Have I actually learned something new about music online?

The Internet always had great potential as a learning tool. After all, this was one of the reasons for its inception. The ways of learning through the Internet have changed quite a bit over time. Although you can still find a lot of traditional literature online, the limelight is taken by various educational videos and interactive guides. There are also complete courses for obtaining official certificates. In any case, there are mounds of information and choices to be made. I'm always rather skeptical regarding the Internet and don’t believe it's the universal answer to everything.

The Internet is a bottomless pit in every sense imaginable. Even the most disciplined ones can easily go astray by exploring its vastness. There is also the constant commercial pressure. Everyone is fighting for that fateful extra click. Although I respect and appreciate anyone sharing their knowledge and experience online, there is no doubt that there is always an "ulterior motive" behind all this. I'm particularly annoyed by the omnipresent sensationalism. I cringe when I see titles like: "You GOT to know this", "Ten things you are doing WRONG", and "This will CHANGE your life", accompanied by wild-eyed faces with wide open mouths. I have to say that I seldom experienced some "Eureka" moment while watching a YouTube video - by actually discovering something I haven't already known before, from many years of spontaneously learning and discovering music on my own. Or something that had thoroughly changed and simplified my workflow or opened some new creative horizons. After all, you cannot learn an old dog new tricks.

I started learning music sometime in 1987. I got my first Internet access some ten years later. My method of learning the instruments, composing, and producing music was based on spontaneously discovering new things through hits and misses. I have never relied much on literature and music notation, but primarily on my hearing and feeling. Despite the fact I'm not used to reading music (although I know what the notes mean), I have always managed to learn what I needed to learn. That includes my work as a pro musician.

Something that various educational materials you can find online overlook is that we have very different conditions or possibilities. The Internet has seemingly erased the borders between people, but in truth, these are still huge. No technology can change that. I'm also often irked by those trying to banalize things. For example, someone is showing "the secret" of how to play something that is technically demanding so that an average person can easily repeat this through imitation. Therefore, the Internet is overfilled by the efforts of countless enthusiasts, making it even more difficult for true talent to break through.

One of the rare educational YouTube channels I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to anyone interested is REAPER Mania. Its author is renowned music producer Kenny Gioia, who explains working in a popular DAW software (REAPER). I’ve been using this myself for the past eight years. Gioia presents every subject subtly and unobtrusively, always with practical application in mind. Rather unlike the typical YouTube tutorials.

All things said I cannot say that I reject the possibilities of the Internet for learning purposes. No one is too old to learn something new. But you also need to be objective and critical-thinking. What I most often hope to find in a tutorial is inspiration and a few good ideas. I have no regrets for discovering music in a rather different way than it is customary these days. I don't claim that my way is the right one or the best one, but at least it's mine. After all, the essence of every art, including music, is to stay true to yourself as much as possible.