Playing The Open Hi Hat
Another important drum technique involves releasing the pressure of the left foot to partially open the hi hat cymbals and then playing the open hi hat with the side of the stick. An open hi hat is notated by a small o above the note. The hi hat is then closed where a + appears and played as normal until the next o symbol appears. The exact degree of opening is up to you. Experiment until you are happy with the sound, but don’t open it too far or the sound becomes sloppy and makes it difficult to keep good time.
In this example the open hi hat is played on the second and fourth beats of the bar. Practice the technique until you are comfortable playing either open or closed hi hat on any beat of the bar.
The next step is to add the bass drum and snare drum. Practice this example many times until you are totally comfortable with it.
Once you can play the previous example, try this groove which uses eighth notes on the hi hat, and is opened on the "and" section of each beat.
Here are some more grooves which make use of the open hi hat technique. Take them slowly at first if necessary and as always, remember to count out loud as you play.
Here is a typical Swing example making use of the open hi hat technique. Remember not to open the hi hats too much, just enough to get the desired sound.
Know Your Drums…
Bongos
Bongo drums are a pair of small, tunable single-skinned drums which are joined by a bridge. They were developed in Cuba from drums brought by African slaves and are still most closely associated with Cuban music, although they are used in many other styles of music. Players of the bongo are called bongoceros. The two drums differ in size; the smaller one is known as hembra and the larger, macho. Bongos are traditionally played in the sitting position with the hands, although sticks can also be used.
