Youtube Is The Greatest Resource

I am convinced that youtube.com is one of the greatest resources in history. I find it mind blowing that at anytime of day, 365 days a year you can type http://www.youtube.com into your browser and search the a vast world of video for anything you want. Yes it entertaining to watch funny little viral videos like Charlie Bit My Finger and laugh at little girls dancing and singing like Niki Minaj but there is much more to it then that.

Youtube is an endless resource of information for any subject you might be interested in. Lets say at 3:00 am you decide to you want to decorate cupcakes. Easy just search youtube.  Have the sudden urge to learn to play the harmonica or maybe learn the latest Alicia Key’s song on piano? Easy just search youtube.  Youtube is such a vastly growing library of information that I don’t think there is any resource in the world that compares to it. The trick is you must see youtube as an education tool and not just something that people use to put up silly videos.

What makes me think of all this is my adventures in trumpet practicing late last night. I was working through a few pages in a a famous trumpet method book called The Arban Complete Method. I got stuck and was needing a little inspiration. I went to youtube and typed a few things into the search field. In seconds I found numerous trumpet players from beginner to expert levels playing the piece of music. Very cool. 15 years ago when I was studying the trumpet in school that question would have had waited till the next lesson I had with my teacher. There were no easily accessed recordings of etudes in the Arban book. If you went to a really good music school there might be something as a reference in the schools music library. Even in that rare circumstance you would be forced to search through catalogs of records, CDs and cassette tapes and then  be tethered to a desk with headphones at a listening station.  Your instrument was no where you near you.  I can search youtube from the computer in my studio, with both the music and my instrument in front of me.  The tools to make practicing product and efficient have never been better.

As my practicing continued I browsed through related videos on youtube and found a cool series of play along videos from NY trumpeter Charlie Porter. I sat and played with Duets with another trumpet player for 30 minutes and had a blast. Again ten years ago this would have had to wait for a trumpet lesson or an after school session with friends.

Youtube is all about letting you connect with other people so you can learn from them. It’s okay to let it make you laugh but use it for something educational or motivational first.  You can never stop learning.

Thats all I have to say.

Peter Weis

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