high hat
- noun
- /haɪ hæt/
- Specialized
:
platillo
- To achieve a crisp sound, he adjusted the tension on the high hat before the performance.
Examples
-
The drummer skillfully played the high hat to create a sharp rhythm in the song.
-
There's the high hats and then there's this kit and Jimmy comes up and says you want to redo your track, don't you?
-
It's like hitting the high hat open when you're those little accents.
-
During the recording session, the producer emphasized the importance of the high hat in keeping the tempo.
Synonyms
A pair of small metal plates on a stand that a drummer opens and closes with a foot pedal
How Loud
13
3.9
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
high + hat
The meaning 'a pair of cymbals on a stand' is a specialized musical instrument term that cannot be guessed from 'high' (rising above) and 'hat' (head covering). The compound is lexicalized (often written 'hi-hat') and domain-specific, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would not reliably derive the cymbal meaning.
Etymology
High hat in music comes from early drum sets. Two small cymbals sat on a tall stand like a little hat above the drums, and because they were high, drummers called them a high hat, so the name now means the cymbal pair used to keep time in a 'drum kit'.