I have been looking at some of the piano tutorials on youTube recently and have found that some of them are really well thought out and have been very helpful. Some of the pianists demonstrating have nice camera angles, notation or fingering layered on the video and it makes it so easy to play many of the songs I have loved all my life.

Does anyone see anything wrong with youTube tutorials?

I can't seem to learn from YouTube. It's what I initially tried to do. I found myself struggling to position my hands the way the player does and relied too much on muscle memory.

I find practicing by sheet music to be much faster and refreshing. Besides, I'm one of those people that would like to become a master sight-reader someday.

Getting great exercise running back and forth from the computer room to the piano to try out stuff. I can do two rooms in 2.2 seconds!

Just one thing. I really need to get a computer program that types out the sheet music of what I've learned, then I could have a copy cause right now just have to have a great memory.

Hello, my name is Diane, and I'm a Youtube-a-holic!

Hey Gilbert,

Being basically an ear playing beginner, I've gleaned quite a bit by observing some of the tutorials at youtube.....but probably much more by listening carefully.

The PW fellow from Britain (KTom I believe) who posted the "Yesterday" rendition on youtube a few weeks ago, is a good example and it wasn't a tutorial. It helped me out a lot, and I still watch/listen to it for something I may have missed before.

I like youtube tutorials for songs that either don't have official sheet music, or which official sheet music plain sucks. I've found plenty of user transcriptions that sound just like the real thing (a lot of them transcribe by looking at videos of the actual artist).

It's easier if you have the monitor positioned right on top of your piano in front of you.

You can accomplish that, if you have a digital piano. Simply record the MIDI stream coming out of it into your computer. You will then be able to convert the MIDI sequence into notes using "MIDI to sheet notation" software (just Google it)

Diane, I have started to use software to work between the youTube screens and writing the notation. In my case, its easier than running up and down stairs. You can download Finale Notepad here, its free and quite easy to use!

http://www.finalemusic.com/notepad/

Over the last year I have posted over 50 instructional videos on Youtube. The intention was to make them more suitable for intermediate to advanced piano students - and in the jazz idiom! They are perhaps not what you are looking for, but I have learnt quite a bit about doing this sort of thing effectively, and from my early very primitive videos, I have improved them a lot.
Just recently, I have started overlaying video from midi files that have been captured in video from the Band in a Box program. I don't use the program to generate backings - rather it will just import a midi file. The program has quite clear music notation - including a (semi) intelligent auto hand split routine. It also has a very clear big piano view with notes named, for those who have difficulty reading music. My midi files at

http://home.wanadoo.nl/dougmckenzie/
also have text annotations that Band in a Box will read and display.

All the videos I have done are at Youtube

http://youtube.com/profile?user=jazz2511

or better quality ones are at

http://web.newsguy.com/dougmck

Doug

Hi again Rerun - glad you have made use of my youtube and if there are any bits I can help with - do let me know and I will do my best!
I don't look at many tutorials on youtube, but I use it a lot for help with more difficult numbers either for familiarity (the band I am currently in is doing "Birdland" so I have listened and watched Weather Report's live version umpteen times this week - fabulous!) or for ideas - so i think it is a great resource - and thanks to all the people who post on it, including Doug!!

Hey Ktom,

Thanks for the offer and thanks again for posting "Yesterday". Good grief you play that thing well!!

I've had it bookmarked since you posted it and I may get back to you with a question or 2 when I know enough to ask an intelligent question : ).

Not familiar with "Birdland" so I guess I'll go to youtube for details : ). It's become my crutch!

Later buddy......


Also Miss Gilbert,

Thank you for the tip about "Finale". I may delve into reading music sooner rather than later!! : )

Hey Ktom,

I just discovered your other work at youtube; From "Bogwall" & "TX" boogies, to "Reefer", etc.

Very nice work, all!!

Hey Doug,

Geeze, you have a body of work over at youtube too!!

I'm listening to "Things ain't what they used to be, rev." while I'm writing this. Very nice!

It's a certainty I won't live long enough to be able to play jazz, but I will study the first part of this rendition before the combo steps in. I might can do some of it, given a few years.

Thank you for the link.....

Gilbert, I think the finale, PrintMusic is a great idea. Sounds exactly like what I'm looking for. (Oh, and, are you a guy or a girl?)

Tuan Vo - I love sheet music too.

Eternal - Thanks for the suggestion to get a computer on the piano. Great idea!

Ktom - I'm considering swimming across the ocean for lessons!

Rerun - Love reading your posts!

Doug McKenzie - Love your stuff!

Hey Diane .. I did have a girlfriend from Vancouver years ago since when I have always wanted to get to canada.. so who knows? In the meantime, if i can help in any way without you getting your feet wet. let me know:-)
I am trying to think what to put on youtube next.. to replace making whoopee which I have never been happy with.. any thoughts?
tom

Hey Diane,

Thanks and I enjoy your posts very much too and also enjoy New Orleans music as well. I'm working right now on some "Long, Tall" Marcia Ball and Randy Newman stuff.


Hey Gilbert,

I've known one other girl by the name of Gilbert, hopefully I now know 2......otherwise, ooops, and sorry.

There are some Youtube tutorials that, even though the notes are right, the fingering is all wrong or illogical, or the technique is poor. But that's just the elitist in me. I take what I need away from the videos and apply what I know to what I've learned.

(Finally, I can play that Mario Bros. song without having to do the work! If you see the tutorial, though, don't do the fingering he uses for the thirds in the right hand, it's atrocious.)

To Doug,

your videos are incredible but too difficult for me.

Serge

Many of my viewers have asked me to make tutorials for my videos, so I will be covering several popular songs over the next few months. If you can learn by ear, feel free to try some of the videos I already made (they're not exactly tutorials). Otherwise, stay tuned for official YouTube video tutorials! :-)

http://www.youtube.com/fsaliki

Absolutely not! It's what finally pushed me into getting broadband at last! I was over in Germany, staying with relatives who have BB and I discovered various piano tutorials on YouTube. Came back to the UK, went back to dial-up for a week, then placed my order for BB.

It would be nice if someone had produced an index to all the (serious) YouTube videos that involve piano playing. Often it is just someone playing so that you can watch their hands that helps.

I'd get a secondhand PC just for the piano (in the UK they are as cheap as peanuts, often just given away), then hook it up to your "main" PC via Ethernet. Even a four-year-old PC (which isn't worth much compared to today's speed machines) should be powerful enough to display YouTube videos, which NB you can download as a file, keep, then play again and again. See www.keepvid.com, for example.

Doug,
Your site has been on my favorites list for quite awhile. It's so nice to see you here at the forum. It's the participation of pro's like you that make PianoWorld such a valuable resource. Walt

Blimey Doug!

Can't see myself ever getting close to playing the stuff
on your videos! Interesting to watch though!

I get inspiration from both visual and ear or both. This suits my learning better than anything. I find my best way is to play along with someone,as long as their piano is up to pitch which they usually are but recordings can be out of pitch due to speed faults. Not usually a problem on good quality digital though

The best playing visual DVD I've seen is the Bill Dobbins one called "The Evolution of Solo Jazz Piano" this is really good and shows what a great talent this man has, you really should have this.

Another DVD on theory and art of jazz piano is Bill Evans "The Creative Mind of Bill Evans".

The Bill Dobbins one is best for Ear players and covers a wide range of styles. And has super camera angles without stupid stuff as many camera artists like to frustrate pianists with.

swingal Alan

The best and most effective tutorials I have found yet are by www.mwmtv.co.uk and although you have to purchase the lessons they are superior to many others on the internet in terms of presentation and technique.

I've been learning on youtube. I've learned alot of songs from there and it really helps if you figure out the chords they use.

I'm planning to learn note reading sometime soon.

There is one song i'm particularly interested in. I just hope someone in this forum is willing to help me find the chords for it.

What is the song?

I'm currently using a YouTube tutorial to learn the Final Fantasy X-2 tune called "Return To Zanarkland" and I find that I am being much more productive in that fashion, since my sheet reading skills are practically non-existant. I used what I like to call "relative reading" which is that I take a note I know (for instance, a G) and then count the number of notes off of that one. That gives me the actual note.

So seeing proper finger positioning and the notes needed to be stricken is a lot faster for me. Unfortunately, not many of these tutorials exist, so it's not as if I'd be able to choose from a wide selection, but I do appreciate the effort taken in creating those.