How to Play a High Hat with Brushes

Video Transcript

"JOEL SIEGEL: All right. So we're going to move on to the hi-hat playing that with the brushes and getting your approaches right. Just like I said earlier, the same thing goes for the brushes as far as the delicacy of the sound. You're usually using these in the context where you're bringing down the volume, bringing down the intensity of the music, maybe you're just adding ambience or just kind of some slight moods, some slight coloring here and there. With the hi-hat playing with the brushes, you don't see it a lot, but I've use it on some kind of like folk rock gigs, stuff that's really mellow, laidback sound. There's not a lot of options as far as hitting on top versus hitting the side because it is so quiet. I pretty much am always hitting with the side of the brushes against this edge of the hi-hat. Here's what it sounds like. Just a nice, soft, mellow sound. Here's the same idea that you're going to be--you're going to have that soft, mellow sound but this is one way like I said earlier with the rods to kind of increase the intensity, because it's going to be that half open hi-hat. And like I said earlier, this is where the interplay of the cymbals is what's creating the sound and the volume rather than what you're striking it with against the cymbal. So here's what it sounds like, the open hi-hats with the brush."