The internet has enabled us to create communities across the world which we can interact with and learn from without a physical presence (Waldron, 2012). The video sharing service, YouTube, was created in 2005 and since then it has become one of the most popular websites that people access which offers a participatory culture that stretches worldwide (Waldron, 2012). YouTube and other digital technologies have been a big part of our lives, including how we engage with and learn music (Hanson, 2018). YouTube is now the main way that people access music (Hanson, 2018) so it is only logical that is used within the classroom environment.
Many schools and governing bodies block YouTube access which is the case for the Queensland Department of Education, which is usually a way of protecting students from its content (Kruse & Veblen, 2012). This is unfortunate as YouTube offers many benefits for students, especially in the secondary music classroom.
Using YouTube in the classroom
There are many ways that students and teachers can use YouTube to improve their learning in a music classroom. It is an effective way to bring experts and other professionals into the classroom (Kruse & Veblen, 2012) through videos of interviews and documentaries to offer a different explanation, or it can be used to teach different concepts and musical ideas. It offers teachers a way to present richer lessons that are more engaging for their students (Kruse & Veblen, 2012) by including clips that don’t just describe but actually show what is going on.
YouTube has many excellent videos that help students understand music better (Kruse & Veblen, 2012). There are clips that show the way music graphically evolves which helps students understand the melodic and harmonic shape, and the texture of the music.
Students can learn to follow traditional music notation and scores on YouTube, with many examples of music (both Western Art Music and popular music). These clips have the notation scrolling along while the audio is playing in the background.
YouTube for tuition
YouTube videos are not just a supplementary tool in the music classroom, they should also be used to help teach students different concepts and how to play different instruments (Handon, 2018) as online learning can be just as effective as a face-to-face tutor (Loeckx, 2015). Musicians are more than happy to help others understand and learn music (Waldron, 2012) so you will find many videos on YouTube that show how to play different musical instruments which takes down the barriers some students face such as geographical or socio-economic restrictions (Kruse & Veblen, 2012). These clips vary in how they are presented from a tutor delivering a face-to-face lesson online to a visual lesson on keyboard with graphic notation (similar to that seen on a video game), to linking the notation with the piano playing (see examples below).
Conclusions
As music teachers we underutilise the technology available to be able to facilitate music learning (Waldron, 2012) and we should be promoting the use of this technology and its ability to enhance student learning (Kruse & Veblen, 2012). Students are able to access these YouTube videos at anytime, anywhere, and are able to repeat them to help learn a concept which supports learning outside of the classroom (Hanson, 2018). Participatory culture like YouTube and other social media should be encouraged as it offers a sense of community and a place for showcasing their work and learning from others (Loeckx, 2015).
There are many positives to this popular culture, however, there are also some issues to consider when choosing YouTube clips as part of lessons and instrument instruction. There is an inconsistency of quality and validity within the videos (Hanson, 2018) as YouTube doesn’t check that all the information uploaded is true and correct. It is also important to check for appropriateness of content before using in a teaching context.
YouTube is an excellent source of information for music teachers and students alike. Using videos within the classroom helps students engage more and gives them an opportunity for deeper and more accessible learning. YouTube is very useful and there should be ways for students can access this resource within the classroom setting.
References
Hanson, J. (2018). Assessing the Educational Value of YouTube Videos for Beginning Instrumental Music. Contributions to Music Education, 43, 137–157. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/2101885362/
Kruse, N. B., & Veblen, K. K. (2012). Music teaching and learning online: Considering YouTube instructional videos. Journal of Music, Technology & Education, 5(1), 77-87. doi: 10.1386/jmte.5.1.77_1
Loeckx, J. (2015). Learning Music Online. In L. Steels (Ed.), Music learning with massive open online courses (MOOCs) (pp. 21-38). doi: 10.3233/978-1-61499-593-7-21
Waldron, J. (2012). YouTube, fanvids, forums, vlogs and blogs: Informal music learning in a convergent on-and offline music community. International Journal of Music Education, 31(1), 91-105. doi: 10.1177/0255761411434861
Popular Culture 
I can really relate to this post Bek! As a Primary Music Teacher YouTube has such amazing content that we can utilise to enhance our curriculum. Fortunately for me, I am now able to actually open YouTube on my classroom “teacher” smart tv. I use it in many ways but mainly for lyric videos, (rather than photocopying sheets with words), for play along backing tracks (so kids can play ukulele chords to popular songs such as “Old Time Road”. I even use it with really young students for recorder, boomwhacker and glockenspiel play along tracks for delightful tunes such as “Baby Shark” or the more enjoyable “Ode To Joy”. 😉
Lyric videos as opposed to original clips allow me to have some control over what the kids view, as even if the words are appropriate, quite often with popular clips, the portrayal of women or references to drugs/alcohol aren’t appropriate. This allows me to be a gatekeeper but also with older students, presents opportunities for discussion around the images used in popular music clips and analyse why it’s even necessary.
The tricky thing is that the iPads/Computers used by the students do not have access to YouTube, so if we use it, it has to be done from one screen, which is mine. I try to incorporate technology into the music curriculum but nearly ALL the websites I want to use are blocked by the department. If I want to use them, I have to get permission from the IT person to unblock them. If you look at websites such as http://www.incredibox.com or http://www.isleoftune.com, these are simple composing/arranging kinds of websites but I too, have to pass through two lots of gatekeepers before I can even teach. The same applies when I need apps such as “GarageBand”. I have to get permission before it can be dragged from the cloud. I persist, but man it’s frustrating.
What I’ve noticed with the kids, is the more we try to stop them accessing material, the more they’re determined to find ways around these blocks. We even stopped using google chrome at our site because kids worked out how to go back and check teacher passwords. They get some points for persistence!
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Oh no not Baby Shark! haha! my 3 year old loves that song but it gets stuck in my head! Sounds like you have such an engaging classroom! These activities would work great on the large screen but it is annoying that the kids are blocked from accessing the sites on their own devices.
Thanks for those sites for composing – they look like fun ways to teach different concepts to kids. I’m glad you do persist so that they can engage with these fun activities in your classes Hope they appreciate the effort you put in!
Kids will always try and push the boundaries! Things don’t change much – I remember trying to get around things when I was in high school in the late 90s!
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This is an excellent blog post Bek! Thank you for providing such a detailed explanation of how YouTube can enhance teaching and learning in music lessons. I absolutely agree that it is completely logical for YouTube to be used in a music classroom – disappointing that Education Queensland have banned its access at their schools.
YouTube offers opportunities for deeper learning for students from experts and professionals in a variety of fields – and quite often these experts are not accessible in any other way for students. YouTube is also a great way for students to connect with other students and informal mentors with similar interests – promoting a participatory culture where expertise is shared and people can learn from one another.
Your post also discussed an incredibly important issue of equitable access and having YouTube in the classroom as a teaching and learning tool would even the playing field for every student and offer opportunities for informal tuition for those students whose families cannot afford it.
Your blog post confirms, without a doubt, that Technology enhances learning and YouTube should be a part of every music classroom.
Thanks Bek!
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