Expertise
Guitar making
Guitar making is a blend of tradition and innovation. On one hand, we inherit a noble and traditional craft, on the other hand we have total liberty on how to design the instruments. Each guitar that I make is unique and expresses its own personality. Being played year after year, the instrument will open and reveal the acoustic features of its wood and polish. A well-made guitar will age and be able to be passed downed generations of musicians, this is what I propose to musicians.
Certainly on the guitar we will find decorative elements such as marquetry, but it is only ornamentation on a functional object. Because in my opinion the main subject when talking about a guitar is of course the sound it produces.
“Destins et métiers atypiques” Épisode 2
“Pierre-Alexandre a fait de la musique, son métier. Alors diplômé en commerce et à la recherche d’un sens à son histoire, il décida de se lancer dans l’art ancestral de la lutherie. C’est un voyage au coeur de l’artisanat que je vous propose aujourd’hui, à la découverte de cet homme qui construit ses propres guitares.”
A lifetime passion
Music
I first took classes of bass guitar and then discovered nylon stringed classical guitars and singing. Now, I mostly play folk acoustic guitar. Playing guitar, I passed through different genres, following my interests and tastes. I mostly play for pleasure alone of with other musicians, styles that array from Bluegrass to folk and Gospel. Being a longtime aficionado for folk music, I have a lot of interest in vocal polyphony/harmony. This being said, I also maintain a strong interest for electric instruments and electro music, styles I sometime integrate in my compositions.
I compose alone and with other musicians, music that is close to the genre Bluegrass, Folk or Gospel. As a traditional music lover, I have a lot of interest in (vocal) polyphony. That said, that doesn’t stop me from playing electric instruments and even integrating electronic music into my compositions.
Knowledge
Learning
I learned guitar making and fixing at Bruand school of Lutherie in Montreal, Quebec. During the three years of my cursus I was lucky enough to study with Master Luthiers René Wilhelmy, jeff Demers and Hugues Lefort. This in depth and very complete learning allowed me to first work fixing and adjusting guitars. I am now a member of the Collectif des luthiers de La Corde, a unique place in Montreal home of many creative and innovative guitar makers.
“Certainly on the guitar we will find decorative elements such as marquetry, but it is only ornamentation on a functional object. Because in my opinion the main subject when talking about a guitar is of course the sound it produces.”
Today a member of the Collectif des Luthiers de La Corde, I exercise my profession with passion in this unique place, an incredible center of creation and innovation in guitar making.
