Hi-Hat Comping Riffs in 4/4 Jazz drummers depend on the hi-hat to help propel the band and provide strength to the weak beats of 2 and 4. When played in sync with the ride cymbal, a dynamically controlled hi-hat pulse helps expand your sound and reinforces the swing feel. In modern music, the hi-hat is also used as an accent texture within a phrase, stressing rhythms and creating syncopations generally reserved for the snare or bass drum. Modernists Roy Haynes, Tony Williams, Elvin Jones, Donald Bailey, Mickey Roker, Steve Gadd, Bill Stewart, and Marcus Gilmore all utilize the hi-hat in very creative ways. In this article series we’ll examine repetitive riff-style hi-hat rhythms in 4/4, 3/4, and 5/4. The phrases included here are intended to help develop balance between your hi-hat foot and other appendages. To get started, center your focus on the quarter-note pulse by practicing the following unison […]

November 2020 Issue