Ride and hat patterns (pedalled hi-hat excluded) are rarely played simultaneously by real drummers, and so the ride is not featured in our example beat. Essentially an alternative to the hi-hats, a drummer will often play on hats in the verse and ride during the chorus, for contrast.
The ride is a large, heavy cymbal generally struck on its body to produce a clear ‘ping’.
The kick and snare pattern may remain identical throughout a section, with the hi-hat used to add variation via dynamics and opening/closing at strategic points. Rhythmically, hi-hats often play a repetitive pattern (eg, eighth-notes, as in our example), keeping the groove flowing while the kick and snare play a more syncopated figure. With a real hi-hat, open and closed sounds cannot be used simultaneously, and this is often mimicked in electronic beats, cutting off the open hi-hat when a closed one is played. Their character is bright and metallic, and electronic hi-hats approximate the real thing. They’re extremely expressive, ranging gradually from short and staccato (closed) to sustaining and washy (open). The hi-hats are a pair of cymbals that are pushed together or moved apart using a foot pedal, and struck with a stick. The clap may also be used as an extra percussion element, unrelated to the snare part. The snare’s strong, defined transient can easily mask the clap’s diffuse one, so the clap is often played a little earlier than the snare to make it stand out, as in our example above. Sometimes used as an alternative to the snare drum in dance genres, or stacked with the main snare hits, handclaps are usually a sample of multiple people clapping at once, or a synthesised approximation. The sidestick/cross-stick gives a woody ‘click’ that’s very often confused for the rimshot, which is actually a super-punchy hit produced by whacking the head and rim simultaneously. The snare’s main sound comes from striking the head, but further sounds can be produced. When the hits are very quiet, as in bar 2 of our example above, they’re called ghost notes, filling gaps in the beat and adding a further sense of propulsion. However, it can be displaced, and extra hits introduced, to create variations and syncopated beats. In most genres, the snare is found on beats 2 and 4 (the backbeat), providing a sense of push and forward motion.
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