View source for Hi-hat

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Short description|Percussion instrument}}
{{About|the percussion instrument|other uses|High hat (disambiguation){{!}}High hat}}
{{Infobox instrument
| background     = percussion
| image          = Hi-hat.jpg
| caption        = A Hi-hat beside a wall in 2006
| names          = High-hat, Hihat
| classification = Idiophone
| hornbostel_sachs = 111.24
| hornbostel_sachs_desc = Percussion vessels
| inventors      = [[Walberg and Auge Drum Company]]
| developed      = 1920s
}}
{{Drum kit components}}
{{TOC_Right}}
A '''hi-hat''', '''hihat''', or '''high-hat''' is a combination of two [[cymbal]]s and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard [[drum kit]] used by drummers in many styles of [[music]] including [[rock music|rock]], [[popular music|pop]], [[jazz]], and [[blues]].<ref name="DRUMHISTORY" /> Hi-hats consist of a matching pair of small to medium-sized cymbals mounted on a stand, with the two cymbals facing each other. The bottom cymbal is fixed and the top is mounted on a rod which moves the top cymbal toward the bottom one when the pedal is depressed (a hi-hat that is in this position is said to be "closed" or "closed hi-hats").

The cymbals may be played by closing them together with the pedal, which creates a "chck" sound or striking them with a stick, which may be done with them open, closed, open and then closed after striking to dampen the ring, or closed and then opened to create a shimmering effect at the end of the note. Depending on how hard a hi-hat is struck and whether it is "open" (i.e., pedal not pressed, so the two cymbals are not closed together), a hi-hat can produce a range of dynamics, from very quiet "chck" (or "chick") sounds, done with merely gently pressing the pedal—this is suitable for soft [[accompaniment]] during a ballad or the start of a [[guitar solo]]—to very loud (e.g. striking fully open hats hard with sticks, a technique used in loud [[heavy metal music]] songs).

While the term ''hi-hat'' normally refers to the entire setup (two cymbals, stand, pedal, rod mechanism), in some cases, drummers use it to refer exclusively to the two cymbals themselves.

==Description==
The hi-hat has two cymbals, which are typically between {{convert|13-15|in|cm|abbr=off}}.{{sfn|Fleet|Winter|2014|p=294}} They are mounted on a stand, which is linked to a pedal operated by the user's foot so the upper cymbal can move up and down.{{sfn|Fleet|Winter|2014|p=294}}

Standard terminology has evolved. '''''Open''''' and '''''closed hi-hat''''' refer to notes struck while the two cymbals are apart or together (open or closed), while '''''pedal hi-hat''''' refers to parts or notes played solely with the pedal used to strike the two cymbals. Most [[drum pattern|cymbal patterns]] consist of both open and closed notes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://web.mit.edu/merolish/Public/drums.pdf|title=Audio Graffiti: Guide to Drum & Percussion Notation|date=August 2004}}</ref>

<!--Some hi-hats allow the tripod to be tilted or rotated.  Another configuration omits the tripod and attaches the stand to the side of the bass drum, particular suitable for kits with very large or double bass drums.

===Clutch===
The standard clutch uses a [[knurled]] collar partially threaded below the cymbal and a pair of knurled rings above it. The collar is tightened against the end of the thread, while the rings are tightened against each other. [[Drop-clutch#Drop-clutch|Drop-clutches]] are also used to lock and release hi-hats while both feet are in use playing double bass drums.-->

==History==
Initial versions of the hi-hat were called clangers, which were small cymbals mounted onto a [[bass drum]] [[Drum hardware|rim]] and struck with an arm on the [[bass drum pedal]]. Then came shoes, which were two hinged boards with cymbals on the ends that were clashed together. A standard size was {{convert|10|in|cm}}, some with heavy bells up to {{convert|5|in|cm}} wide.{{sfn|Falzerano|1994|}}

Hi-hats that were raised and could be played by hand as well as foot may have been developed around 1926 by Barney Walberg of the drum accessory company [[Walberg and Auge Drum Company|Walberg and Auge]].<ref name="DRUMHISTORY">{{cite book |title=The Drum Book: The History of the Rock Drum Kit |first=Geoff |last=Nichols |year=1997 |location=London |publisher=[[Balafon Books]] |pages=8–12 |isbn=0879304766 }}</ref> The first recognized master<ref>{{Cite web|title=Drumming Innovators: Papa Jo Jones |url=http://www.drummagazine.com/features/post/innovators-part-one-papa-jo-jones1/ |magazine=[[Drum!]] |access-date=2 September 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151008213202/http://www.drummagazine.com/features/post/innovators-part-one-papa-jo-jones1/ |archive-date=8 October 2015 }}</ref> of the new instrument was [[Jo Jones|"Papa" Jo Jones]], whose playing of timekeeping "ride" rhythms while striking the hi-hat as it opened and closed inspired the innovation of the [[ride cymbal]]. The editor of the 2008 Jazz Profiles article made specific mention of others who are thought to have invented the hi-hat, including Papa Jo Jones and Kaiser Marshall. A 2013 ''Modern Drummer'' article credits Papa Jo Jones with being the first to use brushes on drums and shifting time keeping from the bass drum to the hi-hat (providing a "swing-pulse focus").<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.moderndrummer.com/article/february-2013-papa-jo-jones-bridge/ |title=Papa Jo Jones: The Bridge |work=[[Modern Drummer Magazine]] |access-date=26 February 2019 |archive-date=27 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227182020/https://www.moderndrummer.com/article/february-2013-papa-jo-jones-bridge/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Use==
<!--Peckman, Jonathan (2007). ''Picture Yourself Drumming'', p.201. {{ISBN|1-59863-330-9}}.

When struck closed or played with the pedal, the hi-hat gives a short, crisp, muted percussive sound, referred to as a "chick". Adjusting the gap between the cymbals can alter the sound of the open hi-hat from a shimmering, sustained tone to something similar to a [[ride cymbal]]. When struck with a drumstick, the cymbals make either a short, snappy sound or a longer sustaining sandy sound depending on the position of the pedal.

It can also be played just by lifting and lowering the foot to clash the cymbals together, a style commonly used to accent beats 2 and 4 in jazz music. In rock music, the hi-hats are commonly struck every beat, or on beats 1 and 3, while the cymbals are held together. The drummer can control the sound by foot pressure. Less pressure allows the cymbals to rub together more freely, giving both greater sustain and greater volume for accent or crescendo. In [[shuffle time]], a rhythm known as "cooking" is often employed. To produce this the cymbals are struck twice in rapid succession, being held closed on the first stroke and allowed to open just before the second, then allowed to ring before being closed with a chick to complete the pattern (the cymbals may or may not be struck on the chick).

In much [[Hip hop music|hip-hop]], the hi-hat is hit with drumsticks in a simple [[eighth-note]] pattern, although this playing is usually done by a [[drum machine]] or from an old recording from which the sound of a hi-hat is recorded and loaded into a [[sampler (musical instrument)|sampler]] or similar recording-enabled equipment from which it is triggered. -->

{{Listen
| filename     =Hi hat closed.ogg
| title        =Closed hi-hat
| alt          =
| description  =
| filename2    =Hi hat open.ogg
| title2       =Open hi-hat
| alt2         =
| description2 =
| filename3    =Hi hat foot pedal.ogg
| title3       =Hi-hat being opened and closed by its pedal
| alt3         =
| description3 =
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===

*{{Cite book |last=Aldridge |first=John |title=Guide to vintage drums |publisher=[[Centerstream Publishing]] |year=1994 |isbn=0-931759-79-X |location=Anaheim Hills, California |chapter=Low boys and Hi-hats}}
**{{Harvc |last=Falzerano |first=Chet |c=The evolution of the Hi-hat |year=1994 |in=Aldridge }}
*{{Cite journal |last=Fleet |first=Paul |last2=Winter |first2=Jonathon |date=8 April 2014 |title=Investigating the origins of contemporary basics on the drum kit: an exploration of the role of the hi-hat in Anglo-American popular musics from 1960 until 1974 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24736809 |journal=Popular Music |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=293–314 |doi=10.1017/S0261143014000269 |issn=0261-1430 |eissn=1474-0095 |jstor=24736809 |via=JSTOR}}
{{Percussion}}
{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Cymbals]]
[[Category:Drum kit components]]
[[Category:20th-century percussion instruments]]
[[Category:North American percussion instruments]]
[[Category:Foot percussion]]