A hi-hat hihat high-hat etc is a combination of two cymbals 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 pop jazz and blues 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 hi-hat evolved from a sock cymbal a pair of similar cymbals mounted at ground level on a hinged spring-loaded foot apparatus Drummers invented the first sock cymbals to enable one drummer to play multiple percussion instruments at the same time Over time these became mounted on short stands also known as low-boys and activated by pedals similar to those used in modern hi-hats When extended upward roughly feet cm they were originally known as high sock cymbals which evolved over time to the familiar high-hat term 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 History Initial versions of the hi-hat were called clangers which were small cymbals mounted onto a bass drum 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 Next was the low-sock low-boy or low-hat pedal-activated cymbals employing an ankle-high apparatus similar to a modern hi-hat stand A standard size was inches cm some with heavy bells up to inches cm wide Hi-hats that were raised and could be played by hand as well as foot may have been developed around by Barney Walberg of the drum accessory company Walberg and Auge The first recognized master of the new instrument was 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 Another claim published in Jazz Profiles Blogspot on August to the invention of the hi-hat is attributed to drummer William O’Neil Spencer b -d Legendary Jazz drummer Philly Joe Jones born as Joseph Rudolph Jones b -d was quoted describing his understanding of the hi-hat’s history Jones said I really dug O’Neil He came to a club in Philadelphia where I was working in I think it was and talked to me about the hi-hat I was using a foot cymbal the low-hat O’Neil was the one who invented the hi-hat I believe that man He suggested I close the hat on ‘ ‘ and ‘ ‘ when playing time The idea seemed so right hadn’t heard anyone do that before The editor of the 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 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 Until the late s standard hi-hats were inches cm with inches cm available as a less-common alternative in professional cymbal ranges and smaller sizes down to inches cm restricted to children’s kits In the early s hard rock drummers including Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham began to use -inch cm hi-hats such as the Paiste Giant Beat In the late s Zildjian released its revolutionary -inch cm Special Recording hats which were small heavy hi-hat cymbals intended for close miking either live or recording and other manufacturers quickly followed suit Sabian for example with their -inch cm mini hats In the early to mid- s Paiste offered -inch cm mini hi-hats as part of its Visions series which were among the world’s smallest hi-hats Starting in the s a number of manufacturers also experimented with rivets in the lower cymbal But by the end of the s the standard size was again inches cm with inches cm a less-common alternative and smaller hats mainly used for special sounds Rivets in hi-hats failed to catch on Modern hi-hat cymbals are much heavier than modern crash cymbals reflecting the trend to lighter and thinner crash cymbals as well as to heavier hi-hats Another evolution is that a pair of hi-hat cymbals may not be identical with the bottom often heavier than the top and possibly vented Some examples are Sabian’s Fusion Hats with holes in the bottom cymbal and the Sabian X-cellerator Zildjian Master Sound and Zildjian Quick Beats Paiste Sound Edge and Meinl Soundwave Some drummers even use completely mismatched hi-hats from different cymbal ranges Zildjian’s K Z hats of different manufacturers and even of different sizes similar to the K Custom Session Hats where the top hat is a inch mm smaller than the bottom Max Roach was particularly known for using a -inch cm top with a -inch cm bottom…
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