The Highest of Hats - Part 2

In a previous post, I talked about the hi-hat cymbals and how they can be difficult to play if you mix in both "open" and "closed" notes.  I decided to make a few videos explaining this concept further - I expect this to end up being a 3-part series in total.  You may see videos from me more often - I found out the video recorder on my camera doesn't completely suck (although the sound isn't very impressive) so I've had some fun making videos lately.  Below you will see a video I made describing the various ways to use a hi-hat pedal, artfully narrated by Windows Movie Maker:

Don't ask me why my drum throne squeaks so much.  I don't even notice it when I'm playing but it seems dreadfully loud in the video.  

Pedal Technique

Next I have a short video I made of various pedal techniques - heel up, heel down, and heel-toe.  It's the first video I narrated in real-time!  Notice my failure to pronounce the word "frequently" on the first try and my success in using the word "umm" as every third word:

For the record, I am embarassed that my short double pedal sample quickly devolved into "mashing pedals with no real rhythm".  I am better than that, I swear.  I would re-record this video but I am way too lazy for that.  I thought you guys should see my first real attempt at narrating an instructional video and see how horrible it is.

If you want a way better video than mine, click here (seriously, Derrick Pope is the man.  Watch that video).  Now I know what you're saying - why link a video that's way better than yours if it's going to make yours look bad?  Well because a) I want people to actually know what a real heel-toe method looks like, and b) I like making videos (so I can't just link his and be done with it).

So there you have it - the hi-hat and various pedal techniques.  For the record, I mostly play heel-up on both the bass pedals and the hi-hat pedal.  I think most people play heel-down on the hi-hat pedal for more control, but I am not one of those people.