5 Ways The Internet Makes Learning Music Easier

Back in the day, to learn a musical instrument you would need to go to a teacher who’d have you running through tedious scales, learning songs you didn’t care for, and would probably smack you on the back of the hands with a conductor’s baton if you made a mistake.

This made the whole process of learning an unfun and anxiety-filled endeavor for many aspiring musicians.

Nowadays we’ve moved far beyond that, with the internet offering ample resources and support that you can easily see yourself through the early stages of musical development in a way that’s fun, entertaining, engaging, and most importantly pain-free.

So today we’re sharing our top 5 ways in which the internet has made the process of learning music easier.

Learning software: apps and games

Something that benefits both kids and adults alike is the idea of ‘gamifying’ the process of learning music. We used to have things like Rock Band or Guitar Hero to help a little, but nowadays we have apps available on our smartphones and tablets that really make those first steps in learning an instrument fun and stress-free, particularly when it comes to tedious topics such as learning music theory.

These can often have nice visual designs that show which notes you need to play, and some quite advanced note recognition algorithms to listen to what you are doing and can tell you if what you are playing is correct. All without the judgment and pressure that having a physical teacher standing over you might present.

This makes it especially appealing for anyone who is shy or feeling insecure about their playing, you’re only playing to a computer so there’s no need to feel embarrassed if you make a mistake!

High quality learning content

As YouTube became a staple of how we consume media in the modern day, many teachers and enthusiasts took to the platform to share their thoughts, insight, and wisdom about all manner of musical topics.

We’re very fortunate now to have an incredible wealth of high-quality lessons from world class musicians and teachers from all over the world available to us at any time, for free!

No matter what topic it is within the music sphere you’re looking to learn about, whether technique, theory, songwriting, production. There are lessons online that will cover it.

In addition, many professional music tuition schools have taken their content online to open them up to a wider audience. So for the more serious learner, you can easily enroll in legitimate academic courses online. Opening up opportunities to people who previously lived in remote locations or didn’t have the financial flexibility to enroll in traditional formalized education.

Social Support

One of the things that makes self-study difficult is the absence of good feedback, critique, and validation on how you’re progressing. This was traditionally a huge argument for attending a music school as it would allow you to interact with peers as well as gather feedback from the teachers.

But as the internet has become so popularized it’s now possibly the best place to get social with other musicians. Social media platforms such as Facebook offer a tremendous amount of opportunity to interact and share music/content with other people.

If you’re brave enough, YouTube can also open you up to some very unfiltered and honest feedback from your listeners. It’s also much easier to reference your own playing and writing against thousands of other musicians to gauge how you’re doing.

Another great thing the internet offers is music forums. Where ideas, tricks, and tips from some incredibly experienced players get shared. Music forums also allow you to ask your own questions where most of the time other people will often be all too happy to help answer your queries.

Tailored tuition

One of the downsides to ‘in person’ lessons is that you don’t get a massive amount of control over who you learn from and what they want to teach you. It can be awkward to tell a teacher you don’t like how they teach, or their topics are not that interesting, and a music school certainly isn’t going to deviate from their syllabus to cater to what you want to learn.

This is one aspect where the internet really comes out ahead, you can quickly find content that is tailored exactly to your needs. You can find a teacher whose personality you like and present musical ideas in a way that gels with you.

Then when you’re tired of it, just press the X in the corner of your browser and you’re done!

Remote Lessons

Because internet speeds and video quality are now at a level where you can both hear and see what a student is doing clearly. Online lessons via apps like Zoom or Skype have become truly viable ways to learn an instrument.

This affords you as a learner a few benefits, primarily that you can pick your perfect teacher from anywhere in the world. As long as you can both be awake at the same time, your physical location no longer matters!

It also cuts down on commute time to the lesson location and removes the need for you to lug your gear with you to the lesson.

Final thoughts

The internet has removed many of the barriers that might prevent people from realizing their dream of learning music.

With so many different methods that can be utilized at your complete convenience (and at an affordable price), there’s really no reason to hesitate if you’re thinking about learning an instrument.

We hope the information we’ve shared today can provide that little nudge you need to begin your musical journey!