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by Stephanie Powell

You've mastered a bevy of chords and you lot tin fingerpick like no other—and now you lot're ready to create guitar videos for YouTube. Crafting YouTube content tin can lead to major breakthroughs for artists, but to gain traction, you'll need to ensure that your videos are of the highest caliber. This volition require a few more things beyond your guitar and a camera phone. Here are a few tips for creating your YouTube channel as a guitarist and how to brand the well-nigh of your guitar videos online.

half-dozen Things You Demand to Record Guitar Videos for YouTube

If you've been recording your videos with your iPhone, think again. At that place is an endless world of gear out there that can take your guitar content from 0 to 100, all with just a few simple investments.

  1. Instrument: This one goes without proverb, but you'll need your guitar! Recording videos on a guitar that you're comfortable and familiar with will only increase the quality of your content.
  2. Camera: Sure, the iPhone has come a long way, simply investing in a professional camera and tripod can make your videos expect incredibly professional. DSLRs are very popular, and if you have the means, investing in more than one photographic camera is ideal. If y'all tin can set upwardly two or more than cameras while y'all motion-picture show, yous'll exist able to include unlike camera angles in your video: one angle zoomed out on your entire set up upwards and another close up on the guitar's fretboard. The Canon EOS M50 or the Sony ZV-1 are popular cameras these days and are reasonably priced. On the higher finish, Sony's Alpha series, Panasonic Lumix GH5 and, of course, the Nikon Z7 are all wonderful cameras.
  3. Microphone: Depending on how yous desire to tape your audio, it'south important to invest in either a microphone or audio interface, which nosotros'll get to in a minute. Recording your sound one-time-school style with a set of mics confronting your amp is a classic style to pick up quality audio. Some affordable options are the MXL Revelation Mini-FET and the Blue Ember. Realistically, any mic that'south skillful for recording, like the Neumann KM184, would work, too.
  4. Sound Interface and Recording Software: An audio interface captures your guitar'due south analog signal, either via a microphone or pickup, and converts it to a digital waveform, while professional person software like Pro Tools or Logic (Apple only) allows users to record, edit, mix, and consign audio files. The Focus Scarlett 2i2 is a pop budget-friendly choice. Presonus Revelator is another swell pick. Moving upwardly a bit, the Apogee Duet, Universal Sound Solo or Twin, Focusrite Clarett,MOTU Ultralite are of college quality. In that location are a ton of these from $100 to $5,000, and a lot depends on how many channels you need. The ones listed here are two channels, and it's besides impotant to consider the type of computer connection, USB, thunderbolt, etc.
  5. Lighting: Natural lighting is e'er a approval, but not guaranteed. Investing in professional and portable lighting will really set the stage. Oftentimes you lot can purchase a lighting kit that includes more than than one light and then you can utilize dorsum light, likewise.
  6. Video Editing Software: There are many gratis options bachelor online, or if you're a Mac user, you'll have access to iMovie. As you brainstorm to go more serious on your path to YouTube fame, you might consider investing in Adobe Premiere Pro or Last Cut Pro. Apple's GarageBand, Steinberg Cubase, and PreSonus Studio One are great tools. Reaper is popular shareware and y'all can attempt for free. Cakewalk is back once again, on PCs just and gratuitous. Audacity is another popular totally gratis one.
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How to Optimize Your Guitar Videos on YouTube

So, you've created the content, just at present what? Even if you lot are the songbird of your generation that doesn't guarantee that your guitar video volition get viral on YouTube. Hither are some tips, tricks, and ways to optimize your video so y'all go the most out of your digital endeavors.

  • Content is primal. What blazon of guitar videos are you planning on making? If you lot're planning on offering lessons and tutorials, make sure your YouTube aqueduct focuses on that in the beginning and has enough of content offer. The style y'all make yourself matters. That doesn't mean you can't co-operative out and include covers or original music, only consistency does matter. Your subscribers demand to know why they are subscribing. Other types of content that do well: gear reviews or demos, unboxing videos, and industry news and trending topics.
  • SEO optimization makes all the difference. Use keywords! SEO isn't a as mysterious as it seems. Starting with keywords will accept you far. How would you summarize your video? How would you search for a similar video on the net? Run across if you tin distill that down into a few keywords like "acoustic guitar blues lesson." Once you take your keywords, make sure they appear in the video championship, description, and tags on YouTube.
  • Customize your channel. It'southward not enough to just start uploading your videos to YouTube. When a possible subscriber lands on your content, having a professional person YouTube folio set up can make all the difference. Consider filling out your Near section—what can subscribers expect from your folio and tell them a bit virtually your background with guitar. Add together a background photo that has branding or is compelling. Create playlists that brand subscribers desire to come dorsum from more.
  • Detailed video description. Make sure to include keywords and relevant data from your lesson, gear review, or unboxing video that lets the subscriber know what your video is most. Using keywords from the title of the video and words that y'all actually utilize in the video sends a signal to Google that can help you rank higher for specific search queries.
  • Add a card. YouTube has the option to add "Cards" to your videos. Cards announced in the corner of the video screen with a CTA, or call to action, that users can click on. Once clicked on, the menu will expand and show an image and headline. This is a great way to generate traffic back to your website or link to some other one of your guitar video lessons on YouTube, increasing your engagement and keeping users on your channel and interacting with your content longer.
  • Consistency is the underground. It's not enough to postal service one video and look for it to get viral. Don't lose promise if your starting time five videos are merely gaining single-digit views in the offset. It takes fourth dimension to build upwards an audience and it as well takes fourth dimension for Google and other search engines to index your new content. Staying consistent with your content creation will show prospective subscribers that yous are serious and that at that place'due south a reason to subscribe.
  • Create a unique thumbnail for your video. You don't demand to select the apparently Jane thumbnail options that YouTube displays during the uploading process. YouTube also gives an choice for creators to upload custom thumbnail graphics. If you're teaching a lesson on fingerpicking, perhaps create an image with a however of yourself with the guitar and the lesson title. There are many gratuitous apps you tin use to create graphics, merely i that works well is Adobe Spark.
  • Your background matters. That's correct—don't film yourself playing guitar in front of your laundry basket and unmade bed. Think of your background equally your gear up. You're creating high-quality content and the groundwork you chose to movie matters. So, treat it as such.
  • Give a performance! This is your time to sell yourself—habiliment your personality on your sleeve and perform! It's like shooting fish in a barrel to tell if someone is having fun, so brand certain you lot accept an enthusiastic tone, avoid speaking in monotone, and use hand/arm gestures to liven upward your content.

iii Things to Avoid When Recording Guitar Videos

  1. Avoid using the video's audio file. If you film your YouTube video from your phone or a photographic camera, do non utilise the audio from the video. The sound quality will likely be poor. Apply i of the above suggested methods for recording.
  2. Don't connect your guitar to your computer's internal audio. It may sound like a quick gear up, but using an adapter is a surefire way to have a crappy audio recording.
  3. Preamps are not the answer. Oftentimes preamps accept latency bug and the indicate-to-sound level is poor quality.