noob hi hat technique question

Hi,

I've been playing drums casually for a year, but I have a small problem on punk songs and Tom Sawyer, which I'm learning to play.

When I play the hi-hat quickly, my shoulder tends to tense up a lot, and it hurts sometimes after playing a lot. I do "bounce" on the hi-hat to keep things loose, but that sort of happens in my wrist and forearm. So my wrist and forearm are loose while my upper arm/shoulder gets locked up and tense. It's much less of a problem on the ride. I have crappy joints in general and don't want to mess myself up so I was wondering if you had any suggestions or things to focus on. I've been trying hard to be aware of it when it happens so I can loosen up but it can be difficult.

Any tips?

Just guessing that your hihat is too high

Are you taking lessons? Or do you know anyone that could critique your playing? You might find that you are not just locking up on the hi hat and it's important to drive out any bad habits that sneak in.

Try this! When you watch TV and there is no one else present in the room (if anyone else is there they will kill you for annoying them) Take a drumstick and play on your thigh as if you were playing your Hi-Hats. Practice playing softly so that your leg doesn't hurt. Use the french Grip, http://www.rockdrummingsystem.com/underground/drum-articles/using-proper-stick-grips.php Don't forget to use your fingers as well as your wrist to work the stick. Go as fast as you can without causing pain. Do this for several evenings and see if when you play your Hats the fatigue that you are experiencing in your shoulder disappears.

Also get a video camera, it's a great tool to analyze your posture, and general tension level. It can reveal stuff that you don't realize. Hopefully, when watching yourself, the reason will become apparant why you're having problems with certain things.

In Jojo Mayer's video he says: Sit at your stool, hang your arms down by your side, and then imagine you are a puppet and strings are pulling your hands up until level with your snare. Your upper arms must still hand down loose. That's the ideal position as your shoulders are relaxed.. Now of course its harding getting accros to your hats, but basically the aim is to really concentrate on making sure your elbows and shoulders stay relaxed as much as possible.

I find my elbows often unecessarily start wandering up as I try to play fast or complicated etc. which causes tension and I have to rembember to keep them down.