The hi-hat is a creative part of the drum kit that allows you to experiment with sounds. Like how we learnt the art of the open hi-hat in the last blog post, today, we delve into playing the hi-hat using just our left foot. Let’s get started!

Hi-Hat Foot on the Eighth Note Groove

This lesson will definitely test your left and right leg independence and is super fun to play too. For the first part, we play the standard eighth note groove with the right hand playing single strokes on the ride instead of the hi-hat.

The snare drum goes on counts 2 and 4 while the kick drum goes on counts 1 and 3. Here comes the interesting part, using your left foot, play the hi-hat on counts 2 and 4 (same as when you hit the snare drum with your left hand).

Hi-Hat Foot as Quarter Notes

Here is another interesting lesson for you. Moving on from the first eighth note groove where we played the hi-hat foot on counts 2 and 4, this time we transition to playing the hi-hat on all four counts (1-2-3-4). That is, play the same groove on the ride, however, including counts 2 and 4, play the hi-hat with your left foot on counts 1 and 3 as well.

This would mean that the hi-hat is played with your left foot on all four quarter note counts. Take it slow, get the hang of it and play with a relaxed posture.

Hi-Hat Foot on Upbeats and Downbeats

In drum theory, when you count out the & of 1, & of 2, & of 3 and & of 4, these are called upbeats. As for all quarter note counts (1-2-3-4), we refer to them as downbeats.

In this last groove, we play the eighth note groove on the ride. However, play the hi-hat foot on all upbeats while playing the kick drum on counts 1 and 3 and the snare drum on counts 2 and 4 constant. Therefore, to keep it simple, the hi-hat foot is played on 1-&, 2-&, 3-& and 4-&.

Remember to keep it slow, breathe while you play and stay relaxed. Moving on to the next blog post, we discover and learn the magic behind playing accents. Stay tuned!