EZdrummer hi-hat terminology

[squibble94]

Here's how I'd approach it. Listen to the sound. If the sound is Ticky, then it was hit with the tip of the stick. If the sound is hard, then it's probably being hit with more than the tip. The key is listening. I understand you want to "visualize the mechanics" but the sounds will help out a lot.

 

[oboedrew]

I'm thrilled to see the rush of posts overnight, but less thrilled to find more banter than assistance... not that I don't enjoy a bit of banter as much as the next fellow.

Let me try again to clear up the misconceptions that litter this thread.

I'm sure you're all used to naive newbies posting, "OHMIGOD guyz i just bought ezdrummer and now I MUST learn the right beats so my first song sounds just like [insert name of latest god-awful but somehow still chart-topping hit] so pleeeeeez tell me the right presets ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Well, you can all breathe a sigh of relief, because this isn't another one of those threads.

I'm a classical musician studying and experimenting with other genres. I don't know much about drums, but I know a heck of a lot about music. Every sound that makes its way into my music is there because I listened to it and liked it. I don't "paint by numbers."

Having said that, some knowledge simply cannot be gotten by listening alone. Can YOU listen to an oboist and tell me if he's playing on a short-scrape or a long-scrape reed? Probably not, unless someone first explained the difference to you. I hope my analogy is clear.

When using a software instrument, I think it's generally a good idea to learn a bit about how the real thing is played. That's the point of this thread. I'm not looking for shortcuts, and I'm CERTAINLY not looking to avoid listening. I just figured a "Drums and Percussion" sub-forum would be a good place to ask questions about... well, drums and percussion. Right?

Cheers,
Drew

 

[oboedrew]

By the way, kcearl, I really do appreciate your posts. I know you said you're not a drummer, but you're chipping in whatever info you've got, and every little bit helps when you're as new to this as I am.

Now... anybody else care to help a curious oboist? Pretty please?

 

[kcearl]

I'm thrilled to see the rush of posts overnight, but less thrilled to find more banter than assistance... not that I don't enjoy a bit of banter as much as the next fellow.

Let me try again to clear up the misconceptions that litter this thread.

I'm sure you're all used to naive newbies posting, "OHMIGOD guyz i just bought ezdrummer and now I MUST learn the right beats so my first song sounds just like [insert name of latest god-awful but somehow still chart-topping hit] so pleeeeeez tell me the right presets ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Well, you can all breathe a sigh of relief, because this isn't another one of those threads.

I'm a classical musician studying and experimenting with other genres. I don't know much about drums, but I know a heck of a lot about music. Every sound that makes its way into my music is there because I listened to it and liked it. I don't "paint by numbers."

Having said that, some knowledge simply cannot be gotten by listening alone. Can YOU listen to an oboist and tell me if he's playing on a short-scrape or a long-scrape reed? Probably not, unless someone first explained the difference to you. I hope my analogy is clear.

When using a software instrument, I think it's generally a good idea to learn a bit about how the real thing is played. That's the point of this thread. I'm not looking for shortcuts, and I'm CERTAINLY not looking to avoid listening. I just figured a "Drums and Percussion" sub-forum would be a good place to ask questions about... well, drums and percussion. Right?

Cheers,
Drew

yeah I know what you mean...Im much more of a fan of the dutch style using the short scraped read than the more American long scrape as I think it gives much more flexibility on your tone....but of course that all stems back to french teaching and their obsessive use of scales....


lol






everybody gets what you are saying Drew...its just that there is generally more piss taking if someone is viewed as a little uptight...whether they are or not

 

[kcearl]

that and the fact that I dont think real drummers would actually use any of that terminology...


they're normally drunk and trying to get off with your girlfriend

 

[Greg_L]

I wasn't "taking any piss" though. All the dude has to do is listen to the samples and if he likes them, he can use them.

 

[kcearl]

I wasn't "taking any piss" though. All the dude has to do is listen to the samples and if he likes them, he can use them.

yeah I know that, I just dont think he was asking about usage rather what do these terms mean...terms that were invented by a software company and not drummers..

 

[oboedrew]

yeah I know what you mean...Im much more of a fan of the dutch style using the short scraped read than the more American long scrape as I think it gives much more flexibility on your tone....but of course that all stems back to french teaching and their obsessive use of scales....

Well, I'm American... but I still love Pauline Oostenrijk's playing.

 

[oboedrew]

that and the fact that I dont think real drummers would actually use any of that terminology...


they're normally drunk and trying to get off with your girlfriend

Actually, my girlfriend used to date a drummer... but she needed a real man, so she moved on to an oboist.

 

[oboedrew]

I wasn't "taking any piss" though. All the dude has to do is listen to the samples and if he likes them, he can use them.

Thanks, Greg. I'm glad I've got your permission to use them if I like them. And congrats for continuing to miss the entire point of my enquiry.

Cheers,
Drew

 

[oboedrew]

yeah I know that, I just dont think he was asking about usage rather what do these terms mean...terms that were invented by a software company and not drummers..

Yes! That's precisely it. I'll use whatever sounds I like, but I still like to know something about how those sounds were produced. I'm just curious that way.

Anyway, I wouldn't have any idea what sort of terms are used by real drummers vs software companies. I'm just asking about the terminology that came with the plugin I bought. That seemed like a good starting point.

Cheers,
Drew

 

[Greg_L]

Thanks, Greg. I'm glad I've got your permission to use them if I like them. And congrats for continuing to miss the entire point of my enquiry.

Cheers,
Drew

And congrats to you for being the only "musician" on the planet that doesn't understand that a stick hitting a cymbal makes a sound, it gets recorded, and sold as a sample. Then you, the oboeist, can decide if you want to use that sound or not. Why would you care what they're labeled? Like I said, it's pretty self-explanatory if you'd just get off your ass and listen. You could have figured it out by now. You're a classically trained smart-guy oboeist, right? You still have to go through them, listen, and decide what's right for you or not.

 

[kcearl]

"You must spread......"



like I said...promise, it shows promise

 

[Greg_L]

I think we have finally found which musician is dumber than a drummer. The oboeist. Yay for drummers everywhere!

 

[oboedrew]

And congrats to you for being the only "musician" on the planet that doesn't understand that a stick hitting a cymbal makes a sound, it gets recorded, and sold as a sample. Then you, the oboeist, can decide if you want to use that sound or not. Why would you care what they're labeled? Like I said, it's pretty self-explanatory if you'd just get off your ass and listen. You could have figured it out by now. You're a classically trained smart-guy oboeist, right? You still have to go through them, listen, and decide what's right for you or not.

This is juvenile. Greg, you're obviously either unwilling or unable to read and comprehend my enquiry. I'm actually hoping to learn something here, and you're interfering with that. So go ahead and reply again if you MUST have the last word. I'll let you have it. Honest. But after that, could you do me a favor and kindly keep out of this discussion? As I've said before, I'm looking to learn something, and I don't think you have much to teach. So I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't hijack this thread with your rant against the musician from another genre.

Cheers,
Drew

 

[Greg_L]

This is juvenile. Greg, you're obviously either unwilling or unable to read and comprehend my enquiry. I'm actually hoping to learn something here, and you're interfering with that. So go ahead and reply again if you MUST have the last word. I'll let you have it. Honest. But after that, could you do me a favor and kindly keep out of this discussion? As I've said before, I'm looking to learn something, and I don't think you have much to teach. So I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't hijack this thread with your rant against the musician from another genre.

Cheers,
Drew

Fair enough. Good luck finding someone to explain every detail of drumming to you. While you wait, maybe you could take a listen to those samples and figure it out.

 

[axeman_ukl]

I recently purchased the EZdrummer plugin, but I'm an oboist (not a drummer), so some of the terminology (mostly hi-hat stuff) from the keyboard layout is unfamiliar to me. Can anyone explain the following in layman's terms? Specifically, I'm interested in the mechanics of how the sounds are produced. I'm trying to visualize where the hats are struck, etc.

hats pedal chick
hats closed edge
hats foot splash
open hats 1
open hats 2
open hats 3
closed hats
hats pedal
open hats
hats open max
hats closed tip
hats tight tip
hats seq hard
hats seq soft

and also...

ride bow
ride bell
ride punch

Thanks,
Drew

i'm no expert but heres a rough guide

hats pedal chick = closeing the hihats
hats closed edge = hats closed hiting the edge
hats foot splash = quickly closing the hats and reopening them letting the top hat ring
open hats 1 = proberly 1,2,3 are various open hits 1/4 open 1/2 open 3/4 open
open hats 2
open hats 3
closed hats =closed hit on top of the hat
hats pedal =???? you will have to listen to that and make a guess
open hats = ?? again you will have to listen to this to what the difference is from 1,2,3
hats open max = all the way open
hats closed tip = closed hit close to the edge
hats tight tip =closed full pressure hit close to the edge
hats seq hard =?????
hats seq soft =???

well i said its a rough guide hard to tell really with out hearing them software companies make up there own names for things ,try email them for a more detailed description

 

[VomitHatSteve]

Have you tried searching for these terms on the internet yet? There's probably a tutorial *somewhere* that uses the same terminology.

YouTube videos might help too.

 

[oboedrew]

i'm no expert but heres a rough guide

hats pedal chick = closeing the hihats
hats closed edge = hats closed hiting the edge
hats foot splash = quickly closing the hats and reopening them letting the top hat ring
open hats 1 = proberly 1,2,3 are various open hits 1/4 open 1/2 open 3/4 open
open hats 2
open hats 3
closed hats =closed hit on top of the hat
hats pedal =???? you will have to listen to that and make a guess
open hats = ?? again you will have to listen to this to what the difference is from 1,2,3
hats open max = all the way open
hats closed tip = closed hit close to the edge
hats tight tip =closed full pressure hit close to the edge
hats seq hard =?????
hats seq soft =???

well i said its a rough guide hard to tell really with out hearing them software companies make up there own names for things ,try email them for a more detailed description

A rough guide is fine by me. Every little bit helps.

So "pedal chick" and "foot splash" both result from pressing the pedal, but the former has it held down, whereas the latter has it immediately released, allowing the top cymbal to ring. Gotcha. And that explains why a "pedal chick" immediately following a "foot splash" cancels the ringing. By the way, is it just the top cymbal that rings, not the bottom one too?

"Closed edge" and "tight edge" ... I wonder if the shoulder of the stick strikes the very edge of the cymbal, or if the tip of the stick strikes the upper surface of the cymbal somewhere near the edge...

"Hats pedal" is identical to "hats pedal chick." It's odd that they have two identical keys without specifying one as an alias of the other. But to clarify, "hats pedal" is actually "hats pedal (GM)." Anyone know what GM is an abbreviation for?

"Seq hard" and "seq soft" are the real puzzlers. They sound similar (though not identical) to "closed/tight edge/tip." There are subtle differences, but I have no idea why. "Seq" must be an abbreviation for something. My first thought was "sequence," but I'm not sure what that would mean in this context.

Cheers,
Drew

 

[oboedrew]

Have you tried searching for these terms on the internet yet? There's probably a tutorial *somewhere* that uses the same terminology.

YouTube videos might help too.

Definitely. I've been watching dozens of helpful hi-hat "how to" videos the past few days. In some cases, the sounds on the videos correspond nicely to certain EZdrummer sounds, and then I have a visual of the mechanics producing those sounds.

Don't worry, this forum isn't the ONLY place I'm looking for answers. I'm very thorough.

Cheers,
Drew