YouTube Is A Dangerous Place
YouTube, it's become ubiquitous to modern life. You can find almost anything thing there. When I need to fix something around the house, or with my car, I know that I can find a video there showing me how to do it. So YouTube is a great resource.
There are also a lot of great music videos, including instructional ones. But there's also a danger there. A danger because many of the instructional ones are either so poorly done, by someone with little actual knowledge of what they are doing; or, the information that is being presented is completely wrong! This especially goes for Gong and Singing Bowl videos. I've been posting both performance & instructional videos for over 7 years now (60 videos). I hope that you would see a progression of improvement in both the quality, and the content. And in that time I've seen hundreds, if not thousands, of others posted. Now I'm not saying that I'm an expert in everything, or that what I present is the only way to do things—far from it. But I have years (decades actually) of training in what I do, so I know something about what I present in my videos. And because I consider myself an eternal student, I like to watch a variety of other videos, hoping to learn something new.
It used to be the exclusive domain of the well off musician or video enthusiast to produce quality performance & instructional videos. Now, anyone with $200 can buy a decent video recorder today. Add a computer and an internet connection, and anyone can post something to YouTube, Vimeo, or other such hosting sites. So there is no surprise that there is a proliferation of any and everybody posting their Gong & Singing Bowl videos.
My warning is to BEWARE! Don't believe everything everything out there. And I think it's important to do some followup research on whoever is presenting an instructional video. Find out who they really are, what they have done, and especially what sort of qualifications they have. Like I wrote in an earlier blog, just because you bought a Gong or a Singing Bowl, doesn't qualify you to do anything with it, especially tell others how to use it!
Now a good example of someone posting videos is Frank Perry from the UK. Frank has over 120 videos up on YouTube, both performance and instructional. Now if you Google his name (beware, there are a lot of Frank Perrys out there. I usually Google 'Frank Perry Singing Bowls' to find him), you will find links to his very extensive and informative website. You will also find links to his authoritative book on Singing Bowls, his many essays and articles, and his many recordings. You will also find an extensive history of him working in music and sound therapy. One could conclude that he knows what he is talking about.
I do this sort of investigation on most people I come across on interesting videos, both what I think are good and bad ones, because I want to know where they are coming from. I think this is important to do for anyone who is instructing, whether with videos, or in a live session.
In conclusion, do your home work, don't just believe what you see/hear. Find out where the person is coming from and what their qualifications are.
~ MB
There are also a lot of great music videos, including instructional ones. But there's also a danger there. A danger because many of the instructional ones are either so poorly done, by someone with little actual knowledge of what they are doing; or, the information that is being presented is completely wrong! This especially goes for Gong and Singing Bowl videos. I've been posting both performance & instructional videos for over 7 years now (60 videos). I hope that you would see a progression of improvement in both the quality, and the content. And in that time I've seen hundreds, if not thousands, of others posted. Now I'm not saying that I'm an expert in everything, or that what I present is the only way to do things—far from it. But I have years (decades actually) of training in what I do, so I know something about what I present in my videos. And because I consider myself an eternal student, I like to watch a variety of other videos, hoping to learn something new.
It used to be the exclusive domain of the well off musician or video enthusiast to produce quality performance & instructional videos. Now, anyone with $200 can buy a decent video recorder today. Add a computer and an internet connection, and anyone can post something to YouTube, Vimeo, or other such hosting sites. So there is no surprise that there is a proliferation of any and everybody posting their Gong & Singing Bowl videos.
My warning is to BEWARE! Don't believe everything everything out there. And I think it's important to do some followup research on whoever is presenting an instructional video. Find out who they really are, what they have done, and especially what sort of qualifications they have. Like I wrote in an earlier blog, just because you bought a Gong or a Singing Bowl, doesn't qualify you to do anything with it, especially tell others how to use it!
The amazing Frank Perry
Now a good example of someone posting videos is Frank Perry from the UK. Frank has over 120 videos up on YouTube, both performance and instructional. Now if you Google his name (beware, there are a lot of Frank Perrys out there. I usually Google 'Frank Perry Singing Bowls' to find him), you will find links to his very extensive and informative website. You will also find links to his authoritative book on Singing Bowls, his many essays and articles, and his many recordings. You will also find an extensive history of him working in music and sound therapy. One could conclude that he knows what he is talking about.
I do this sort of investigation on most people I come across on interesting videos, both what I think are good and bad ones, because I want to know where they are coming from. I think this is important to do for anyone who is instructing, whether with videos, or in a live session.
In conclusion, do your home work, don't just believe what you see/hear. Find out where the person is coming from and what their qualifications are.
~ MB
Chop Wood | Carry Water | Play Gongs
Comments
Post a Comment