Quick question - hands hitting eachother.

Abstand

Junior Member
I am very new to drums and drumming, i've only been playing for a few days.

I have a question about a particular beat that i've been trying.

i've found that when I am playing a beat on the hi-hat and snare, that if the snare is played seperately from the hi-hat then my hands hit eachother while I am bringing my hi-hat stick down and my snare stick up, I hope that makes sense. I've tried changing the way/height in which I play but it still seems to happen.

I wish I knew what the beat was called to help describe what im talking about, but hopefully someone will understand what im trying to say.

My question is: How do I avoid my hands/sticks hitting eachother while playing these beats?
 
I am very new to drums and drumming, i've only been playing for a few days.

I have a question about a particular beat that i've been trying.

i've found that when I am playing a beat on the hi-hat and snare, that if the snare is played seperately from the hi-hat then my hands hit eachother while I am bringing my hi-hat stick down and my snare stick up, I hope that makes sense. I've tried changing the way/height in which I play but it still seems to happen.

I wish I knew what the beat was called to help describe what im talking about, but hopefully someone will understand what im trying to say.

My question is: How do I avoid my hands/sticks hitting eachother while playing these beats?



Hello and welcome to the forum mate- I am sure you will have loads of help on this!
From me I can suggest that it is onlky a matter of position and possibly grip style- are you using traditional grip? It can happen if the hi hat is too close to the snare, maybe just for that beat switch to match grip for a little more space- thats what I do for a shuffle beat in the main!

Good luck and it may take some time to find the ideal set up for your style, this may also evolve over the years so never be set in one way remain fluid and let change happen to work for YOU!

Regards
H
 
Thanks a bunch for your advice, I am using matched grip for now, traditional grip feels a wee bit awkward for me at this point.

How far away should the hi-hat be from the snare? In my current setup my hi-hat is about even with the snare, meaning the if they were on the same level they would almost be touching, is this problematic? what is the normal distance that is used between the two? I'll be honest the hi-hat intimidates me, but I'd like to gain more control over it.

EDIT: To be more specific, it isnt really my sticks that are clicking together its the knuckles from my right hand touching the stick in my left, hopefully that helps put a picture in your head(s).
 
Unless you plan on playing open-handed, yes thats a problem, try raising the height of the hihats about 5", if thats uncomfortable try 7". hope this works out for u. if ucan try n video tape u playing this beat and put it on youtube so we can try n help u more.
 
Well my hi-hats are much higher than my snare, what I meant is they are close to eachother, meaning if you dropped my hi-hats down 8 inches or so they would be even with my snare, what im asking is would it be beneficial to move them further from my snare, maybe out a few inches?

HH
------

..........SN
........---------

Thats what they look like now, maybe that will clear things up. Unfortunately I have no acces to a video camera worth a damn, its on my to-buy list though.
 
Your hi-hats should not be directly over your snare, if that's what the problem is. Try moving them so that when you're looking directly down on them, there's 2-3 inches between the edge of the hats and the rim of the snare.
 
I moved the hi-hats a bit further from the snare and im still having this problem, I have chalked it down to holding the sticks improperly, unfortunately I dont have a camera so I cant show you all how im doing it, I guess I will have to look around at videos/pictures on the proper way to hold the sticks when playing on hi-hat/snare.
 
Billy Ward (and me and a lot of other people) uses a placement method that allows your hands to not be over each other while playing hats'n'snare. Instead of directly to the left of your snare, try placing your hats a bit more "forward" and to the right, at more of an "11 o' clock" position relative to the way you're facing. It's hard to describe in writing, I would suggest you check out the videos of Billy Ward here on Drummerworld (not Bill Ward the Black Sabbath guy). Also, in his DVD "Big Time" he has a section discussing a very ergonomic approach to drum set set-up (3 times fast?).

Anyway, so if you move your hi-hat forward and to the right, it will not only keep you from hitting your hands/sticks against each other, but will also free up your left hand from under your right one, allowing you to play theatrical 5 foot stick height backbeats on the snare while you're riding the hats. This in turn also means that you can place your hats lower. Using this method may require you to swing your right elbow out just a bit instead of keeping it right at your side.

So yeah, I'd suggest checking out the Billy Ward videos to see what he's doing on the hats, notice how they're more "forward" and how his hand positioning is adjusted so his arms don't overlap...
 
Billy Ward (and me and a lot of other people) uses a placement method that allows your hands to not be over each other while playing hats'n'snare. Instead of directly to the left of your snare, try placing your hats a bit more "forward" and to the right, at more of an "11 o' clock" position relative to the way you're facing.

I would really like to use this set-up as it seems like it would be extremely natural for me, however, when I moved my hi-hats around it seemd near impossible to get my foot on my hi-hat pedal comfortably, perhaps im doing it wrong..
 
I would really like to use this set-up as it seems like it would be extremely natural for me, however, when I moved my hi-hats around it seemd near impossible to get my foot on my hi-hat pedal comfortably, perhaps im doing it wrong..

The way I have it set up lets me reach the hi-hat very comfortably with my foot, so itmay have to do with your setup? This is hard to explain, but I'll try. I sit down on my stool and put my feet in a comfortable position on the floor. They're not spread real far apart, kind of natural, maybe less than two feet apart, maybe closer to one foot? I'm also sitting high enough where my thighs are angled slightly downward, and I have my feet slightly in front of me, not right under my knees. ... The first thing I set up is my pedals, which I place right where my feet are. This means you won't be facing your bass drum, it'll be angled slightly to your right. Set your hats up where your left foot is. You should then be able to "straddle" your snare, having it right between your legs. Your pedals may now be slightly in front of the snare stand, or at least not closer to your torso than the snare stand... I have the snare right around waist hight, a few inches higher than my thighs, so I don't really rest my left hand on my thigh or anything. You should now be able to hit your hi-hats and snare without having your right arm over your left. However, to do this you'll probably have to raise your right elbow up/out just a bit. I guess the hats might not be really so far infront of you, it's not a really extreme adjustment. Also you'll be hitting the right edge of the hat to get your arm out from over the left one...I don't know man, hope it helps. Seriously get the DVD "Big Time" by Billy Ward. It's really entertaining and educational and funny.. Also if you're using a double bass setup this might not work so well unless you place your slave pedal to the left of your hats, on the outside.
 
i used to do that same thing, but i grew out of it by practicing. I stopped doing after about a week. I think its a matter of getting comfortable behind your kit.
 
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