Today considered a dynamic and essential part of a drum setup, the hi-hat literally had “low beginnings”.
It started in the 1920s as two matching small-to-medium cymbals mounted on a stand, set up a few inches off the ground, the hi-hat was operated by a foot pedal that looked like a snowshoe.
Low Boy
Its name was “low boy” or “low hat”, and it just an unimportant device which kept time.
But inventive drummers had by the 30s raised the cymbals higher – as in “high hat” – allowing them to hit with sticks.
WHO INVENTED THE HI-HAT?
There are a number of stories to this, as there is a blur over who “invented it” and who “popularised it”.
One goes that a fan of famed New Orleans jazz drummer Baby Dodds who played on a number of southern riverboats (singer in the band was a teenage Louis Armstrong) noticed the way we was tapping his left foot in time with the music.
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Step
The unidentified fan took it a step further by putting two cymbals hitting together via a foot pedal.
Ironically Dodds never used a hi-hat even when they became standard. He grumbled they interrupted the flow of his press rolls.
Credit
“Papa” Jo Jones, who made his name in the legendary Count Basie’s big band 1935–1948 took credit, claiming on the sleeve notes of his 1973 The Drum album, “I was the only bum out here with a sock cymbal.”
Jones was certainly a pioneer in modern drumming and his earlier use of hi-hat is accepted.
However the similarly named hard-bop drummer “Philly” Joe Jones insists it was jazz player William “O’Neill” Spencer created the modern hi-hat stand.
Kudos
Another given the kudos is Barney Walberg, who formed the famous Walberg and Auge Drum Company of Worchester, Massachusetts.
Modern Drummer magazine insists he created the modern hi-hat in 1926.
It said, “After months of experimenting, Walberg’s company extended the inner rod and outer tube of his low hat stand to about waist high so he could play the cymbals with his hand as well as his feet.”
Perfection
His hi-hat set up was called “Perfection Hats” and sold by every major drum company.
The Walberg and Auge Drum Company is also credited with inventing (or at least manufacturing commercially) the shell-mounted tom-tom holder, the cow bell holder for the trap kit, first traps table, first CarryAll bass drum and first folding bass drum pedal.
THE LEGACY OF “PAPA” JO JONES
Papa Jo Jones changed the sound of modern jazz drumming, due to the versatility he gained from mastering a number of instruments including sax and piano.
Born in Chicago, he became the idol of hundreds of drummers when he arrived in New York in 1936 with Count Basie.
Heavy
His use of the hi-hat moved from the heaviness of the bass drum to a lighter touch.
He is credited with shifting the drum from time-keeping to creating and extending the sound and colour via the extended use of the cymbals.
Brush
His innovative brush style came from tap dancers (notably Bill “Bojangles” Robinson) he backed in his early days.
The “sweep” sound was inspired by “sand dancers” who sprinkled sand on the ground or stage or box on the stage for a series of slides and shuffles.
They would then drag their patent leather shoes lightly over the grains to get a hissing effect.
Half Open
A historian noted: “Jones was also one of the first to play the hi-hat half open, creating a smooth legato sound that set the stage for the emergence of the ride cymbal in the 1940s.”
Jones himself delivered some good advice.
“Always start basic and you’ll never go wrong. After you have control of your instrument, you can do whatever you wish.
Play
“Just remember the difference between the words ‘play’ and ‘beat.’
“When it comes to percussion instruments, you don’t beat the drum; you play the drum.”
Mentor
Jones was a mentor to young players, always expecting the best.
In one landmark incident, during a jam session with rising sax player Charlie Parker, he threw a cymbal at his feet – to denote he was dissatisfied with his performance.
MORE FEEL FOR R&B/FUNK
Through the ‘50s and ‘60s, hi-hats had stronger springs and more durable materials leading to greater feel and reliability. This was perfect for its greater use in the funk, R&B and soul era.
A lot more notes were used on snare and bass, and drums had to work more closely with the bass to drive the rhythm and convey a more articulate comment.
Time
This was the time of James Brown, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye; labels like Stax and Motown; and session groups like Booker T and The MGs and The Funk Brothers.
During this period, Clyde Stubblefield (with James Brown between 1965 and 1971) and Zigaboo Modeliste of The Meters brought a new feel and groove to the hi-hat which still remains with us today.
Jamming
In a 2016 interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Stubblefield explained how the band would reach a new town and start jamming.
James Brown would arrive on a later plane. When he heard something he liked, he’d come up with the words for “Cold Sweat,” “I Got The Feelin’,” “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud,” “Mother Popcorn”, and “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine.”
Felt Good
Stubblefield said: “We knew what we were doing, and it felt good, so it was all very easy, natural, and came together quickly …
“Once we got going, he’d put his hand up as if to ‘break here,’ as if he was driving a car. He gave the direction, but it was our rhythm.”
Funky
Most notable of Stubblefield’s hi-hat work is the lesser known “Funky Drummer” (1970).
It has a challenging single-handed 16th-note hi-hat pattern, complemented by syndicated snare and bass, and lower volume ghost notes.
That would become the most sampled drumming during the hip hop era – 1,572 times, according to WhoSampled.com.
NWA
These included NWA’s “F**k Tha Police,” LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out”, Public Enemy’s “Bring The Noise” and “Fight The Power”, Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Poison”; De La Soul’s “The Magic Number”; Geto Boys’ “Mind Of A Lunatic” and Ice T’s “O.G. Original Gangster”.
In 2001, when Stubblefield racked up $90,000 of medical bills for bladder cancer, it was paid for by Prince, who idolised him, and sampled “Gett Off” and “My Name Is Prince”.
Zigaboo
Also drummer who was idolised was Zigaboo Modeliste, for his innovations in funk and introducing New Orleans drumming (he was born there) to the mainstream – and resulted in a lifetime achievement by the Grammys.
In 2008 he modestly called his style “just a collage of all the drummers that I heard play in my lifetime from [New Orleans].”
Strut
His best known tracks are “Cissy Strut” and “Look-Ka Py-Py”.
You can hear his hi-hat on samples by Run DMC, Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, Ice Cube, LL Cool J, Queen Latifah and Salt-N-Pepa.
You can also hear his style on the theme song of TV’s Hawaii 5:0 among the many TV, film and games soundtracks he worked on.
ROCK’S POWER AGE
By the 1970s, hi-hats were boasting double-braced hardware and improved clutch mechanisms to augment that powerhouse sound as kits became bigger and more formidable.
Led Zeppelin’s Bonzo Bonham, whose set up included 15” hi-hats, most effectively used all his drums on the magnificent “When The Levee Breaks”.
Stu Copeland’s simple and subtle 13” hi-hat delivery reached a peak on the end of The Police’s “Walking On The Moon”, a right-left-right approach with creative use of 8th triplet delay.
Thickest
Dave Grohl’s special Sonor hi-hat stand ensures the hats are placed at almost head height to whack them with the thickest part of his sticks.
ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” got a boss hi-hat sound from the way they recorded their drums twice in the studio – one for close mics and an overdub for ambience mics.
AND TODAY…
Today’s modern hi-hats have become so personalised to create the widest amount of sounds.
There are multiple hats on a single kit, with the second permanently closed, or the X-hat which can be fixed, closed, or half-open.
In Sabian’s Hi-Hat, designed by Peter Kuppers, the top cymbal moves down and the bottom cymbal moves up simultaneously while the middle cymbal remains stationary.
Lightweight
Lightweight 13” hats provide the practicality needed while 16” hats create a wider sweeping sound than ever.
Some drummers will use a total array of mismatched hats, with some cymbals varying in weight, sizes and manufacturers.
There are drop clutches for when both feet are in use playing double bass drums, a wide array of springs, quick-release systems, mic holders and even remote-controlled cable hi-hats for flexible setups including the hats positioned separately from the pedal.
