Editing Hi-hat (section)

==Use==
[[File:Characteristic rock hi-hat pattern.png|thumb|Characteristic rock and hip hop hi-hat pattern {{Audio|Characteristic rock hi-hat pattern.mid|play}}]]
[[File:Four-four pattern with open and closed hi-hats.png|thumb|Four-four pattern with open (o) and closed (+) hi-hat (see: [[percussion notation]]) {{Audio|Four-four pattern with open and closed hi-hats.mid|play}}]]
[[File:Hi-hat crescendo.png|thumb|Hi-hat "[[crescendo]]" from closed to open leading to the [[ride cymbal]]<ref>Peckman, Jonathan (2007). ''Picture Yourself Drumming'', p.201. {{ISBN|1-59863-330-9}}.</ref> {{audio|Hi-hat crescendo.mid|Play}}]]

When struck closed or played with the pedal, the hi-hat gives a short, crisp, muted percussive sound, referred to as a "chick".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Miller|first=Michael|title=The Complete Idiot's Guide to Playing Drums|publisher=[[Alpha Books]]|year=2003|isbn=9781592571628|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781592571628/page/143 143, 164]|quote=In rock music, the hi-hat is more often than not kept closed. When you do play your hi-hat with your foot, you typically use it to make a "chick" sound on two and four, in unison with your snare drum. [...] Note that you slightly open the hi-hat on one and three, and then snap it closed for a firm chick on two and four.|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781592571628/page/143}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Mattingly|first=Rick|title=All About Drums: A Fun and Simple Guide to Playing Drums|publisher=Hal Leonard|year=2006|isbn=9781476865867|quote=You want to bring the two cymbals together quickly and solidly so that they make a "chick" sound. But then you need to hold your foot down briefly. If you bring it up as soon as the cymbals strike each other, instead of a "chick" sound you'll get a crash (referred to as a hit-hat "splash").}}</ref> Adjusting the gap between the cymbals can alter the sound of the open hi-hat from a shimmering, sustained tone to something similar to a [[ride cymbal]]. When struck with a drumstick, the cymbals make either a short, snappy sound or a longer sustaining sandy sound depending on the position of the pedal.

It can also be played just by lifting and lowering the foot to clash the cymbals together, a style commonly used to accent beats 2 and 4 in jazz music. In rock music, the hi-hats are commonly struck every beat, or on beats 1 and 3, while the cymbals are held together. The drummer can control the sound by foot pressure. Less pressure allows the cymbals to rub together more freely, giving both greater sustain and greater volume for accent or crescendo. In [[shuffle time]], a rhythm known as "cooking" is often employed. To produce this the cymbals are struck twice in rapid succession, being held closed on the first stroke and allowed to open just before the second, then allowed to ring before being closed with a chick to complete the pattern (the cymbals may or may not be struck on the chick).

A right-handed drummer will normally play the hi-hat pedal with his left foot, and may use one or both drumsticks. The traditional hi-hat rhythms of rock and jazz were produced by crossing the hands over, so the right stick would play the hi-hat while the left played the [[snare drum]] below it, but this is not universal. Some top modern drummers like [[Billy Cobham]], [[Carter Beauford]], [[Shawn Drover]] and [[Simon Phillips (drummer)|Simon Phillips]], play [[open handed playing|open handed]], striking with their left. Some, such as [[Kenny Aronoff]], and [[Jason Finn (musician)|Jason Finn]] of [[The Presidents of the United States of America (band)|The Presidents of the United States of America]], use both techniques. Some drum kits may also include an extra hi-hat on the right for right-handed players. This is shown{{clarify|date=June 2016}} when drums or cymbals in the middle of the set are played with the hi-hat rhythm. The technique is common with metal genres, such as [[Lars Ulrich]] of [[Metallica]] and [[Mike Portnoy]] of [[Dream Theater]]. In both rock and jazz, the drummer will often move the same stick pattern between the hi-hat cymbal and the ride cymbal, for example using the hi-hat in the verses and the ride in the chorus of a song, or using the ride to accompany a [[lead break]] or other instrumental solo.

[[Roger Taylor (Queen drummer)|Roger Taylor]], drummer for the band [[Queen (band)|Queen]], plays with many unique hi-hat techniques, including opening of the hi-hat on every backbeat for a rhythm emphasis and leaving the hi-hat slightly open when hitting the snare. His trademark hi-hat beat is opening the hi-hat on first and third before hitting the snare.

[[Phil Rudd]] of [[AC/DC]] also uses distinct hi-hat techniques, which include very heavily accentuating the hi-hat hit on each beat and softer in between.

[[Charlie Watts]] of [[The Rolling Stones]] used a technique in which he did not play the hi-hat in unison with the snare drum at all.  If playing a standard 8th note pattern, he would play the hi-hat on 1 and 3 and not play it on 2 and 4 where the snare drum is played.

In much [[Hip hop music|hip-hop]], the hi-hat is hit with drumsticks in a simple [[eighth-note]] pattern, although this playing is usually done by a [[drum machine]] or from an old recording from which the sound of a hi-hat is recorded and loaded into a [[sampler (musical instrument)|sampler]] or similar recording-enabled equipment from which it is triggered. 

{{Listen
| filename     =Hi hat closed.ogg
| title        =Closed hi-hat
| alt          =
| description  =
| filename2    =Hi hat open.ogg
| title2       =Open hi-hat
| alt2         =
| description2 =
| filename3    =Hi hat foot pedal.ogg
| title3       =Hi-hat being opened and closed by its pedal
| alt3         =
| description3 =
}}