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Roy C. Knapp

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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.

Early life and career[edit]

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, later named Frank's Drum Shop).[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[edit]

In 1938 Knapp opened his own studio in Kimball Hall and, with the help of his wife, Betty,[4] started the first School of Total Percussion in the United States.[citation needed] 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[edit]

In May 1966, The Dal Segno Musicians Club of Chicago honored Knapp with the Dal Segno Man of the Years 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[edit]

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

Publications[edit]

  • The Fundamentals of Modern Drumming (undated). Stanger, Philip. Collection, Box 6, Folder 11, Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago, IL.
  • Fundamental Rudiments of Mallet Technique and Tympani Tuning Excerpt from Lesson Studies (1939) Ludwig & Ludwig (4-page brochure)
  • The Ludwig Drummer (publ. by Ludwig Drums)
 **"Roy Knapp...The Grandaddy of Percussion with Young Ideas" 
   (1968). Vol. 8, No. 1, p. 18 - 20,

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Stephen L. (2000-03-30). Percussionists: A Biographical Dictionary. Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 208–209. ISBN 978-0-313-29627-7.
  2. ^ a b DeMichael, Don. "Percussion's dean steps to a lively beat". Chicago Tribune. p. 219, 222.
  3. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b Fairchild, Frederick D. (20 February 2024). "Hall of Fame". Percussive Arts Society.
  7. ^ a b "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.

External links[edit]

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