Leading by example: Patrick Abdo’s drumming ambitions

Initially a performer, thirty-one-year-old Patrick Abdo discovered teaching drums came naturally to him, which is what put his academy, the Music Path, on the map globally. Beyond the classroom, his influence has scaled dramatically online. With 230,000 subscribers on YouTube, 2,400,000 on TikTok, 2,200,000 on Instagram among others, their reach is 7,000,000 on all platforms. They receive approximately 5,000,000 views per day.

An ambitious dream of his is a "School of Rock" for MENA. He is on his way to making it a reality. It requires a production house that works with a company like Netflix to take on the film and series.  Having never been done in the region, its chances of success are high. “When I apply my theories, they normally pan out, and my theory on this project will too”, boasts Patrick.

Patrick is nurturing young talents on drums and instilling a love for the instrument with his unconventional methods.

It feels amazing. I see in the kids what I would’ve liked to live. I faced many issues on my journey of learning, becoming aware of them as an adult and adjusting them to give the best experience to students.

Care was one of them.

By his own admission, everything becomes a job in the end, even if you love your profession. When the pay is low, such as in music teaching, it tends to demotivate the teachers and they don’t give it their all. “I wanted to change the perception of this job in the world”.

A melodic childhood

At eight years old, his parents encouraged him and his brother Mitch to learn an instrument, uncovering their love for music. He picked up the piano, which he didn’t like at first. A year and a half later, he filled in during a Metallica song intro and his passion for drums started. His brother had a home rehearsal with his band, and the drummer couldn’t catch the beat on “Master of Puppets”. He asked him if he could give it a shot and he got it right in the first try. To this day, he still feels that initial spark through his teaching.

His brother is a multi-instrumentalist, plays them all, sings, and is a DJ. He was his first teacher before he signed up in school. When he was seventeen, Patrick started teaching the neighborhood kids in his hometown of Ain Saadeh. After finishing high school in Jamhour, he went to LAU Jbeil to study Industrial Engineering. At that time, his dear friend principal Haitham Azzi contacted him and asked him to give drumming classes after school, and this is how he got his start.

By the end of university, his schedule was packed, so he decided to launch a music school with his brother in 2017 in Sagesse Jdeideh. He later moved to Dubai in 2021, where they opened The Music Path.

A mind for mathematics

An industrial engineer, Patrick has an acumen in Mathematics which comes in handy with drums. It helped him in managing the work, creating processes and systems for their companies. What’s more, rhythm is divisions. “In Lebanon, we don’t have a program for drums, I’m the only one who has written two books on teaching the instrument”.

 He is able to write its divisions, subdivisions and exercises. “What do I start with and how do I write this exercise, industrial engineering is process engineering”, says Patrick.

The most challenging part of developing a KHDA-recognized drum curriculum is the trial-and-error period in writing a book. He tried it on 500 students before publishing; that’s the reason it was a success. He then faced another issue in shifting it from handwritten to hard copy, reading many times over, discovering a mistake then restarting the process, bearing in mind that his first book is 105 pages.

Lasting impact

Patrick’s videos on social media often showcase deep emotional bonds with students. An instance of the lasting impact he has on them, in and outside the classroom, is a boy who dealt with bullying. He helped him strengthen his personality to become very popular. “When someone directs a harmful word, how are you supposed to answer? I tell them that talk is cheap, it’s not worth anything, actions are more important”.

Sometimes half of class is discussing things the boy doesn’t tell his parents. After that, Patrick sits with them and shares what is happening in schools.

Skills. In life, you must bring something to the table at the end of the day.

His student’s drumming skills put him ahead of many of his peers. Children don’t understand this at first and need to without letting it inflate their ego.

Another former student gives lessons in LA and goes to university. He’s following in his footsteps and learning how to deal with people, which is one of the advantages of being a teacher. “We learn a lot about people, parents and children. In life, it’s all about communication, the back and forth”.

Leading by example

Despite having accomplished a big portion of his dreams, he still has big projects in mind. “I want to get into acting and do something that’s never been done in the Arab world”. He has already written the script for this universally understood project. Not only that, but he wants to create and release music, along with other projects they are developing.

A strategic global expansion is the goal, and they are well underway. The franchise book is completed, dissecting their work to be able to replicate it, and they’re working on a venture which will help them spread far and wide.

 “I’m not a psychologist, but I care. The best way to help children is to be living proof of how it’s done. I got this method from my parents”. To this day, his father works twelve hours a day. Whenever Patrick feels exhausted, he thinks of him and gets a jolt of renewed motivation. “Who am I to talk?” With this tireless mindset, he leads the next generation of musicians by example.