Roy C. Knapp

Last updated
Roy C. Knapp
Born(1891-10-26)October 26, 1891
Waterloo, Iowa
DiedJune 16, 1979(1979-06-16) (aged 87)
Chicago, Illinois
Occupation(s)Musician, music educator
Years active1905-1960
Spouse(s)Betty

Roy Cecil Knapp (October 26, 1891 - June 16, 1979) was an American drummer and music educator. Known as "The Dean of American Drum Teachers", he founded the Roy C. Knapp School of Percussion in 1938. He was a longtime network orchestra member and sought-after studio musician skilled as a tympanist, percussionist and xylophone soloist. He performed on shows broadcast during radio's golden age in Chicago, Illinois and a founding member of the National Association of Rudimental Drummers.

Contents

Early life and career

Born October 26, 1891 in Waterloo, Iowa, Knapp learned to play various instruments through his father Jerry who owned a theater. After working in New York for a year, he moved to Duluth, Minnesota where he studied under Casey Kasolowsky of the Duluth Symphony, now the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra. He also studied under William Faetkenheuer of the Minneapolis Symphony. Knapp moved to Chicago in 1921 and became a sought-after drummer, percussionists and xylophone soloist. Working for the WLS radio station starting in 1928, he played on shows such as the National Barn Dance and the Don McNeil's Breakfast Club. Knapp also taught percussion in various private studios and at the old Dixie Music House (est. 1902). [1] [2] He was a founding member of the National Association of Rudimental Drummers (N.A.R.D.), formed in 1932. [3]

Roy C. Knapp School of Percussion

In 1938 Knapp opened his own studio in Kimball Hall and, with the help of his wife, Betty, [4] started one of the first schools of percussion in the United States.This School was a private one, specializing in professional performance, but with no accreditation in the educational world.

In 1946, Knapp founded his second School of Percussion, but with the addition of piano, voice, composition, string and wind instruments receiving full accreditation to grant the bachelor’s degree and the performer’s certificate in voice, orchestral instruments and piano, [1] including approval for veterans under the G.I. Bill the same year. He chose John P. Noonan, widely known percussionist, formerly Educational Director of the Ludwig & Ludwig Drum Company, as teacher and Vice President/Associate Director. Within a short time, Knapp had assembled a faculty of top people including twelve artist-percussionists hand-picked for their teaching skills. [5] It was the first full-time percussion school, the first to require percussion ensemble participation, and the first to emphasize drum set study which at that time was not offered in any music school.[ citation needed ] At one point the school had 500 students with 22 teachers. [3]

Knapp retired from performing in 1960 [2] and closed his school in 1966. From then until his death he taught at Frank’s Drum Shop, owned by Maurie Lishon since 1959. [6]

Honors and death

In May 1966, The Dal Segno Musicians Club of Chicago honored Knapp with the Dal Segno Man of the Year award in recognition of his outstanding contributions as the teacher of more top-flight percussionists than any other person in the business. [7] Knapp was inducted into the Percussive Arts Society's inaugural class Hall of Fame in 1972. [6]

Knapp's friends, associates and students honored in September 1974 at the Roy C. Knapp Testimonial Day, "...for the full and talented life of Roy Knapp, his patient drawing-out of students' skills and his care to foster art above applause and honest creativity above quick dollars" [7] and his original WLS drum set is on permanent display at the Percussive Arts Society's museum. [1]

Knapp died in Chicago on June 16, 1979. [4]

Notable students

Knapp became widely recognized as a teacher. His roster of former students includes: [1]

Publications

 **"Roy Knapp...The Grandaddy of Percussion with Young Ideas"     (1968). Vol. 8, No. 1, p. 18 - 20, 
 **"Matched Grip vs. Conventional Grip" Vol. XVI Issue      1, (Fall 1977) p. 49

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Percussion instrument</span> Type of musical instrument that produces a sound by being hit

A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Excluding zoomusicological instruments and the human voice, the percussion family is believed to include the oldest musical instruments. In spite of being a very common term to designate instruments, and to relate them to their players, the percussionists, percussion is not a systematic classificatory category of instruments, as described by the scientific field of organology. It is shown below that percussion instruments may belong to the organological classes of idiophone, membranophone, aerophone and chordophone.

Bill Bachman is an American percussionist and music educator. Bachman has worked with several drum corps including The Cadets, Blue Knights, Carolina Crown, and the Magic of Orlando, among others. He studied at Berklee College of Music and the University of North Texas.

George Lawrence Stone (1886–1967) was an American drummer and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Below</span> American drummer

Frederick Below Jr. was an American blues drummer who worked with Little Walter and Chess Records in the 1950s. According to Tony Russell, Below was a creator of much of the rhythmic structure of Chicago blues, especially its backbeat. He was the drummer on Chuck Berry's song "Johnny B. Goode". He also recorded with J. B. Lenoir.

Arnold F. Riedhammer is a German-American musician, composer, and songwriter. He is Principal Percussionist of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and the group Blechschaden.

Bob Becker is an American percussionist and composer known primarily as a founding member of the Nexus percussion ensemble, as well as a performer in the Steve Reich and Musicians ensemble. He primarily performs as a keyboard percussionist, but is also skilled in tabla and concert snare drumming. As a composer, Becker employs a multicultural approach by mixing the style of western military drumming with North Indian Hindustani idioms, such as raga scale patterns and tabla drumming. This fusion of compositional practices is the main focus of works like Lahara and Mudra. There are also traces of influence from the music of minimalists like Steve Reich, which can be attributed to Becker's experience with that composer's music.

Mitch Markovich is an American percussionist, composer, educator, and clinician in the areas of rudimental drumming, marching percussion, drum and bugle corps, and marching band. He is best known for his intensive marching snare drum solo compositions and record-setting performances, entitled "Tornado" and "Stamina", and for his percussion quartet composition entitled "Four Horsemen". Markovich's contributions to the style, notation, composition, and performance of percussion have endured over the last five decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Arsenault</span> American percussionist, teacher

Frank Arsenault was an internationally known American percussionist, teacher, and clinician in the areas of marching percussion, rudimental drumming, drum and bugle corps, and marching band. He was a full-time Staff Clinician and Educational Field Representative for the Ludwig Drum Company. He is also well known in his field for his signature playing style, for his many championship titles, and for his recording of The 26 Standard American Drum Rudiments and Selected Solos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Magadini</span> American drummer (1942–2023)

Peter Charles Magadini was an American drummer, percussionist, educator and author. He is known for his body of work concerning the comprehension and execution of musical polyrhythms, especially the books The Musician's Guide to Polyrhythms and Polyrhythms for the Drumset. Magadini has recorded and performed with George Duke, Diana Ross, Bobbie Gentry, Al Jarreau, Buddy DeFranco, John Handy and Mose Allison.

Charles "Charley" Wilcoxon was an American drum teacher and drum method book writer. He wrote several influential books on rudimental drumming that are still used by drum teachers today. He is a member of the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Abel (musician)</span> American percussionist (1928–2020)

Alan Abel was an American percussionist, music educator, and inventor of musical instruments. He was the associate principal percussionist of the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1959 until his retirement in 1997. He is widely regarded as one of the most important percussion educators of the second half of the twentieth century, having taught at Temple University beginning in 1972. Abel's inventions include several unique and ubiquitous triangles and a bass drum stand that allowed the instrument to be suspended with the use of rubber bands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Percussive Arts Society</span> US-based non-profit organization

The Percussive Arts Society (PAS) is a non-profit organization for professional percussionists and percussion educators. It was founded in 1961 in the United States and has over 5,000 members in 40 American chapters, with another 28 chapters abroad. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Since 1976, the organization hosts the annual Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) which is the largest convention for drummers and percussionists in the world.

Morris Goldenberg was an American percussionist, music teacher, and method book author. He wrote several books on orchestral snare drumming, mallet percussion, and timpani. He is a member of the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William F. Ludwig Sr.</span> American musician

William F. Ludwig was an American percussionist, drum-maker, and founder of Ludwig Drums. He helped to create the National Association of Rudimental Drummers and is a member of the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame.

Carl E. Gardner was an American percussionist, drum maker, and method book author.

The National Association of Rudimental Drummers is an organization created to encourage the study of rudimental drumming. NARD is responsible for the creation of the Standard 26 American Rudiments.

Joseph Burns Moore was a champion rudimental snare drummer, member of the Connecticut National Guard, instructional author, and founding member of the National Association of Rudimental Drummers.

Alfons Grieder was a Swiss rudimental drummer who spread awareness of the Basel Drumming style in America during the mid to late 20th century through his traveling, teaching, and publications.

Jay Wanamaker is a percussionist and the president and CEO of Roland Americas and formerly held executive positions at Fender and Guitar Center. He also worked for Yamaha, Alfred Publishing, and the University of Southern California, and was chair of the Percussive Arts Society rudimental committee that published the 40 PAS Drum rudiments. He has also published over 50 music books and instructional DVDs.

John Patrick Noonan was an American percussionist, music educator and musical instrument retailer. He wrote for several publications including DownBeat, Metronome, The Instrumentalist, The School Musician and The Ludwig Drummer. Over his career, he performed under several prominent conductors including John Philip Sousa, Edwin Franko Goldman, and William Revelli.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Barnhart, Stephen L. (2000-03-30). Percussionists: A Biographical Dictionary. Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 208–209. ISBN   978-0-313-29627-7.
  2. 1 2 DeMichael, Don. "Percussion's dean steps to a lively beat". Chicago Tribune . p. 219, 222.
  3. 1 2 Brennan, Matt (2020-01-10). Kick It: A Social History of the Drum Kit. Oxford University Press. p. 151. ISBN   978-0-19-068389-4.
  4. 1 2 "Roy Knapp, 87, dies; was musician, teacher". Chicago Tribune. 1979-06-18. p. 15. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  5. ↑ Knapp School Catalog 1948 1949. Roy C. Knapp School of Percussion. 1948. p. 4.
  6. 1 2 Fairchild, Frederick D. (20 February 2024). "Hall of Fame". Percussive Arts Society.
  7. 1 2 "Roy Knapp...The Grandaddy of Percussion with Young Ideas". Ludwig Drummer. 8 (Spring 1968): 18–19.
  8. ↑ Sandke, Randall (2023-06-14). Where the Dark and the Light Folks Meet: Race and the Mythology, Politics, and Business of Jazz. Scarecrow Press. p. 92. ISBN   978-0-8108-6990-5.
  9. ↑ Wettling, George (March 14, 1942). "Diggin' the Drums: A few kind words about my teacher". Down Beat . 9 (6): 16.
  10. ↑ Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2001). All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide to Popular Music. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 545. ISBN   978-0-87930-627-4.
  11. ↑ McCall, Michael; Rumble, John; Kingsbury, Paul (2012-02-01). The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Oxford University Press. p. 228. ISBN   978-0-19-992083-9.
  12. ↑ Sawyers, June Skinner (2012-03-31). Chicago Portraits: New Edition. Northwestern University Press. p. 16. ISBN   978-0-8101-2649-7.
  13. ↑ Goins, Wayne Everett (2014-08-30). Blues All Day Long: The Jimmy Rogers Story. University of Illinois Press. p. 80. ISBN   978-0-252-09649-5.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.