The hi-hat foot is the least used limb when playing the drums. This article is an introduction to using it in your playing.
Let’s start by playing a basic beat with the ride cymbal and playing the hi-hat foot on 2 and 4 along with the snare drum.
Next, let’s play the hi-hat foot on all of the 8th notes along with the ride cymbal. Make sure the notes line up together.
Now play the hi-hat foot on the upbeats.
As always, play these exercises with a metronome. Once you get a feel for playing each of these, try transitioning from the beats to fills and back without disrupting the hi-hat foot pattern. Then, do the same thing with different drumbeats.
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