How to INSTANTLY Make ANY Pair of HiHats Sound Better.
Вставка
- Опубліковано 26 жов 2017
- → Conquer one-handed hihat 16ths at 80bpm in 5 simple steps. Download my FREE “Secret to Hihat 16ths” guide! the-non-glamorous-drummer.myk...
Any pair of hihats can instantly sound 10x better if you employ the right techniques. This discussion starts with making sure the stand is adjusted properly, but this has even more to do with how the drummer is striking the cymbals. We can take this a step further and say that the drummer’s MINDSET further determines the quality of sound and music coming from the hihats. Today we talk about how we can take our hihat playing to the “next level,” regardless of what cymbals we have or even what kind of stand we have. With the right approach, we can tremendously improve our hihat musicality. We can take a robotic, boring hihat sound and make it into something extremely expressive, full of feel and depth.
If you enjoyed the video, be sure to subscribe! New videos every Friday.
Conquer one-handed hihat 16ths at 80bpm in 5 simple lessons! Download my FREE guide, “The Secret to Hihat 16ths." the-non-glamorous-drummer-llc.ck.page/b2413eee87
What are those pads over your heads?!
instablaster
link is dead, sadly.
hot tip: for a funky feel, have your heel going up and down in time while your toe keeps the hihats closed. the way the difference in pressure interacts with your stick dynamics very often sounds very nice.
I do this all the time. The groove sounds very nice.. :)
famitory i’ve noticed this
Sometimes i have to consciously try to stop doing the foot dance in songs that the sound it makes doesnt fit haha
Just tried your method and it works excellent, thanks man, now i have another weapon in my arsenal 👍✌.
Not to mention DRUMMERS aren’t just a time keeping device (#other band members!);-)
Don't you just love it when the bass player can't keep a beat to save his life? XD
@@ballsrgrossnugly That s when the drummer needs to step up + create a dialog with the bassist. Show him/ her how to play in time/ in the pocket/ in the groove. Less is more. Service the song. Everybody wins if you re on the same team.
@@jimfritz9503 the thing is that will they listen to you lol
@@09-caokhanhduy89 They will because the rest of the band is waiting to " gel" / to become a tight sounding unit. I be played with some Prima Donna's who have screwed up big time and then try to blame others. All they ve done is make Everybody look bad. Pride + Ego can be a bitch.
I ve
As a drummer in a Reggae band, the hats are probably the most important part of the one drop rhythms, using the whole stick can give a very different sound and i use it alot to highlight certain accents etc.
Yea I can’t figure that style out for the life of me, I don’t know if it’s just the sound of my kit or if I’m shit at dynamics
Watching this video reminded me that I started out with just a snare drum and a pair of hi-hats. The rest of my first drum set came a few months later. During those months when it was just a snare and the hi-hats, I felt that I learned a lot about the different sounds you can get from your hi-hats. Years later I was performing on a float in my city’s annual Christmas parade, and I only had enough room for a stool, a snare, and my hi-hats. The float was kind of small and there was about six musicians and their gear on there too. But I didn’t fret. For one, several years had passed since those days when all I had was my snare and my hi hats and my playing had improved a lot. Also, I drew from my experience with just the snare and the hi hats. When all you have is a snare and your hi hats, you learn to get creative really quickly. Thanks for sharing!!
It's amazing how you crash control dynamics and build on a transition by letting the hi hat breathe and with pedal control and staccato you can actually create a fill with the hats alone. Underrated and overlooked in regards to expressing the music.
I've been back playing a few years after a thirty year hiatus. Finally getting my feel back and videos like this help. Nuance is everything when drumming.
Steve, you apologize too much - your points and methods are excellent. Please stop worrying about offending anyone - everything you do in teaching will offend somebody... "Becoming a better drummer", as you note, is the point. Thanks!
This was my thought watching this, way too many disclaimers and attempts to quash arguments that have only happened in his mind.
Steve, stand by what you say and how you say it, it's offputting and distracting to have paragraphs pop up like full legal disclaimers on the last point made while you're making a new point. Let people have their own experiences, and embrace the fact that whenever you do something creative and garner respect and attention, you will inevitably get haters and trolls as well.
Just do your thing, and relentlessly focus your message on the believers, they're the ones who will stick with you. Anyone who argues or talks trash won't be around in a week, they're not worth one shred of your time or attention.
Hey thanks for your comments, Dan and House of Kush. I think this was one of those topics that reaches the height of subjectivity in my mind. While I believe fully in expressiveness, I also believe fully in simplicity when it's necessary. I may have gotten carried away with the captions when I edited the video, since I wanted to add in more input from the alternate angle. But yes, you guys are absolutely right about apologizing less haha. I'm actually trying to use less captions anyways in future videos since it's confusing to read anyway :)
Steve is a humble gentleman. Lol but seriously your not going to be able to please everyone as some people are just trolls. Keep making your videos as I really enjoyed it.
Totally agree.
But if it makes you feel more comfortable putting out the video then so be it.
Drumming/music is a sensitive area because it invokes passion and emotion.
Sometimes getting a angry response is not necessarily a bad thing, it just means that people are getting emotionally involved with the video.
Keep them coming dude.
If I can learn even just one thing from a video it's a step forward for me and I class that as a good video.
Agreed. There are people out there who are offended by "becoming a better drummer" in itself!
Damn, I thought you meant taking a pair of cheap hats and turning them into like zildjian k's! Cool video though, I like the groove you play at about 4.55, the hat part reminds me of Charlie Watts.
Exactly what I thought
Thanks! Hey you might not make any pair sound like K's, but you CAN make any pair sound BETTER (key word better haha).
Hey I saw this morning that you are a fellow Stephen Taylor fan! I noticed we both commented on his video about finger control. He posts a lot of great stuff.
Yeah, he's a cool old timer! And yeah, it's a small world, and it's full of Stephens apparently! :P I stalk all of them!
Strelock same
yeah, Stephen's quite the clickbaiter, ruthless, calculated, deadly! Beware!
Great, as always. I'm picking through all your videos in the coming weeks. Thanks for all the free guides, too!
I'm 83 so growing up with swing and jazz I was used to an open and closed hat on 2&4. When the Rock beat came along with closed hat and straight 1/8 notes I would still finish each 4th or in the case of 6/8 which purists call 12/8, with a a double. This "hitch" annoyed many guitarists or keyboards players but I found it added a little flair to the groove. On occasions, I fin😅sg the 4th or 6th with an open/close hat then revert back to all closed. When criticized I told a couple of bands to get a drum machine if straight 8ths or 16ths is what they want. So, seeing you add these variations makes me feel vindicated. I play twice a week once with a Classic Rock foursome and they like my variations. The other play is with a four piece Jazz combo and we mix in swing, slow ballads and BeBop snd they expect me to add in hat variations. Great video especially for drummers brought up in the Rock tradition. Some times those others in your band, guitarists in particular, have to learn their not the main feature 😆
Really useful video, especially seeing the robotic beats vs expressive beats. That illustrated your point so well and opened my ears to the idea.
Just bought a beginner kit, learning so much from your videos. Great job!
Superb points, Stephen. Been playing a long time (60's stuff) and you till taught me a few things. Thanks!
working on the e-hats - your articulate verbal explanations really help carry your lessons. far more informative and useful than hearing "uh....like this, and uh like that, see....?" (with those, I'm like uhhh, wtf ???). I guess nearly 100 000 other subscribers will agree. Cheers!
Simply THE BEST drums channel on UA-cam! Thank you man, subscribed
I like this video because it reminds me to keep my options open and not to get stuck playing the same old way. It's nice for any drummer to share his or her take on things. We all can learn from each other.
This definately is good info, i will keep this in mind for sure and agree this does make the sound of the groove loooots better.
Stephan, you're phrasing and groove is super on point man! Takes a special dude to be having that kind of contentment fun in the simple grooves. Bravo
This is the BEST instructional video I have ever seen. Straight to the point, CLEAR, and super easy to follow. It’s hard for me to follow videos with LOTS of technical talk, and I think the drums are more about watching and listening anyway. Thank you for your awesome videos I’m learning A LOT!
from one drummer to another, great video! Very good suggestions. Thanks!
A great series of videos. I like your style... I guess I could've used such an advice resource when I first started... Ohhhh sooo many years ago.. about 1976 I think.... Had to learn alot of what you're saying by way of my own trial and error... keep it up...
Drumming is a art of building techniques & knowledge. I like your approach, simple additions lead to more complicated techniques. Good job!
I really liked that last example in the video. That sounded really funky, and I can see how accenting can make it more interesting. Great tip, thank you for sharing this.
Great to get another drummer’s input on groves and beats to learn how to play them if not knowing or playing before. Never to late to learn new ways that expand the range of licks to add to beats played is always nice to see, learn & play. Thanks For The Video’s. They will definitely help more drummers to get better & play new beats on any part or all of the kit. I’ve played since I was 5 & I’m 59 now. Always a good day to learn something new. Thanks For Sharing. It definitely has helped me even at my age & number of years playing drums
age is just a number pal- you remain the same person, but in a different place
Thank you for this. Very well done and presented.
Thanks for the great content. Appreciate any help I can get. 😁
no argument here, very well done with a crystal clear explanation ,your approach is so easy to understand and informative, keep them coming
Totally agree bud. Trying to make gigging not boring by doing things like this. My skill set is somewhat limited but this type of thing should keep things interesting. Cheers.
Thanks Mr Clark,,,,,I always think of Carter Beauford when I think of using the hats with heightened expressions.......loved the B&W/Color spots, Very clever
Some really good ideas. Thank you, Stephen. I just subscribed.
Good solid advice. Having been self taught for 25yrs, I am very appreciative of all the self-help videos. Always learning and confirming.
And the previous hihat vid was/is a BIG help, thank you!
Rock on, sir \m/
Thank you Sir! It's great to hear that these are helping you out 👍 I hope to keep bringing you guys solid content!
Thank you!! So helpful, I'm going to practice this today :) Subscribed
Such an amazing helpful video, especially for me as a beginner...thanks
Very informative- thanks man, very well done👍
I AM A GUITARIST AND I ALWAYS END UP WATCHING DRUM VIDEOS
Me too... But I'm learning drums right now because I want to learn as many instruments as possible
Why limit yourself? The more you know, the more you can record all by yourself!
That’s coz you want to reclaim all the groupies that the drummers steal from the guitarists, init brah?
It can only help your overall understanding of a group s dynamics. Many players only care/ listen to their instrument or parts of a song. There s a lot more going on. Playing rhythmically on your guitar( drum parts) can t hurt. Hendrix did it quite often. Good Luck to you !
Camilo Rodriguez maybe it’s a sign
Great tips. We all love those overlooked stuff that improves
Yes, nicely presented. Clear and a couple of good tips too. Tx
Nice lesson Stephen! Really liked the last groove you played. Great feel.
Great video, informative and thought provoking. Thanks!
I'm just reading Stephen's pdf guide. He's a generous dude for giving us this info. God bless you sir.
Great video man! My friend (who teaches me how to get a proper feel of the drums) always tells me that I should be linear and I really don't know what the heck it means until I came up with your video with the purpose of improving our hi-hats in church but I learned even something BETTER. Simply amazing keep it up
Lawrence Angelo Cruz I’m not sure what you mean by linear, as I would interpret that as being from a source to a destination without any detours, that’s linear. With regards to improving the groove of your hi hat playing, I might suggest a few double stroke rolls/trills mixed into a low tempo groove which might fill out the gaps between your kick and snare hits and give your beats some colour. Also add accents to the double strokes to further increase the texture to your sound so as not to sound robotic. You’ll feel it man. It’ll come and you’ll make your audience cum in return haha! Peace.
Yea i feel both of you! I really like the HCS pack for being a starter set that came with my tama imperialstar kit...and the kit is starter too(poplar shells) but they sound so good for the price.. i updated heads and got iron cobra double bass pedals and a zildjian k 9”hybrid splash and im jammin in my basement!😎😂👍🏾
This was very helpful, thank you!
something i have been working on, it helped, thanks
This was really cool man I love to use the hi-hat 16ths,now I got a great video to work on to keep the timing.As far as the guy who said you need an electric set, just try one and try to get any sound control and beauty of good ole symbols.It feels and sounds like you are banging on plastic and rubber,which it just so happens you are,I did that and it sucked even on a hi end set. I know how hard it is to try and stay quiet and practice.
Great video! There are lot of things a drummer can do to improve hi hats. Dynamics, syncopation, using silence, etc. Most drummers don't see their potential to make drums more musical.
Thanks Steve that gave me some good ideas to try out! HH's to me go in partnership with the snare then everything else locks in..
thank you very much for this one. I will share this with my students!!!!
This was very helpful. Thank you
Great tips. Thanks man!
Super helpful video. If someone had talked to me about this a long time ago, it would have been helpful, lol.
This is one of the big things that sets "musical drummers" apart from timekeepers. I've been striving for this since I started drumming. Thanks!
Thanks! Yeah I find this to be just one of those subtleties I can always continue to improve in my playing. I'm with you there - if someone had specifically shown things like this to me years ago, it would have helped tremendously. Even though I took lessons through highschool and college, some things can get overlooked still.
Awsome! Will try to implement this!
Love your videos, thanks for uploading
Thanks! Appreciate it 👍
This was a super useful video, thanks!
Wow! I didn't know changing the dynamics on the hi-hat could make such a difference in the groove. This was very helpful.
The hihat can be a really powerful tool! That's why it's my favorite part of the drum set :) Glad this helped you out!
Hi,Stephen so true it gives form by releasing in stages,not many beginners do this.
Interesting will do some of these.
Hey! I just bumped into your vid and I'm glad I did. Good points, mate! You have a new subscriber!
Thanks, man! Welcome to the channel!
Brilliant as always thank you
Great tips man, thanks !
Thank you. Got a couple songs with 16th notes which isn't in my norm and found the sound and feel stiff like you mentioned. I will experiment.
I like the way you have padded your hi hat!! Fortunately I do most of you said! Cheers!
Very, very, VERY! nice video indeed. This insight was awesome. And I liked a lot the sound of the kit, as if it was kind of electronic. Thanks.
Thanks so much! I do like the sound of the super pads. They naturally just sound like a very disco, funky, muffled kind of sound. Very much electronic, and no samples needed!
Great videos, well put together, interesting, helpful, and not overdone topics. Love this channel. You deserve more subs
Thanks so much, Drew!
Very good examples! Thank you)
Great tips! I can't wait to try some of these out!
Awesome! I hope they help you out.
Great video brother, preciate it. Keep killin it
Thanks, man! I'll do my best 👍
I just started picking up on drums since mid way through the pandemic, and I got to say your videos are helping out alot. Some of the basic simple explanations I've seen so far, and the fact that you call yourself the-non-glamorous-drummer and encouraging anybody can play just makes watching your videos much more enjoyable. I can't stand drummers that act like they got a stick up there ass when it comes to drumming. Musicians who act like snobs about music are real discouraging for those who want to learn. Every genre has snobby musicians. The Non Glamorous Drummer is definitely NOT one of those snobs.
For a long time I tried to even out my hihat strokes - and it was a good thing to do ! But one day I slipped into old habits - a slightly harder hit, or relaxing my foot slightly - and I thought, actually, that sounds interesting ! So now I can do both, depending on what seems to fit best. Thanks for validating that ! =o)
Great tips! Thanks!
You could well be RdavidR’s brother 😳😳...the beard, the mimics, the voice and the choose of words...great vid by the way!
Thanks! Haha! 😂 Maybe I've watched just enough of his videos to pick up on a habit or two. I'm sure he could give me some beard-growing advice.
Stephen Clark I bet you have cleaner nails though haha 😂
They seem to both have the same straight forward no bs attitude
Great Advices. I've been playing for 13 years now ( I started late at 26 however, so 13 years of adult life has a lot less practice time than 13 years of being a kids playing drums LOL, so still pretty amateur) Very helpful tip. I think about this video now when playing. I definitely will check out your adjustment video. My hi-hat is a cheap one that I don't like that much, but I did improved how it's sound with those tips, Thank! I will had that room acoustic also do a huge difference. I moved to a new house last years, Now I leave alone and Have a basement, Yeah I can play drums! But the accoustic suck for now. that doesn't help. I plan to make so improvement over the next couple of month.
like it!! good job ... will help
Oh wow so I can INSTANTLY improve my hats by playing dynamically and using techniques that take years to master? Who would have thought?
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Hard to master a technique you don't know about... I fail to see how this is a productive comment.
@@ballsrgrossnugly the point of the comment is that the title and thumbnail are pretty misleading (common in this day and age, I know, but it can be very frustrating). You look at the thumbnail and you think "Oh, so there's going to be some kind of tip regarding the physical set-up of the hi-hats that will INSTANTLY improve their sound! Great!" - and then no such tip is provided. Instead you are provided with a demonstration of different ways to use dynamics, something that may take a long time to master (so not exactly "instant" as the title would suggest). This is the root of the confusion. Still a good video, but misleading nonetheless.
@@jamesdevine02 Just saying, I have seen FAR worse than this on youtube. And he does tell you about a way you can make the hats sound better, as advertised. My argument is that it doesn't qualify as clickbait. If you assumed it was some physical setup thing, that's on you. Title doesn't say "set up your high hats to make them sound better" etc.
@@ballsrgrossnugly I would argue that it's not entirely on me as the title along with the classic red arrow in the thumbnail pointing to the centre of the hi-hat sort of imply that it's going to be about something you can do to the hi-hat itself, as that would be much more "instant" than learning a certain playing technique.
I like to watch the professional high hat players, i always pick up something new from them 👍✌.
Thanks for that. I guess ur using the hihats in a more dynamic way! Very helpful video
Great tips, thanks
I’m just learning really enjoyed your video thank you I will subscribe
Nice video man. One good piece of advise I've gone by is 'whatever you do is going to piss someone off regardless, so there's no point caring'
Very informative and helpful vids :)
Just what I needed to see right now - thanks
Great content. I'm just getting into drums. This is perfect.
Thanks! I hope the channel can give you some useful drumming tips!
good video; the last example of syncopated hats reminds me of Carter Beauford's style with Dave Matthews band; additions by subtraction here. thanks.
Good points... It reminds me of Carter Beaufords hihat approach..... using the hihat as a musical piece
Absolutely! He's a great example of this. Sometimes I wonder too if his "self-taught" approach to drumming has had something to do with his unique musical approaches. Either way, I do find his hihat work very expressive, inspiring, and very fun to listen to.
great tips mate
For me a new drummer , this was inspirational. Sweet
Through the years I have been asked "Where's your other Kick Pedal" a gazillion times. This is precisely why. I also appreciate that people think I'm using a double kick. Thanks for sharing this. Good stuff!
TnT Roo That’s impressive man! Do you play heel up, toe down or heel down toe down? Just trying to figure out the part of your leg structure that’s able to accomplish such a feat. I envy the double kick sounding single kick dude.
I think this is good advice for your practice routine,especially young beginning drummers. Thinking outside the box will definitely broaden your creative approach to your drum parts. As a professional drummer, be it studio session or touring , you have to serve the song . This is a perfect example of how you can change the feel of a song , the groove and the pocket drastically just by the slightest change in the way you play it ! I have to admit I thought you were talking about taking cheap hats and making them sound better!!!!
Couldn't agree more. I love subtle things like that! And yeah...I can see how the title may have implied a quick cymbal-re-lathing technique or something along those lines haha! But I do believe that how you play your hats has a huge impact on how they sound, and some quick changes really can instantly make them sound better. :)
hello stephen,,, i will start with a big thank you for this video,,, i have a period of time that i started to think about it,,, u know,,, trying to explain to some friendz how to play drums,,, and they are doing it good,,keeping the hi hats ,correct but very robotik,, synthetic,u know as a time keeping tool,, and i am trying to understand now how to explain them about playing with feel on the hi hat,, your video it's perfect as answer,,,, thanks bro
Hi Stanislov! Awesome! I'm glad to hear that this is helping drummers out. 👍 Something I didn't spend as much time talking about was sort of the "process" for working on this sort of thing. I'd actually advise your friends to practice playing the hats at a consistent dynamic first, being able to maintain a steady dynamic. Then start altering it. That will help ensure good, intentional control the whole way. Take care, man!
Dude its so funny you mentioned Paul in the video, because right before that annotation, I was thinking "man, his hi hat work reminds me of Mabury's sample pack" Nice job!!
Very great advice! Thank you.
👍 Thanks for watching!
Very useful, Thanks.
good video you got me thinking and recently I was trying to figure out a way to quiet my hats just a bit playing the church setting I was using reeds with some tape silver tape on them that sounded pretty cool I can make a nice pulse however it's a little challenging when you hit your Toms with that same stick and now I have switched to 17 inch high hats and that kind of did the trick kind of gave it a little Benny greb expression
That's cool. Sounds like your doing something similar to what I do in quiet settings...I'll use rods if I need to, but I'll duct tape the ends in order to maintain a bit of cymbal definition and tom body. This works great on the hats too, and it keeps cymbals quieter. Great for small rooms or "acoustic sets"!
Maybe instead of trying to quieten the dynamics of your hats within the overall mix of your kit, you could try changing your hats to cymbals, made differently, that emanate a higher frequency when struck, a tone that compliments the rest of your kit and doesn’t interfere with the frequencies of the other elements of the set. So maybe aim for a higher pitch or crisper sound from your hats so that they sit in their own band of frequency, at the top of the audible spectrum and then have your toms tuned in their own band of frequency that sits below the hats and the snare again and everything else in the kit so that nothing overlaps and every element of the kit has its own place within the audible spectrum of frequencies that the human ear can process. It’s a bit anal and kinda a surgical approach to acoustics and audio engineering but it works in a studio recording environment for a lot of producers and sounds great when applied. Just a thought anyway.
I enjoyed it very much. This was great!
Thanks so much, man!
Great videos! Thanks.
This is AWESOME
Thank you !
Great feel man.
video was great! What and why do you have that taped thing on your hi-hat?
Stephen love your videos. Would you mind sharing what brand of drum mutes you are using on the snare and toms?
Useful info!
This is a really great video.