This lesson will demonstrate how adding open hi hats to a groove can create some cool sounding patterns. We have already covered this in the time signature of 4/4 and through this page it will be applied in 3/4. These patterns require some control over your left foot, you will find some lessons at the bottom of the page that will help with this.
The patterns given involve the right hand playing eighth notes and the left foot lifting up on a certain beat. In a groove it isn't always necessary to show hi hat foot notation when a hi hat is opened and closed. It is more common to see hi hats with the 'o' and '+' sign above, indicating that the left foot is to be raised and bought back down. For the exercises shown in all of our lessons this is the method of notation you will most commonly see. The Left Foot Hi Hat notation is only really used in this context when the hi hat is to be closed at an exact point.
All of the grooves in this lesson will have one open hi hat added on an offbeat 8th note. An 'offbeat' note in this case means it is played on an '+' count. In a bar of 3/4 there are three '+' counts which tells us we have three positions our open hi hat can potentially fall using this concept. Written below are examples of these three positions. First of all the hi hat part is shown on its own, then a groove example is given below. Two bars of each example are given to show how the part is played when repeated.
Hi Hat Example 1
Hi Hat Example 1 With Groove
Hi Hat Example 2
Hi Hat Example 2 With Groove
Hi Hat Example 3
Hi Hat Example 3 With Groove
