“What’s So Awesome with YouTube”: Learning Music with Social Media Celebrities

The widespread popularity of video-centered social media like YouTube, Vimeo, and DailyMotion is fostering new ways of teaching and learning music online. These media allow producers of educational content to reach, interact with, and respond to a global audience of interested viewers. Through a multimodal analysis approach, this study examined guitar-related lessons, tutorials, and reviews created and shared by artists and enthusiasts who reached a “celebrity” status on YouTube. Findings show that these teachers-celebrities construct their online presence and communicate with their audience through authenticity, approachability, and humor, in short-format and high-quality videos. The seamless integration of instructional content, branding, and references to the authors’ personal lives and worldviews generates a unique teaching and learning environment that challenges traditional understandings of music education.


INTRODUCTION
The popularization of broadband Internet connectivity in the early 2000s enabled the onset of video sharing websites like DailyMotion, Vimeo, and YouTube. The most popular of these three services, YouTube, was launched in 2005, and has since then transitioned from an amateur website to a global portal that features millions of professional and usergenerated videos that can be accessed through computers, digital TV sets, and mobile devices (Ha, 2018). Besides its undeniable focus on entertainment, YouTube has also become a prominent resource for users who seek opportunities to learn and teach a variety of topics, including music. Music educators can record and upload video lessons online, making them instantly available to millions of potential viewers (Fralinger & Owens, 2009). On the other hand, students can turn to YouTube as a space for self-directed learning, on their own time, at their own pace, and according to their own learning styles and cultures (Lai, 2013;Trier, 2007aTrier, , 2007b. In this regard, learners can benefit from YouTube by accessing content that would otherwise be unavailable to them because of geographic, logistic, or economic reasons, such as the availability of music education in a given area, the commute to/from a music education site, or the cost of music lessons or academic tuition (Crawford, 2016;Waldron, 2013). Teachers can find content that is not available through other sources, cultural background information about artists and musical styles, or listening examples for their lessons (Dougan, 2014). Research also shows that using YouTube as an outlet to teach music can inspire students in regards to music performance (Monkhouse & Forbes, 2015), provide aural reinforcement, and offer reference points on how to correctly play an instrument (Kruse & Veblen, 2012).
Because YouTube removes spatial and temporal barriers to musical education, authors of educational content can engage learners all over the world through their unique teaching styles, techniques, and "brands" (Pinzaru & Mitan, 2012). Studies also show that YouTube users from around the globe are actively engaged in sharing music education videos (Whitaker, Orman, & Yarbrough, 2014). Furthermore, YouTube allows students to review instructional videos as many times as they need (Kruse & Veblen, 2012) as well as create and share their own videos (Cayari, 2014). This informal and technology-mediated approach to music learning and teaching is becoming increasingly popular, thus challenging, complementing, and overall pushing forward conventional approaches to music education (Brook & Upitis, 2015). From this perspective, online technologies are blurring the lines between traditional concepts such as professional musician, amateur musician, composer, performer, member of the audience, music learner, and music educator (Cayari, 2011).
This milieu is contributing to the social construction of music "teachers-celebrities" who have millions of views of their instructional videos and tens or hundreds of thousands of subscribers on their YouTube channels. Status and fame have always been linked to media. As Internet media evolve, so does the concept of celebrity (Marwick, 2015). Social media like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube have given traditional celebrities (e.g., Hollywood actors, rock stars, and professional athletes) the opportunity to create more direct relationships with their fans. On the other hand, these outlets have also provided opportunities to grassroots authors to become emergent social media celebrities or "micro-celebrities" (Ashraf, 2009;Biel & Gatica-Perez, 2013;Marwick, 2015) who may become famous thanks to a single video that "goes viral" (Khan & Vong, 2014), i.e., that is shared online and spreads through the Internet attracting large numbers of viewers in a relatively short amount of time.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
This paper is situated within the framework of informal learning and teaching through social media, with a focus on music learning and teaching (Wright, 2016). Informal music learning entails activities that take place outside of a formal educational institution (such as a school or college), in an informal style (i.e., not following traditional music lessons and/or theory), with the learner intentionally deciding what to learn or play, as well as how and when to do it (Folkestad, 2006). This perspective is important in the context of music research and pedagogy, because the great majority of music learning takes place outside of formal or institutionalized settings, often with the support of the Internet and other technologies (Folkestad, 2006).
Social media play an important role in today's youth life as a platform for learning, sharing, and social interaction. These informal spaces are an expression of participatory culture (Burgess & Green, 2018;Jenkins et al., 2009), as the creators of the videos become "micro-celebrities" through the "strong support for creating and sharing creations […] 3 / 15 whereby experienced participants pass along knowledge to novices" (Jenkins et al., 2009, p. xi). This concept is rooted in the learning theory of social constructivism, which holds that knowledge is actively and socially constructed, not merely transmitted and acquired (Bredo, 1997;Jonassen & Land, 2000;Vygotsky, 1978). In several instances, the teaching and learning found on social media like YouTube also embodies a situated form learning, as authors share their personal and professional experiences emerging from authentic contexts (Lave & Wenger, 1991).
In this framework, YouTube has become a platform for artists, teachers, and music enthusiasts who share content that is interesting, entertaining, and valuable to a niche or broad audience (Arewa, 2010;Kavoori, 2015;Soukup, 2014;Thibeault & Evoy, 2011). For example, non-professional musicians may start sharing videos in which they present instrument tips or techniques, and then transition to an expert status by expanding their following on their personal social media channels. These emergent paths to celebrity, expert status, and interaction with interested audiences have the potential to reshape music learning and teaching mediated by technology, which calls for an attentive analysis of how these phenomena take place and develop. This study contributes to the literature on informal music learning and teaching through social media, with a focus on affordances, modes, and techniques used by YouTube "teachers-celebrities." Through a multimodal analysis, it aims at expanding the understanding of informal technologymediated practices and how they may be included in formal settings to enrich traditional music curricula and offer alternative opportunities for teaching, outreach, and student engagement.

METHODOLOGY
The general question "How do people learn, teach, and share information about music on YouTube?" is here explored through the following research questions: 1. What are the affordances of YouTube for music learning and teaching?
2. Through what modes and techniques do music enthusiasts who achieved a "celebrity status" present music-related video lessons, tutorials, and reviews on YouTube?
In this study, the methodology selected to answer these research questions is multimodal analysis (Jewitt, 2014a). Kress and van Leeuwen (2001) define multimodal analysis as a methodological approach that can be used to make sense of different, yet intertwined forms of representation, interaction, and communication that include written and spoken language, images, sound, posture, and gestures. This methodology is appropriate to analyze YouTube videos, due to the different modes contained within this format (Arend, Sunnen, Fixmer, & Sujbert, 2014;Snoek & Worring, 2005). Moreover, multimodal analysis takes an "egalitarian" approach to investigating different modes of expression and their interplay, since it assumes that they all have an equal potential to contribute to meaning-making (Jewitt, 2014b;Kress, 2011;Norris, 2004).
Data collected in this study are videos posted on YouTube by four popular guitar experts, namely Ryan Bruce, Rob Chapman, Pete Cottrell, and Ola Englund. These content creators have been selected because of their popularity (they each have more than a hundred thousand subscribers to their YouTube channels) and their common interest in the same music genre (rock/heavy metal).
This study is delimited to 40 videos (10 for each guitar expert). Specifically, the videos selected for this study include the five most recent videos at the time of data collection and five videos randomly selected among those posted by the experts on their channels. Videos were analyzed by the two authors in individual and collaborative data sessions. This entailed multiple viewings, second-by-second analyses, transcripts, and time stamped researcher memos. Both authors consulted frequently to compare notes and insights for the development of codes and themes related to the research questions. An important component of this stage has been moving from the macro to the micro levels of analysis, in order to consider meaning-making processes on different scales. Specifically, the authors of this study considered YouTube's affordances, and the modes and techniques used by the creators of the videos, through analytical categories discussed in the section below.

Affordances, Modes, and Techniques
YouTube is a medium that offers a multitude of tools and affordances to its users. In the context of this study, affordances refer to what music educators can do (actions and goals) with the technical instruments and features found on the platform. The concept of "affordance," originally introduced by Gibson (1979), represents "a relationship between the properties of an object and the capabilities of the agent that determine just how the object could possibly be used" (Norman, 2013, p. 11). In other words, an affordance is what an item allows a person to do with it, if such action can be discovered and performed by the person. For example, a handle affords opening a door and informs a person of such capability through its shape, location, and other features, concurrently with a person's ability and familiarity with opening doors by operating handles.
Furthermore, this study considered the following modes and analytical categories put forth by The New London Group (1996): linguistic (spoken and written language), audio (music and sound effects), visual (colors, perspectives, foregrounding, and backgrounding), gestural (behavior, bodily physicality, and facial expressions), and spatial (context), with the addition of emerging modes prompted by research on communication and interaction on social media (Marone, 2016) such as meta-linguistic (symbols, emoticons, and emojis), hypertextual (links, hashtags, and intertextual references), temporal (brevity, looping, repetition, time), technical (editing techniques and technologies), and creative (inventive or innovative uses of a medium). Finally, the study examined the techniques used by the creators of the videos to convey their messages and interact with their audience.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
As a first step for this study, the authors performed a technical analysis of YouTube, seeking to identify how the platform is or may be used by music teachers and learners. After that, the authors analyzed how such affordances were used by the creators of the videos considered for this study.

YouTube Affordances for Music Learning and Teaching
YouTube offers multiple opportunities for music learners and music educators to create and engage with multimodal content online (Rudolph & Frankel, 2009). In this context, the affordances presented below are not meant to be an exhaustive list, but rather an overview of YouTube's potential for music learning and teaching.
Global audiences. YouTube allows instructors to reach a worldwide audience of people interested in different musical instruments, genres, and styles, which exponentially increases the diversity of educational content, if compared to traditional inclass instruction. Additionally, an international audience can stimulate multicultural and intercultural dialogue among participants, which can enrich the learning experience for both the learners and the instructors. For example, participants may discuss how an instrument is used in their culture and share links to videos of local artists who play that instrument.
Free access. As of 2019, YouTube is an online platform that can be accessed for free by users, thanks to brief advertising messages inserted in the videos. A free online medium opens the door to learners of developing countries or those who may not be able to afford tuition-based instruction. A Premium (paid) subscription option is also available and allows users to watch the videos without commercial interruptions and download them for viewing when an Internet connection is not at hand.
Learning anytime anyplace. The diffusion of portable devices (e.g., laptops, tablets, smartphones) and mobile Internet connectivity allows users to access YouTube videos whenever they want, wherever they may be. The on-demand nature of the platform allows users to access content instantly, when needed, as opposed to traditional fixed classroom schedules. This also facilitates the access to music education to working students, people living in rural areas, and learners in different time zones, who can access the videos according to their own schedules and availability. Furthermore, videos can be replayed as many times as needed, which can help students review and practice along according to their skills and learning goals.
User-generated content and interaction. As part of their teaching strategy, instructors can encourage (or request) students to upload videos with their own performances for feedback or assessment. Students may also post videos with their reflections on the content presented by their instructor or video-responses to the videos posted by other students. The "Comments" feature, located below each video, allows viewers to post their ideas and questions, share additional resources, and post requests for new videos, which may also contribute to the success of a YouTube channel.
Accessibility and flexibility. YouTube offers several tools that allow users to personalize their experience. For example, students may slow down the speed of a video to better understand a difficult passage or learn complex concepts or techniques. On the other hand, students may speed up a video to get through it to the parts that are most relevant to their learning goals and interests, which can contribute to saving time. Furthermore, the availability of subtitles (posted by the creators of the videos or automatically generated by YouTube) allows users to watch and understand content posted in different languages and from different countries. Educators have flexibility in terms of how content is delivered and shared with other people, since videos can be posted as public, private, or unlisted. Educators can also keep track of how users react to their videos (e.g., number of views, subscriptions, likes, comments, etc.) through several monitoring tools embedded in the system. Finally, the sheer number of music-related videos posted everyday and archived on YouTube allows educators to search for and select the most appropriate content, while students are free to explore millions of videos to pursue their interest in music.

Modes and Techniques Used by Music Teachers-Celebrities on YouTube
Considering YouTube's affordances for music learners and teachers presented in the previous section, three main themes emerged from the analysis of the modes and techniques used in the videos created by Ryan Bruce, Rob Chapman, Pete Cottrell, and Ola Englund: 1) Refined informality; 2) Social interdependence; and 3) Humorous authenticity.
Refined informality. The analysis revealed different approaches to conveying information and educational content. For example, authors create video recorded "FAQs" (Frequently Asked Questions) and "Q&As" (Questions and Answers) in which they answer questions posed by the community, or they share product reviews, in which they discuss qualities and uses of examined musical instruments. While authors strive to retain a home-made feel, they also show a sophisticated and witty use of editing techniques and digital effects to keep the audience engaged, such as multiple cameras filming the subject from different angles, transitions from black and white to color, layering, picture in picture, GoPro cameras mounted on guitars, animated text, video blending, superimposed hyperlinks, and fast-paced video edits.
Authors also use specific techniques tailored to support the delivery of innovative content. For example, in one of his videos, Cottrell plays the Pi (mathematical constant) as a heavy metal song (each number corresponding to a fret on the guitar), upon a request received from a fan ("You should try Pi decimals metal :) It would be amazing as this one ^^"). The author shows the notes he plays on the guitar as fret numbers while a circle follows the riff and highlights the numbers in a guitar-karaoke style (Figure 1).
Cottrell is well known for composing music specifically for YouTube, besides his musical projects, and experimenting with unconventional musical ideas. In another video analyzed for this study, he performs one of his songs by inverting the parts composed for the electric guitar with those composed for the bass guitar (as in the original recording) and using effects designed for the other instrument. Videos like these have the potential to foster creativity and lateral thinking in music education, composition, and performance, which can help learners think outside the box, develop a personal style, and even contribute to the origination of new musical genres and styles.
Such attention to detail suggests that YouTube viewers expect to be engaged with content that is at the same time interesting and useful, and that is delivered through high-quality videos. In this context, the authors of the videos present themselves in an informal and causal way, but they do so in a professional and polished manner that shows effort, technological knowledge, and communication skills. Authors use colloquial expressions and greetings ("Hey guys"), self-censored vulgar exclamations in spoken and written form, or small talk unrelated to the content of the videos. They share "instant" v-  (Figure 2), overall using an informal language and presenting themselves in a casual attire.
Another means of creating an informal and relatable environment is by intentionally leaving in the videos superfluous parts or mistakes that could have been easily edited out from the final versions. This contributes to a "backstage" or "behind the scenes" feel that promotes a relatable and personal experience. Authors create a familiar and somehow intimate relationship with their audience by sharing information about their recent trips, new equipment purchased, or how they balance their music life with their personal life. By doing so, they break the barriers between what is public and what is personal, merging the two realms into unified person-to-person experiences, rather than pre-packaged broadcasts to a distant audience. Again, it is important to note that these are skillful techniques used by the creators of the videos, rather than accidental features that end up in the final edits. The questions posted in the "Comments" section reinforce this link and show that the audience is interested in learning more about the personal tastes, preferences, and experiences of the authors. These comments seem to confirm the "friendly expert" or "celebrity-at-hand" status of these teachers who show their expertise through personable, yet professional presentations of content.
Social interdependence. The analyzed videos feature several overlay graphics (e.g., logos of social media) with visual and verbal invitations to click and access additional resources posted by the authors (e.g., interviews, reviews, reports). These features represent an invitation to interact with the authors' content on their social media channels, which reflects the importance of being present and active on different outlets, in order to reach the greatest number of viewers possible. For example, at the end of his videos, Englund displays a multimodal screen with a funny picture of himself, social media logos, his own logo, and a link to another video posted on his YouTube channel (Figure 3). In these final invitations, Englund uses humor to connect with his audience. He writes "Stalk me on Facebook" (rather than just "follow me" or "like me") and uses social media markers such as "@" (the "at" symbol, used on social media to reference a user), "#" (the hashtag symbol, used on social media to label content and signal an intertextual reference), and the "$" (Dollar sign) in a humorous way to form the word "@$$" and, at the same time, signify social media communication.
These invitations are also symptomatic of authors' interdependence with their audience, as the number of viewers and subscribers can directly impact their success and careers. A YouTube channel with thousands of subscribers can attract sponsors and allow authors to monetize the number of views through in-video advertisements. Therefore, they incite viewers to watch other videos they created, subscribe to their social media channels, or react to their content (e.g., "Be sure to post more questions so that I can make more videos like this"). In this dynamic interplay, authors also reference their colleagues on YouTube and provide links to their videos. Englund says: Yeah, so basically [I follow the YouTube channels of] everyone that does the exact same thing that I do. But what's so awesome with YouTube and all these guys is that even if we do the same types of videos, we're all friends and we still offer something different from each other. It's a really great community.
This statement (together with references to other authors' videos and channels) epitomizes a sense of community and reciprocal support among viewers, authors, and their peers. Furthermore, the analyzed videos show an interesting mix of personal and corporate branding. On the one hand, authors strive to be unique, authentic, and build their personal identities and brands. They use logos, on-camera rituals, or special greetings at the beginning or at the end of each video, such as "Until next time, I'm Pete, and I play music" (Cottrell) or "You have been wonderful, I have been fluff" (Bruce). On the other hand, several videos are heavily branded by sponsors' logos, products, and competitions, as well as the authors' own brands and products such as recordings, musical instruments, and merchandise. For example, authors may demonstrate how to play a song by filming their performances with multiple camera angles, while at the same time advertising a sponsor's guitar effect or collection of drum samples used in the video. Chapman's videos explicitly end with this humorous and unapologetic call to action: "Buy our stuff -we ship worldwide." Overall, the interplay between information, tips, tutorials, links, and branded content creates a symbiotic relationship between authors, sponsors, and the audience, which is unusual, if compared to traditional music education settings.
Humorous authenticity. Authors often use humor and self-humor to present content and interact with their audience. They make parody videos of famous bands (Cottrell), read jokes (Bruce), or integrate humor throughout their videos (Chapman, Englund). Authors also make frequent use of silly poses and expressions (Figure 4) interspersed with more serious playing and discussions. This engenders a relaxed, cheerful, and friendly atmosphere that entertains viewers while at the same time providing informative and educational content.
In one of his videos, Englund wears a T-shirt ( Figure 5) that mocks death metal, the music genre in which he is mainly involved (he plays or played guitar in death metal bands such as Feared, The Haunted, and Six Feet Under). The T-shirt subverts traditional death metal tropes, as displayed in Table 1. The authors of the videos analyzed in this study also use playful, creative, and humorous approaches to editing, such as looping, speeding up, coloring, and inserting audio effects or voice-overs. Humor is used to invite the audience to like their content and follow them on social media. For example, in his videos, Chapman shows a written message that says "Like & subscribe" while funny clips of him are displayed in the background (for another example, see Englund's closing screen, Figure 3). Authors' humorous self-representations play with canonical conceptions of "true" rock or metal guitar players, showing their confidence, playful vulnerability, and a sort of "hyperauthenticity" that transcends the somehow stereotypical "expected authenticity" of the genre, which allows them to connect in a more direct, genuine, and personal way with their audience. In other words, through their playful and humorous stance, the authors included in this study appear somehow more authentic than seemingly "uncompromising" rock stars that hide behind their true-to-the-genre public personae.

CONCLUSION
The majority of the videos analyzed in this study are reviews of guitars, effects, and software, in which authors demonstrate their features and how they can be used in different musical contexts. These videos carry useful information for players who want to recreate a specific sound or style. In some videos, authors play or teach to play their own compositions, which, again, highlights the idiosyncratic nature of these lessonsperformances that combine playing, demonstrating, and promoting musical compositions and equipment. In some cases, authors make available backing tracks and guitar  Considering the popularity of YouTube, its multimodal affordances, and the emergence of teachers-celebrities as reference points for music learners around the world, there is an increasing need to better understand how people use this medium for music education. Social media like YouTube do not seem to easily fit within institutionalized instructional practices (Manca & Ranieri, 2016), and concerns related to the application of copyright and intellectual property law may also arise (Arewa, 2010).
However, a more refined understanding of the practices engendered by these media can contribute to meaningfully integrating YouTube in traditional music education settings, or to redesigning and even completely rethinking such settings. YouTube celebrities are capable of creating a relationship with their audience through an informal style that meets their students-fans where they are. These observations engender important questions for formal and informal music education: What can "traditional" music teachers learn from these authors? How can music educators engage learners and form a sense of community through personable content and lessons? How can the formal music classroom evolve to include and foster the creation of user-generated content that can be shared on social media? Furthermore, several of the analyzed videos focus on "gear" and "tone" and how to achieve a specific sound. This attention, fueled by viewers' interest, reveals the motivational potential of timbre when learning to play an instrument. In other words, playing an electric guitar with a specific distortion pedal and chorus through a specific amplifier is an entirely different experience than playing the same song on an acoustic guitar, and the two setups may inspire different kinds of players and learners. This seems to be particularly relevant for young students and beginners. In one of the analyzed videos, Chapman discusses this issue with his colleague and co-protagonist of several videos, The Captain (in this video, they are reviewing the Ibanez Mikro series of shortscale electric guitars targeted at younger players, see Figure 4):

Chapman:
…to play guitar, they just gonna put it down.
The Captain: Yeah.
Chapman: So, if they want that bright pink, tiny little Ibanez, get them the bright pink tiny Ibanez.
Another element that emerged from the analysis is the diffuse branding displayed in the videos. This spurs another set of crucial questions for the future of music education: What is the place of sponsorship in music education? How are brands affecting informal and institutionalized music education? Do students have the critical skills to navigate branded/sponsored reviews and tutorials? How are music corporations shaping the musical tastes and educational experiences of youth?
The videos analyzed in this paper also challenge Folkestad's claims about "informal teaching" (Folkestad, 2006, p. 142-143): Having established that learning, and the learning situation, can be both formal and informal, it is important to clarify that this is not the case with teaching: teaching can never be carried out using 'informal teaching methods'. Teaching is always teaching, and in that sense always formal. As soon as someone teaches, as soon as somebody takes on the role of being a teacher, then it is a formal learning situation.
The teachers-celebrities presented in this study do not seem to take on the role of being a teacher, as discussed by Folkestad, which challenges the idea of "teaching always being teaching." They rather open the door to interested viewers and share with them their knowledge and ideas, without any formal lesson plans, learning objectives, or expectations. The informal nature of this teaching-learning scenario is reinforced by a conversation-like approach in which the creators of the videos welcome viewers to their homes and let them be part of their journey as musicians, music-lovers, and gearenthusiasts. This conversation is also carried out through viewers' comments, questions, and requests posted on the teachers-celebrities' social media channels, which creates a community-like bond between its participants, beyond the conventional teacher-student dichotomy.
In conclusion, in the rapidly-evolving space of social media, the free, sponsored, ondemand (inspired by viewers' interests and requests), celebrity-driven, and somehow "entropic" nature of YouTube calls for an attentive analysis of its affordances, challenges, and opportunities for new generations of music learners and teachers. Such lines of research may contribute to the understanding, implementation, and dissemination of relatable, engaging, and interest-driven approaches to music education in the 21st century and beyond.