Rocking the Canon (no not that Canon)….

Chances are that if you have any students who play the electric guitar either at school or at home they have secretly or maybe even publicly tried their chops out in their own version of Guitar Canon Rock. The viral video phenomenon that has grown since Youtube and Google Video has made it as easy as a click of a button to share a video clip has some pretty interesting implications for the field of music education. Take the guitar Canon rock phenomenon for example. While arranging classical pieces for more contemporary genres of music and instruments is not new, ( I’ll never forget when my concert band was playing Gymnopedie #3 and a student came in with a blood sweat and tears album to share their arrangement with me and her peers) viral videos allow students to share their skills and arrangements with others in the privacy of their own homes. In this case Jerry C arranged Pachebel’s Canon for electric guitar. Soon after other people started trying out their own versions or attempting to replicate the performances of others.

The guitarist who was supposedly the catalyst for the additional performances and video clips was Funtwo, who posted a clip of his performance. People started adding comments on the youtube website about Funtwo’s performance and soon after various other performances started getting added to the internet. Carl Fernandes and Greezychips are just two of examples of the many who took part in this process.

Besides offering a virtual studio for people to exchange critique and feedback, (as well as generous accolades) websites such as youtube and googlevideo give students who may or may not participate in school music programs a place and community of sorts to participate in with their own musical ventures. Is there a place in our music programs for these video clips? Is there a place in our music programs for the types of musical experiences taking place online? What can we learn from perusing the thousands of clips online that demonstrate musical experiences that don’t take place in our schools?

While the example of Guitar Canon Rock may or may not relate to our students, chances are there’s a clip out there that does. Why not take a look and prepare a lesson or two that make use of a clip that you think may be beneficial to your students’ musical education?