Q: I’ve searched YouTube tutorials to learn piano songs, but I can’t find the ones that I want. Most of the time, they are too hard or don’t exist at all. When I do find a rare one that is good, I feel awkward playing with the tablet computer on the piano, following along. It feels like I’m not learning anything, just copying. What are some benefits of learning from YouTube tutorials?
A: One benefit of video piano tutorials is that you learn to play one song quickly. Your immediate satisfaction is almost guaranteed.
If it feels like you’re not learning anything and only coyping, then it is because you are doing just that: mimicking without understanding chord progressions and patterns in music. You may want to sing along to the song but realize that it’s too high or too low for your vocal range. How do you transfer the music to suit you?
Just like learning a song in a foreign language, you will only know that one song. When you spend your time studying the structure of the language (or of music), you will find it easier to have a conversation (or play many songs).
Learning technique, the rules of chord building and chord progressions, and the patterns in popular music will help you learn songs quickly. This will require some time and effort on your part. You will have to sit down sometimes, without the intent of playing a song, to learn proper fingering, scales, chords, inversions, and all that fancy stuff that isn’t fancy at all but very necessary for enjoying music.
