Why Amateur Musicians Should Post Videos on YouTube

Amateur musicians are often looking for places to perform. YouTube offers you an audience as a musician and so much more. By posting videos online you can receive constructive criticism and inspiration. YouTube is also a great resource where you can learn new skills and styles, as well as post your own videos as a resource for others. By posting videos and connecting with others online, you can be part of the musical community even if you are unable to join an orchestra or other such group. I post videos on YouTube myself and would highly recommend the experience to other amateur musicians.

A Resource

It's often hard to believe that YouTube is a great resource. Especially after you've watched videos of people crying about Brittany Spears, singing off key, and showing off their baby eating a spoonful of cereal. However, YouTube really is an excellent resource. Amateur musicians can add to this amazing resource, which is part of why I post videos. I have seen so many amazing instruments I would have probably never run across if it weren't for YouTube. For example, the other day I was just randomly searching through music videos on YouTube and I found this amazing folk instrument called the "bowed psaltery." This instrument thoroughly fascinated me and I've now probably watched every bowed psaltery video on YouTube. The people that put these videos up have enlightened me on what a bowed psaltery is and how it sounds. If you play one of the less common instruments, by putting up your video you truly are adding a resource to the YouTube community. I've received several comments on my melodica videos where the person commenting says that they never even heard of a melodica prior to seeing my video. Of course, even if you play a fairly common instrument you can still be adding something to the YouTube community. Perhaps no one else has played that particular song on YouTube. Maybe you are also gifted in teaching and you will post a great instructional video. You might just inspire someone to learn to play an instrument.

Inspiration

Speaking of inspiration, I must say that YouTube has definitely inspired me musically quite frequently. YouTube can probably be credited as being the final straw that caused me to purchase an autoharp. After seeing several amazing autoharp videos, I decided that I absolutely must have one. YouTube also inspired me to enlarge my harmonica collection when I heard some beautiful songs come out of harmonicas that I had previously never considered. Aside from inspiring me to buy more instruments, YouTube has also inspired me to practice more. With music, practice is very important. If you're part of an ensemble, it isn't too hard to get inspired to practice. You want to perform well with the group. However, if you aren't with any groups and you are just learning an instrument on your own, sometimes it takes a bit more inspiration to make you practice. Watching others play the autoharp with so much skill makes me stick to my lesson book and keep on learning.

Feedback

The other great thing about YouTube, is that you get feedback as a musician. I have received so much advice that has really helped me improve my chromatic harmonica playing. On YouTube other members can send you messages directly or they can comment on your videos and give you advice. Not all comments are nice and not all comments are helpful, but several members really care about giving you constructive criticism. Videos are also given star ratings and this might help you to see how you compare to others. If you are just sitting at home practicing alone, you can develop bad habits that no one will ever tell you about because they don't know. If you're posting videos on YouTube, someone might catch your bad habit and try to help you correct the habit before it becomes permanently ingrained in your style.

Community

When you're part of an orchestra or some other type of group, you have a sense that you are part of the music community. When you're on your own playing music as a hobby, you don't get that sense. YouTube can help bring that to you to some extent. If you really like someone else's videos, you can subscribe to their videos to make sure you never miss a single one. You can become friends with other musicians on YouTube. If you want to join a group to talk about a specific musical issue, you can. There are endless opportunities to connect with other people through YouTube.

Fame and Fortune

YouTube is a free service. You don't have to pay to put your videos up and you aren't likely to have people start sending you money for your videos either. Sure, a few people might get noticed because of YouTube, but it's not likely. If you're only playing for fame and fortune, hopefully you are doing something else to move your music career along. However, maybe you're like me and you don't want to be famous, you just want to have fun. Some people don't even want to show their face online. That's fine too. I've seen very well made YouTube videos where the music is playing in the background with the actual video portion being a simple slideshow. I don't mind showing myself in my videos, but I doubt I'll become famous because I got spotted on YouTube. That isn't even my goal. I do not want to become famous and have paparazzi constantly following me. Sure, if someone asked me to do a CD with them or join a group for a few performances, that would be incredible and I'd most likely do it. Still, I'm not even on YouTube in hopes of gaining even the slightest bit of fame. YouTube is fun for me just like playing musical instruments is fun. I don't expect to become famous. If you go to YouTube expecting fame and fortune, you are probably going to leave disappointed.

Musicians are a diverse group of people. While not all musicians will enjoy and benefit from YouTube, several will find that YouTube is the perfect place for them. YouTube offers a platform to perform, a community to connect with, a resource, some inspiration, and feedback. For that select few, perhaps YouTube will bring them fame and fortune. Whatever you're looking for as a musician, you may find it on YouTube.