How Great Drummers Play the Hi Hat - Left Foot Survival Skills 

alot of snarky stuff to say but when you sit down on the kit all i see is a total joke

Strangely playing left foot in time to compliment a beat came quite naturally for me. As a beginner early on I decided I'm not interested in the double kick and instead focused just as much on the hi hat foot as my bass drum foot. As time went on I found many techniques to make different sounds such as chick, splash and all sorts in between. The hi hat is the most diverse instrument we have on the kit so start experimenting!

That’s a great topic to outline... nice work!!! And great upload.

That's very useful and important topic! But I also have to bring out "the gear situation" - a lot of drummers don't acknowledge that hi-hat stands and mechanisms are easily adjustable. Test these out for your optimal performance: here are some tips from the pedal to the end of the hi-hat rod: 1) Tension adjustment (spring) to make pedal travel shorter or longer. If the clutch is disengaged you will be able to evaluate the amount of "clutch slipping" (compare it to manual gearbox situation); 2) Height of the bottom cymbal is also adjustable with tube assembly, therefore regulating hi-hat seat height; 3) Height of the top cymbal is adjustable by pressing down on pedal and tightening the clutch washer or other mechanism; 4) Tightness of the clutch is also important factor regarding both feel and sound of the hi-hat, but also the longevity of the hi-hat top cymbal. If it's too tight you are risking with getting cracks around the center hole. If it's too loose, the whole hi-hat action feels loose and imprecise. These are kind of basic things to look after, but make a huge difference in feel, sound, playing ergonomics and general maintenance of your hi-hat stand. Of course there are proper and less-proper ways to set up a hi-hat stand, but by testing these four things out you will be able to achieve personalised settings. If you are using multiple hi-hat cymbals with different weights, you might want to make adjustments to your hi-hat stand. Second topic is playing ergonomics. By using heel-up technique you showed here, we don't need to raise our foot to execute the stroke, we just use the principle how the hi-hat pedal works and optimise consumption of energy. I love the term you said, that foot hi-hat "helps to keep beat grounded".

Who needs drum lessons when you got RU-vid and a lot of time on your hands? Thanks man!!

Man, I love your lessons. I really get a lot out of them. Some drummers talk too much as though they like the sound of their own voice without adding value to the listener. You get straight to it. I’ve watched about three of your lessons and learned heaps already after many years of hobby drumming. Thank you.

These videos improved my drumming in 1 day. Couldn't wait yesterday evening after i saw the videos to practice today, and i got amazed by the difference! It’s been 6 years I’m studying and trying to understand what do I do wrong.Thank you very much. PS: And please do us another favour and do not reply to trolls; reply to people who know what they are talking about. Cheers from UK!

I notice you do what I do. Sort of a "restless leg syndrome" in 8th notes as a timing device, even when not every 8th note is sounding. Neat.

You are a great teacher, mighty big thank you.

You've just established a rule of gold that I haven't surprinsingly found in a lot of drummers that are supposed to be professionals and have a developed limb independence. Every drummer in the world should see this video: it's a tremendous guide about a doubt I couldn't clear in any other place. Thank you very much for this information: I'm totally suscribed to your channel.

So glad I'm a lefty!! Seriously, hearing Ginger Baker say "If anything's a time keeper, it's my left foot..." Anyhoo that was an eureka moment and around the same time I had started playing double kicks. I wasn't particularly good at it, but it did step up my hi-hat game! While I'm not calling myself a jazz drummer by a longshot, I do feel my ride patterns with a strong hi hat are my calling card in my garage rock scene!!

My favorite of all the 80/20 lessons I've seen so far. I love this.

...love that area under the curve analogy...perfect!!!!

is there a sadder sight and sound on the planet than a drummer staring at the camera lifting his left foot off the hihat, getting that springy noise and then slowly repeating it....hahahaha thank you Mr 20.

You’re like a good Chianti. Dry and very effective. Excellent lesson!

It’s amazing how much the left foot can do on the floor board of your car, we brake and gas with the right foot I basically learned how to play left foot lead that way but it DEFINITELY helped the Hi-Hat awareness and endurance

Thanks for the tips… also I laughed quite a bit when you said not stomping like you’re trying to kill a zombie… the delivery was perfect! Haha

Found it helpful when playing with Praise & Worship is including more hi hat pedal syncing with the click track helps keep me in time & also gives dynamic range when the bridge comes in to also verses

Jimmy Chamberlin has had a beautiful straight left foot

Have been thinking a lot about "hi hat etiquette" recently, so this video is exaclty what the proverbial doctor ordered. Thanks, as always!

Perfect for breaking through the left foot rut

I have no concept of drumming or beats but I find these videos oddly interesting.

Sick examples! The bit you spouted about describing time feels/beats at 6:15 for 25s could be whole video! Great stuff

Thank you for cheering this like the way you teach the way it is

Great that you are including more of your own playing and excersizes for this lesson i've been missing that recently

As a bass player and want to understand drums better, I came for the drum lesson and stayed for the Danaher reference. That's awesome!

In this example, playing hats tight was focused on, but there is value in the loose sloshing seen with Tony, Gadd and Vinnie. Very challenging in its own way.

I think I finally realized why I like your videos so much. As someone who is slightly neuro-divergent, I want clear-cut rules and guidelines principles to help understand a concept. A lot of drum video lessons are just coordination transcriptions, or wishy-washy "Just feel it Bro" monologues.

Great subject well put, remember bill steward pushing and pulling his sliding hihat stand back and forth again using it as a voice, comping John Scofield! Thanks for the lesson!!

I really enjoy your channel dude. I was born with a guitar in my hands, but an old drummer buddy kind of abandoned his kit at my house several years ago so I've been trying to figure it out. Your channel has been one of the most helpful for me - It'll be a while until I can call myself a real drummer but I'm getting closer & closer every time you release a vid - thanks for that man.

Exactly the thing I've been learning for the past 6 months, super happy to see that my thought process was more or less the same and I'm on the right path!

Awesome lesson; in my opinion the best on this subject. Thanks!

Good topic. Hi hat foot is a subtlety a lot of players overlook or don’t practice yet it really enhances the overall sound of a beat. Although, in a loud, electric band setting, it is easily drowned out by sheer volume.

As someone else mentioned, I sort of have my left leg moving all the time, but the hi hat isn't always opening and closing. Helps me keep my place I think. I've also found that I tend to throw in left foot stuff kind of subconsciously.. Not really sure where I got that from but it sort of reminds me of how a lot of people play ghost notes to fill in the space.

Carmine talked about the importance of the hi-hat. He played on the beat, off the beat, and in-between..and he made it look easy.

I've been throwing a hi hat quarter note at my practice when I'm working through books. Either every beat or 2 and 4. Depending on how I feel. It makes me feel like a real drummer when I've got my head stuck in a snare pattern

love how you raised your eyebrow when you changed the snapping to 2 & 4..."ya like jazz?"

You know it's a good instructional when you come back to it a few months later and watch it again.

You are a great teacher... but most of the time I just sit and watch you playing with a great feel. You are quite a drummer yourself :)

Dislikes are people without a left foot.

Wil Calhoun of Living Colour was the first time I ever saw someone pushing hi hat foot straight eights out during a groove. Before that it was AVH during his solo in the Sammy concert in the 80s.

Exactly what i was looking for, your content has come a long way man

Love all your videos! Annotations/transcriptions of what you’re doing in the video would really help to understand exactly what you’re doing along the way 🙌🏼

Great video!! At Berklee I was taught to rock my left foot; heal on 1 and 3, toe on 2 and on 4.You can't hear the 1 and the 3, but you can feel it! I use Paiste 15 inch Sound Edge HH. So-the band can hear the 2 and 4.clearly. My professor, Gil Graham. wrote the best book on chart reading I've ever seen.

Horacio el Negro Hernandez playing On Fire with the Michel Camilo Trio is another insane example of left foot independence

Challenge: make a beat integrally using the sound of a hi-hat clanging open that you said to avoid.

Literally was talking about this yesterday. Thanks 🙏

Just what the broken left foot rehab needs. Thanks Nate!

13:04 wasn't expecting to get a calculus lesson here. 😂

Old school favorites- "The Face on Mars" with Vinnie Colaiuta playing 1/8's with the left foot adds energy and urgency to the groove and Dave Weckl of Got A Match? from the first Electrik Band album - crazy fast and clean upbeats filling in with the left foot.

“Like trying to find the area under a curve by drawing rectangles” And they said I would never use calculus again after high school.

Thank you for your help with my left foot! Honestly I'm just working on quarters in the Bossa Nova groove. Gotta start somewhere!

"And that's how you get the gig." Dave King

I've been needing this really bad recently, so perfect timing!

I was just struggling with these problems. Thanks for the tips.

The kit you’re playing with you wearing the sky blue polo shirt... the bass drum really sounds awesome for this style music. It had an amazing Bebop style to it. Btw, “The Max Roach Thing” is actually a warmup I started doing pretty much since like a couple months after I got my kit in August of ‘18. I use drums for like physical therapy largely (very helpful, surprisingly to most of my doctors), so I have to like really stretch properly and for a while, make sure everything is in good ergonomic position for playing, then do some warmup playing including basically rudiments between my bass and hats, then I also just check everything and make sure it’s good to go. If I had to adjust a tension rod or something, then I’ll be sure to check that drum again.

That John Danaher comparison. Even if (when) I forget most of the stuff here, that'll stick around. Thanks for that distillation!

Recently I joined a death metal band, but our guitar player is based in blues and loves improv so we usually end up doing just that during practice. I've never done this before joining since my other band is on click with backing tracks and I've always strived to play more like the recordings. Since joining I've definitely improved these improv skills but I'm also struggling with playing more ''jazzy'' with the hi hat (something I love to attempt, to the others slight dismay.. :) ), since I'm way more used to prog metal where everyone else in the band also follows the click. This video definitely helped, thank you!

Saucy stuff! Love it.

I enjoyed the video and your playing

when you touched on danaher you covered my full spectrum of interest

I like how you break this down. I'm interested in something like Bill Stewart does where the hat is incorporated into a linear pattern of triplets or a five-note phrase.

Keith Moon had a perfect hi-hat tecnique!🤩

Great concepts. Sweet playing...

Hello from Asheville, NC. Nice lesson man! I'm also a jazz drummer that does BJJ. Cool to see another one out there.

The video I didn’t know I needed

Another excellent video Nate, sorry it took me so long to subscribe. Especially like the hats in opposite rhythm of the hands, that's a personal favorite of mine. In a groove context, I love playing a shuffle where the foot is the 2nd note of the triplet and the ride hand is playing the first (i.e. quarters). I've heard Vinnie and Tom Brechtlein (both with Robben Ford coincidentally) do this...

Great stuff as usuall...it would take me a lifetime to go trough that sh*t

2:30 Chapter One - Quarters 5:57 Chapter Two - Hats on Offbeats, 8ths and Alternating 11:47 Chapter Three - The Max Roach Thing

Great lesson

Never used the hihat as a timekeeper. Mine is usually dormant unless intentionally adding color to the upbeat or down beat, especially in rock. In Jazz perhaps a little more,but then again just for adding colr.

I like this. Max roache is a hierarchy of a man and the Angels who are not necessarily the same as the ones who are not in person whose life and death are not always watching

Thanks for doing this episode. I needed this.

AND THAT'S HOW YOU GET THE GIG

This was a great breakdown!! Thank you!!

Dave King would be proud of you.

Fun fact: A Reiman Sum is what it’s called when you estimate the area under a curve with rectangles

Really informative lesson. Thank you.

Excellent video

Once again, awesome lesson!

Nate wood has one of the best left foots I ever did hear and see (at some angles)

Brilliant ! I SO need this.... Thanks man !

A great method for developing the HiHat foot is ...Play an ostinato with your bass drum, or any repetitive pattern (we're in 4/4) on the snare play 2 and 4 (later as you get better at it develop patterns to play on the snare) and use any ride pattern from swing to straight 8ths, broken 8ths (whatever) With your Hi-Hat foot read down the first 31 pages of "Modern Reading Text in 4/4" by Louie Bellson or the first seven pages of "Variations Of Drumming" by Ralph Pace. (or any drum method with lines of 8ths or 16ths as singles or grouped in two or three) The goal is to be able to play the hi-hat independently anywhere you want to put it while improvising. This will help accomplish that first by building strength and second by making you put the hi-hat in places you never would have thought possible (That will feel real funny at first)

Could you cover playing closed and splash hi-hat on the left foot?

Still love these videos!

I spent 4 days on 13:54. :O Couldn't play at all, 3 days (mornings and afternoons) now I can at least get through it consistently. Me = early beginner. Now I'm adding the quarter note on a ride I don't own (yet). Geeez.

John Danaher and a drum lesson, godammit, what a times to be alive.

really appeciate your job, great vid keep up with it❣

The recommendation on controlling that mechanical noise of the hh stand is really useful--especially when the top cymbal is mounted with a bit of loose play. On another note, my left foot is a pretty decent metronome, generally on 2 & 4; so periodically I'll just listen to the hh "chick" to know what we should all be doing and to correct any drift. Bet I'm not alone in this.

3:56 lo-budget effects, cool cool cool. Support this man on Patreon and give him the FX he needs!

Damn... Danaher wisdom everywhere

“Raccoon eye brought to you by allergy season”. Man...can I ever relate! I love the “death stare” you give us while playing. Like the long one around 12:30 and the shorter one at 15:00. Like, “learn this shit or I’ll kill you ALL!!!” A good motivator if you ask me. 😂😂 Love your stuff man! You really know how to break it all down and make it fun!

Tony Allen instructing Moses Boyd get into this in relation to afrobeat setting. He recommends Moses goes away and focuses on those off-beat hihats. Beauty of Tony's ability to play the hihats with stick while opening / loosening hats while still get a crisp 'chick' from those hats.

Just what I needed.

I have been looking for something to help me utilize my left foot more often than I do. There is a reason it has been called the Forgotten foot. I'm going to have to experiment with these suggestions if I can figure them out LOL. Start placing open hi-hat notes in various places and see what I come up with.

It would be awesome if you did one of these for bass drum!!

Again more great stuff!

Excellent advice! Thank you!!🎸🎭🥁🕊🏴‍☠️😎💜🌎

Great lesson!

Great content in this! Thank you.