YouTube has completely changed the music industry for everyone and in many different ways. Not only has it become the premier online destination for people looking to hear the biggest hits from some of the most popular artists on the planet, it’s also a great way for up-and-coming artists to break out and make their names known.
If you’re someone who is just getting started in music or someone with a passion for lifelong learning, YouTube can be a fantastic resource to start honing your craft and becoming a better artist.
There is almost everything you could hope to find on the site and no matter what you want to learn — to sing, to play guitar, to mix, to engineer, to create a home studio, to dance, to DJ, to yodel — there are surely several people on the platform who have some advice to give that could be valuable to you.
There are two main caveats when it comes to using YouTube to become a better musician and they both need to be heeded and considered carefully. First, when you start perusing one of the biggest websites on the internet, you’ll quickly see there are a seemingly unlimited number of options. It may appear as if everybody who has ever picked up an instrument has decided to become a teacher online and you’re not too far off if you think so.
A quick search for “learning music” on YouTube turns up 139 million options and even when you narrow it down and look for something much more specific, there are still going to be more clips than you’ll ever have time to sit through.
If you spent all your time watching videos about learning to play music, you probably wouldn’t actually ever play music. Start with those accounts which are the most popular with whatever instrument you’re looking to master (which can include your voice) and you can decide where to go from there.
The second most important thing to consider before selecting an online teacher is what their qualifications are. Is this person recording themselves simply someone who decided they were all of a sudden an expert or is it someone who truly possesses the qualifications to be instructing? You will run into this same question when selecting a vocal or instrumental teacher offline as well, so don’t think it’s just an issue when it comes to YouTube.
Look into the person and see if they have real-life experience that makes them someone worthy of listening to or if they’re just a wannabe.