I recently purchased a Fender Squire Strat for my studio. This was partly to add a bit more flair and scope to my productions but, at the back of my mind, I’ve always harboured an ambition I’ve had since a kid to learn the thing for real.

Being an essentially lazy person, the Yamaha electric I received for Christmas when I was around 12-years-old very quickly found its place in the corner of my bedroom where it quietly gathered dust for about ten years before I eventually sold it to a builder. Poor thing. Not much of a life.

However, things are different now. Aside from being older and realising that, with the gradual ebbing away of time, I had better get on and do things sooner rather than later, YouTube, the internet and my iPhone are already making the learning process far more appealing.

Last night, having not had my guitar more than a couple of hours, I was delicately picking away at some BB King blues riffs, thanks to YouTube. At the same time, I downloaded a chord finder App for my iPhone and used it to suss out some of the chords referred to in the video.

This simply wasn’t possible when I was a lad. You had two choices: buy some books and teach yourself (unappealing, too much effort) or book lessons (cost-implications, far too school-like, too much effort). I now have pretty much everything I need to grasp a basic, playable understanding of both the guitar and piano.

I’m sure (and hope) this doesn’t spell the end for music teachers, as nothing can replace one-to-one tuition, but for someone who simply wants to feel more comfortable picking up a guitar or sitting at a piano, you can’t beat it.

YouTube piano lessons: pause, rewind and abandon your teacher!

With my first ever piano lesson rapidly approaching, I’m spending as much time learning pieces as best I can, so that I have a semblance of piano know-how to demonstrate to my teacher come July 27th.

For any other aspiring pianists out there, I can’t recommend YouTube enough if you want an intuitive, no-hassle introduction to learning technique and specific songs.

It can, however, be a frustrating search; lots of lessons mean well enough but usually make one of three critical errors:

1. The camera is placed at such an obscure angle that it is impossible to work out what keys are being pressed.  Sometimes, the camera has adopted that much of a 1970s Batman villain angle, the only reason you know it’s a piano lesson is because you can hear the familiar sound of tinkling ivories.  This is particularly prevalent with female ‘tutors’ who seem far more concerned that the camera picks out their best side.
2. Sound quality comparable to a 1930s grammar phone.  Occasionally, it’s so tinny and devoid of any harmonics that every note sounds the same.  This does not a good music lesson make.
3. They don’t talk.  I’ve found 9 minute videos where they just sit there and play the piece out slowly without muttering a word.  This is about as intuitive as a teacher after nineteen double whiskeys.

In fact, many of them commit all three crimes above simultaenously making the learning process, well, fucking impossible.

Not to worry, though.  I can recommend two fantastic examples of how well it can be done.

Lypur – I believe this young chap is a professional teacher but he is clearly an incredibly acomplished musician.  He covers theory and technique very well and his teaching style is relaxed and inspiring.

Pianojohn113 – My absolute favourite for learning real, living, breathing songs.  If you’re keen on taking up the piano, you can’t ignore The Beatles, Billy Joel and Elton John.  This guy has all three covered and teaches them with no-frills aplomb.

Give YouTube a go.  While it can’t be as intimate as a real one-to-one lesson, the ability to rewind your teacher, pause them and return a day later when you get frustrated is fantastic.