William F. Ludwig (1879 1973) was an American

percussionist 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. Ex ...

, drum-maker, and founder of

Ludwig Drums Ludwig Drums is a United States musical instrument manufacturer, focused on percussion instruments, percussion. It is a subsidiary of Conn-Selmer. Products manufactured by Ludwig include timpani, drum kits, and drum hardware. The company also ...

. He helped to create the National Association of Rudimental Drummers and is a member of the

Percussive Arts Society 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 abr ...

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

Career

William Frederick Ludwig was the son of German immigrants to

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, arriving when he was just 8 years old in 1887. His father was a professional trombonist and Ludwig started taking music lessons upon arriving to Chicago that same year, initially on piano and violin. Ludwig soon switched to drums and became increasingly unhappy with the technology available for drum pedals. Ludwig's first musical gig was at the Wood Brother's Circus in 1895, followed by several other miscellaneous posts.Ludwig, William F. ''W.F.L Complete Drum Instructor.'' Revised edition. Chicago: W.F.L. Drum Company, 1942. In 1903 he joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. From 1904 to 1906 he performed with the English Grand Opera Co., and in 1909 he became the

timpanist Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...

for the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony. In 1909, with his brother Theobald Ludwig, William set up the Ludwig & Ludwig Drum Company. They manufactured the first modern-style bass drum pedal to meet the needs of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

, and

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

drummers of the day. Ludwig played with the Chicago-Philadelphia Grand Opera Company from 1910 to 1912 when he joined the Chicago Civic Opera, a post that would last until 1914. He returned to the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Symphony in 1915 and remained there until 1918 when he resigned to focus on manufacturing. Theobald died in 1918 from influenza, but the Ludwig Company continued to grow with William and was one of the largest drum companies in the world by the 1920s. In 1933, at the American Legion National Convention, Ludwig and a group of 12 other notable rudimental drummers, including

George Lawrence Stone George Lawrence Stone (1886–1967) was an American drummer and author. He wrote the books ''Stick Control for the Snare Drummer'' (1935) and ''Accents and Rebounds for the Snare Drummer'' (1961). Among his students were Joe Morello, Gene Kr ...

, formed the

National Association of Rudimental Drummers The National Association of Rudimental Drummers (N.A.R.D. or NARD) is an organization created to encourage the study of Drum rudiments, rudimental drumming. NARD is responsible for the creation of the Standard 26 American Rudiments. History The N ...

(NARD) to promote rudimental drumming. They organized a list of 13 essential

drum rudiments In ''rudimental drumming'', a form of percussion music, a drum rudiment is one of a number of relatively small patterns which form the foundation for more extended and complex drumming patterns. The term "drum rudiment" is most closely associa ...

, later to be followed by another 13 to complete the 26 Standard American Drum Rudiments. These would be the authoritative set of American rudiments until the Percussive Arts Society published another set in 1984. Ludwig's company suffered during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

so he merged with Conn in 1930 and moved to Indiana. In 1937, he left Conn and founded the WFL Drum Company, which his son William F. Ludwig Jr. and daughter Betty would join in 1938. He published his ''Collection of Drum Solos'' featuring the 26 NARD rudiments in 1942, his ''Complete Drum Instructor'' in 1947 (interestingly, this volume lists 30 rudiments despite Ludwig's involvement in codifying the 26 NARD rudiments 14 years prior), and the ''WFL Drum Corps Manual'' in 1948. In 1955, Ludwig bought the name Ludwig back from Conn (WFL drums had been directly competing with Conn-made Ludwig drums) in order to found the Ludwig Drum Company. He published the book ''The Ludwig Drum and Bugle Manual'' in 1956, followed by the ''Ludwig Tympani Instructor'' in 1957. He also published ''The Ludwig Drum Method'' in 1967. Ludwig Sr. ran his new company until his death in 1973, popularizing his drums through relationships with

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

and

John Bonham John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician who was the drummer of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Noted for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove, John Bonh ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

. His son William F. Ludwig II was named president of the Ludwig Drum Company after his father's death. Ludwig's grandson William F. Ludwig III owns his own drum company called WFLIII Drums. Ludwig performed with the Chicago Marine Band, T.P. Brooke,

Max Bendix Max Bendix (March 28, 1866 – December 6, 1945) was an American concert violinist, conductor, and teacher. He was the first concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and was also the concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera orchestra. Bendi ...

, Arthur Pryor's Band and several opera companies during his long career, and he was inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame in its inaugural year, 1972.

Publications

*''Collection of Drum Solos'' *''WFL Complete Drum Instructor'' *''WFL Drum Corps Manual'' *''The Ludwig Drum and Bugle Manual'' *''Ludwig Tympani Instructor'' *''The Ludwig Drum Method''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludwig, William F. Sr. 1879 births 1973 deaths 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States