Exact fingering?

How important are the exact fingerings given? There are at least two places in which it feels more natural to alter them a little bit. The third of the “3 basic beat variations”, for instance - I end up just doing middle finger on the open hh and thumb still on the right kick, instead of moving to the left kick. And the fills ending in crash+snare+kick - I have short fingers, and what feels least strenuous is index on the snare and ring on the crash, or even middle on the crash. How much do these changes matter? Are the fingerings just “what works” or are they intended to lead to specific hand motions and flexibility?

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I find myself switching fingerings quite often. For example the index finger on the open hihat instead of middle finger. I do that all the time and then when I need the index finger to be ready to hit a snare I use my middle finger on the hihat again :slight_smile: The main movement I think comes from the wrist, that’s why you can also practice playing by just drumming patterns on your desk or lap without a controller. It’s not 100% the same but it’s the most important part to get right. Fingerings come after that and have less impact on your timing & groove. You should always pay attention and ask yourself “is this a stupid very inefficient way to do this in terms of fingerings” because there are stupid ways of doing things, but if you notice it improves your playing when you stay on the same kick drum pad and things just keep flowing, you’re fine.

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