The detuned recorder and learning music theory from an early age: these two practices are to be thrown in the trash for André Manoukian.

The jazzman was, Thursday, the guest of Anne Roumanoff in the program "It feels good" on Europe 1. He took the opportunity to give some advice on the initiation to music. 

Are we ready to teach music at school?

Jazzman André Manoukian, guest of Anne Roumanoff in the program

It feels good

on Europe 1 on Thursday, asks this question on the table.

For him, French schoolchildren leave with a slight handicap, linked to our mother tongue.

"Our language is the least musical in the world," says André Manoukian at the microphone of Europe 1. It is difficult to learn music since French is not really singing.

"When you speak with the Canadian accent, for example, you mobilize the resonators of the nose, of the throat," he explains.

"Now, you take an Englishman, when he says' What the fuck?, We gain an octave and a half" compared to our language, demonstrates André Manoukian at the microphone of Europe 1.

The recorder, an instrument of torture

To top it off, the queen of primary and middle school music lessons has long been the famous recorder.

In his book

Piano Fortissimo

, which he came to present, André Manoukian even thanks the former Minister of Education under François Hollande, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem for removing the instrument from these classes.

He also says there that the recorder was once ... an instrument of torture. 

"In antiquity, a Roman torture consisted in surrounding a Christian martyr with 200 flautists, thus creating the cluster before the hour. The fatally out of tune flutes, produced such a frequency that they drove the condemned man mad with pain, who would die in dying. 'excruciating suffering,' he writes in his book.

Some "great methods" for learning to play an instrument

But despite this "slight handicap", there are "great methods" for playing an instrument.

Like the Suzuki "which teaches children the violin while playing".

Because for André Manoukian the learning of melodies must remain fun.

"We're not going to piss off a kid with music theory! It's great because it helps you read and write music. But later," he gets angry.

Before saying: "learning music theory before music is like learning to read before learning to speak".

>> Find all of Anne Roumanoff's shows from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Europe 1 in replay and podcast here

To introduce his child to scales and arpeggios, the jazzman suggests playing music instead. Simply. "Even if you are a beginner, and you have never done it before, get down to the piano or another instrument, at the same time as your child. It will give him a mark, you will have a good laugh together" . André Manoukian assures him: "that's how it's going to work".