YouTube - Good or Bad for Music Learners?
What has the effect of YouTube been on young music learners over the last 5 years? I explore this from the point of view of a professional music teacher to examine whether YouTube is a positive in the world of music tuition.
Access to knowledge, information and tutorials on almost any aspect of a musical instrument at a click of a mouse does sound like an appealing proposition for individuals interested in learning to play music. Yet, it is interesting to have seen so many young learners find learning music from YouTube a rather frustrating experience - one that has made me conclude as a professional music teacher that being able to access knowledge is only part of what is required when learning music.
As crucial as being able to access the knowledge is to be able to understand and learn the information in a logical order that means you can build on each new concept learned. This is where YouTube can fall down as a learning resource, as the often the "learner" jumps from one tutorial or song to another - becoming frustrated that they are unable to play the music, when actually the song they are attempting to learn is far harder then a teacher would give them or includes techniques that they simply haven't learned year. Music teachers therefore as someone of curators of information, helping music students to learn how to play an instrument in a logical order that makes learning enjoyable.
That is not to say that YouTube doesn't have its place as part of the learning experience. If used correctly it is a fantastic resource, a video library that is a marvel that we as music teachers can encourage our students to use if we guide them towards useful videos and content. It is a resource like no other in terms of the vast content available and introduced in the right way can really supplement the learning experience for young learners.
In summary, helping a student to learn to play a musical instrument in a logical order of knowledge acquisition is a crucial part of what sets music teachers apart from essentially the library of information that YouTube is. Yet, that library should be used by music teachers to engage and help the knowledge acquisition process, especially as younger learners spend so much time on YouTube anyway!
I would like to thank the mgrmusic.com community of music teachers for their input for this article, especially Phil's thoughts on whether "YouTube is Killing the Music Teacher"?! Let me know your thoughts by commenting below, is YouTube a good resource for music learners or causing potential students to become too frustrated with the learning process and give up altogether.