SKF NOTE: Here’s a peek at how my mind works: Yesterday I saw the photo here of Steve Gadd standing with an old military snare hung around him. It’s a custom made 17×20 snare from Loyal Drums in Fredericksburg, VA.

The Gadd photo had me thinking about Gadd’s new method book, “Gaddiments.”

And thinking about “Gaddiments,” in turn, sparked a memory of Max Roach talking about Haitian drummer, Tiroro, and learning drums not by seeing, not by reading, but by listening.

Roach said, “You know, you’re after being creative. So you have to listen to it — and we all learn like this — you have to listen to it and figure out how it was done on your own. That’s ear training. That’s what it is.”

It would be an interesting experiment, I thought, to study “Gaddiments,” or any other respected drum method book, by listening only. Never mind the stickings written for the book exercises.

Listen to the sound of the exercises and come up with your own way of getting that sound.