in time. I use this method to clear mental hurdles, because it is all mental.

I'm liking this a lot. Nice tip Larry.

Davo
 
Yes.. vocalizing works.. check out the Gary Chester book 1 'New Breed' .. it will improve co-ordination, time, sight reading etc. You sing the 'melody' lines (like the kick, hat, snare , tom parts etc.
 
This is a great thing to work toward. The left foot is so overlooked, mainly only viewed as a way to play double bass. The left foot is the drumset of the drumset - it does for the drumset what the drumset does for the entire band: Timekeeping and anchoring. But you can do so much more with it.

Pump your heel up and down while you play with the hats closed or keep it moving up and down while you play ride, getting a neat ssssip out of it to accent something or mimic the melody.

I was fortunate in that my first teachers taught me to always keep the left foot going on the hats. either with whole, half, quarter or eighth notes. I can now play clave beats on the left foot (hooked up to a pedal-activated wood block) and play the hats in three while everything else is in for, or keep the hats going with quarter notes while playing in 7, 9, 11 or other unusual meters.

The advice here is good. I would suggest integrating it from the beginning. Go back and get it going in whole, half, eighth and quarter notes in a simple rock rhythm, the move to the next most-simple thing you have, then the next, and so on. With a short time, you should be integrating it into whatever you are doing now. The integration will go more slowly the closer you get to your current level.
 
Ah, now I see my problem. I need to do 16th hi-hat open/closes. Hmmm...

Ahm, I don't think that's it. You're talking about doing what Chad Smith is doing right here, right? What he's doing is playing 8th notes on the hihat with his left foot-- or he may just be moving his leg in an 8th note rhythm. The opening is implied-- you don't have to think about it or make it part of the rhythm. You can do it by just tapping your heel on the floor or on the footboard. After you can make steady 8th notes that way, you can start moving your leg a little more to move the cymbals and get the sound you want. Then get out whatever rock book you own-- Funky Primer, whatever-- and practice the beats, with your RH on the cymbal and your LF doing the 8th notes. For me this technique only works at certain tempos-- maybe ~80-126. It requires a continuous motion that falls apart at slower tempos, and it uses your whole leg, which is generally not a fine enough instrument to go a lot faster. Find the tempo where your leg is naturally most comfortable doing that movement, and then expand your range of tempos from there.
 
one of the best responses I have seen here

...the hi hat is one of the most, if not THE most expressive instruments in the kit and should be worked on and used as such

develop your left foot to have its own voice and you will stand out among those who designate it solely as a time keeper ......and they are in abundance

Sheepdisease - It's cool that you're looking to develop you're hihat foot. 2 things you can try are foot strengthening exercises, and coordination exercises.

Strengthening - Go through the book Stick Control with your feet. Start slowly and play heels down - this will strengthen and stretch those muscles around your ankles.

Coordination - Check out the Fatback exercises in Gary Chaffee's Time Functioning Patterns. Start as he suggests playing on the hihat, but eventually move to the ride and add different patterns with your hihat foot to the grooves. Start with 1/4 notes, then upbeats, 1/8ths, etc.

Also check out Billy Ward's DVDs - Big Time and Voices in My Head - he has some nice sections on playing the hihat...
 
Lot's of good tips here already; Here's a quick list of some things that worked for me;
- the hat foot used as a 'chick' pulse or meter is usually an afterthought for most drummers and the last thing to 'come online' once they've mastered the basic co-ordination with the hands and kick foot. If you can learn to incorporate it early in the game, it will help in the long run.
- even when the hat is firmly closed, try to tap the heel as a time keeper - keep it natural like a slight bounce; you want to avoid the hats from slightly opening as it can sound sloshy in some cases.
- practice riding the cymbal with a basic back beat and play the 'chick' sound with the foot on 1/4s or 8ths and the off beat (on the 'and')
- take up double kick (even if you don't need it for your band tunes.. but practice with it and use your feet like your hands - this will greatly improve your foot co-ordination... plus it's fun!
- try working in the foot splash into your rythmns.. eg. play a shuffle pattern with ride and snare and try to control your hats well enough to throw in splashes with your left foot. For extra bonus points - splash it and close it by rocking your foot to create the 'cheop' sound like you'd get if you hit it with a stick. Similar to the double kick exercise - it just adds more independence to your weaker left foot.
 
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