During the seven day tour in November, 2009, a Ludwig-team toured Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands with a Road Show of vintage materials, drums, snares and a show for the public. And you could see some great old stuff there, as well as the new drums Ludwig makes nowadays. Drummerzone.com was present at the last day of this Road Show on November 8th, and we made some nice videos of it for you to watch.

\'History of Percussion\' by Bill Ludwig III
In his short \'history of percussion\', the grandson of founder Bill Ludwig, Bill Ludwig III gives you insights in why and how Ludwig came to life. Not only the addition of \'a pedal to the bass drum\', but also the production of lots of other \'contraptions\', as they named those accessories to the drum kits, initiated one of the most stable and well known brands in drum history. The company started in a rented barn on the Southside of Chicago in 1909. Nowadays, Ludwig is one of the major brands in drums that have some of biggest artists on their roster. To name a few from the top of the list: John Bonham, Ringo Starr, Bun E. Carlos, Buddy Rich, Alex Van Halen, or even the younger generations with artists like John Fred Young from Kentucky based band Black Stone Cherry.

In the videos you will learn from Bill Ludwig III how Ludwig started out in 1909. Next to that we show you some parts of his \'History of Percussion\' - a presentation about the history of drums starting with drummers during the American civil war. Bill plays two well known drum pieces on a Ludwig rope style drum from the 1940\'s. First is The Connecticut Halftime. He also performs Three Camps and you can download the sheet music in the pdf on the side of this article. Watch the videos below to learn the history of these two historical drum pieces. The last video is the (hilarious) radio play performed old style, like they did in the old radio days. Ludwig was one of the producers of all these \'contrapments\', used by drummers on the radio, in orchestra\'s or any other musical situation.

All videos are an educational overview of the history of Ludwig, and a good impression of the Road Show, celebrating the company’s 100th anniversary. Have fun watching them, including an overview of the exhibition of Ludwig drums from 1909 until 2009. And, if you just can\'t get enough of this. You can also order the dvd \'Ludwig Drum Company, a century of the most famous name on drums\', which gives you everything you need to know about the companies history.

Videos

1. Exhibition Ludwig Drums 1909-2009
   
   Bill Ludwig III - A short history of percussion


2. Civil War Drummers


3. Demonstrating the double stroke roll on a Ludwig Rope Style Drum 1940\'s


4. \'The Connecticut Halftime\'


5. \'Three Camps\'


6. The birth of Ludwig in 1909


7. A visual radio play
   
   On the IMG-tab you find more pictures of the exhibition.