Bible! drummist Dave Larcombe came up with a swell hi-hat playing tip during a recent interview. "I developed this technique while I was in the Roaring Boys. Because we were a very busy sounding band, there was less room for fills. So to provide variation, I'd develop little things on the hi-hat."

It works like this: when playing regular rhythms on the hi-hat, simply move the stick backwards and forwards across the hi-hat, so you vary where it strikes from the bell to the rim, and back. This broadens the hi-hat sound, making a simple pattern sound more interesting. Do it slowly, and it has roughly the same effect as phasing; faster, and the rhythm will sound less straightforward, and more syncopated.

"If you can stand the boredom, it's really good practice to sit and just play the hi-hat on its own, without going near any of the other drums."