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Is YouTube Killing Music Teacher ? (All Teachers)
Is YouTube killing Music Teachers ?
In most lessons someone will have seen something on you tube about a particular song or technique. Some of the lessons are very good and I will use them to research topics myself. But is this the end of music teachers ? I think NO. It does set a higher standard of knowledge and can catch out poorer teachers. Even after a student has looked at a video there can be problems in technique and understanding at which point a good teacher can be invaluable in providing feedback. A good teacher can also pick the best tutorial for a student to study. So embrace you tube.
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10 Replies
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I encourage YouTube for when I’m not around (e.g. between lesson practice!). But nothing beats the 1-2-1 experience! There’s always limits to what Youtube can offer you, especially with singing as you can’t just copy in the same way. I think it’s fruitful having several resources!
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I don’t think youtube is killing the music teacher!
But, youtube DOES get me a little riled up, especially as a singing teacher (I don’t know how much this is the case for guitar teachers), because there’s so much misinformation out there! Content marketing has meant that every man and his dog thinks they’re the fount of all knowledge when it comes to singing (or at least would like to be for SEO purposes). Thankfully once students are sometimes confused out of their minds, they’ll decide to book in a lesson with a teacher, and start to clear things up. But I’ve had some students come to me with some really weeeeird ideas about singing that have come from youtube. -
Interesting, so it’s HELPING the singing teacher! Actually I’m going to go back on what I said – I actually only encourage Youtube for piano help rather than singing..
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My students are either too young to really properly access YouTube or, if they are older, they tell me that they find it hard to follow and complain that it is not interactive. A YouTube tutor can’t reach out through the screen and place that stray finger where it needs to be – if that ever happens though, I think we’re all out of a job!
More and more people will be learning online – oh how I wish YouTube had been around in my youth – it would have saved YEARS of endeavour. Equally I think enough people are realising that one-to-one tuition is really the most effective way to learn, so us teachers should be safe for a while yet. -
Hello, no I don’t think it will kill the 1 to 1 experience of learning for either singing or guitar … It does get a little frustrating from students who get a bit cocky and say… “are you sure the song goes like that, this guy on YouTube said it was”… It’s like the student thinks YouTube (like some of those dodgy tab sites out there) is the holy grail, when in fact it is usually just someone in their bedroom who has just uploaded their own version of the song etc!!
But oh well, I don’t think it stop people using tutors especially begginers as the guitar and singing are so hard to learn in the early stages
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Hi Danny – so true! To be honest, I can’t stand it when anyone learns from a tab most of the time, as I definitely trust my ear more anyway…
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I find YouTube is best taken with a pinch of salt. How can you package good solid technical coaching into a 5 minute video? I tend to find that whilst good for getting a general idea of something, students still need a teacher to guide them through the nuances. I encourage students to do their own learning and encourage debate if they find something that seemingly contradicts what I’m saying. Usually I find that they’re trying to convey the same concept with language I don’t consider accurate, but sometimes this will be a more helpful way of understanding it for that pupil. However sometimes, I find absolute garbage out there. For example, most videos on abdominal support are woeful and essentially tell people to squeeze their six pack and somehow the sound will be amazing. Even then, I can still turn that into a teaching opportunity to get a far better understanding on the subject.
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I find most beginners find you tube a struggle as the teachers on there assumes the student already knows certain things. Intermediate students tend to use it a lot more. I do encourage people to use it and get back to me with any queries. Anything that provokes a response from the student though is good and keeps the lessons interesting.
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As previously mentioned, i dont think there is a substitute for 1-2-1 tuition, where you can ask questions and be shown in an interactive sense!
The misinformation aspect of YT is plain to see(amongst some really good stuff too), but in a way it can also elevate your abilities as a matter of comparison!
If you can show a superior, expedient technique/approach(or debunk the misinformation acquired on YT) then it will only enforce that people are getting their monies worth by booking you. No doubt, its annoying sometimes having to unravel mis-info that happens to be objectively inaccurate!, and often can hold up the mid/long term progress of the student. Personally, i try to work with the any info if possible(mis-info aside), or see it as another approach rather than flatly dismiss it. Again, sometimes this isn’t always possible!
On the other side of the coin, I’m sure we can all think of the successful, inspiring artists who have eschewed regular ‘technique’ and made something interesting around their style. For the rest of us mere mortals, who struggle, its good to have the option of another approach; some might say tried-and-tested, traditional, universally recognised…
Peace x
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Youtube has been a revelation to some extent for teachers and students alike. I think it has become a valuable resource for teachers and if used well it is an excellent tool.
On the flip side I think that students can learn bad techniques when looking at some videos. Some videos are not filtered enough from a teaching perspective and quite often students may choose the easiest or most attractive video to watch.
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