There's no lack of music instruction online. Sites like iVideoSongs and Internet-connected applications such as Garage Band, can tailor music instruction right down to the specific genre, song, and instrument of your choice. The trouble is, they don't actually show you how to make a great recording.
If you're more interested in how to use side-chain audio compression in Logic, than how to how to play "Stairway to Heaven," WinkSound.com is worth a look. The site design is a little rough, but the video tutorials are helpful and clearly organized into relevant topics (Garage Band, Beat Making, Ableton Live).
Nearly all of WinkSound's video content is user-generated, with much of it collected from sites such as YouTube. It's also worth noting that there's a definite emphasis on electronic, pop, and hip-hop music production, although you'll also find generally applicable video tutorials on subjects like recording acoustic drum sets or best practices for mixing in ProTools.
If you're new to using recording software, WinkSound isn't going to replace the value of a well-written manual, but it's a handy resource for peeking into other people's studios and cribbing a few techniques.
WinkSound puts some of the latest and greatest tutorials on the front page, in a giant video and image wall.
(Credit: CNET)The economy is in trouble and we're all cutting back on spending, unsure of what the future might hold. We're also starting to realize that maybe doing things ourselves instead of hiring outside help is a great idea.
But if you're someone like me, building a deck in the back yard or, heck, painting vaulted ceilings, just isn't something you're proficient at. But luckily for us, there are a slew of sites across the Web that provide articles and videos that can help us complete any project.
5min.com
I like 5min because I can learn about almost anything in, well, 5 minutes or less.
5min features videos from users who are experts on a particular subject. Sometimes, their expertise is buying an electric shaver. Other times, it's installing weatherstripping. Either way, you can find anything from the simple to the complex on 5min.
Although the videos are great, my favorite feature on 5min is the company's video player. Unlike some players that only let you play, stop, rewind, and fast-forward a clip, 5min's video player lets you zoom in, proceed frame-by-frame, and run the video in slow motion so you don't miss any steps. That feature comes in especially handy when you watch a video on a complex topic and the expert is moving too fast in their instruction.
eHow
eHow enlists the help of professionals to create the more than 300,000 articles on the site. From learning how to tie a tie, to how to caulk, the site has it all. That said, if you're looking for video, you're not going to find much on eHow--it's designed to provide step-by-step text instructions. Sometimes, especially when I need to figure out how to build something like a deck, that's ideal. But for simple topics like learning how to throw a baseball, a video works much better. In those cases, I tend to use sites like 5min or Expert Village instead.
You will be forced to sit through commercials on the company's videos, but that's not a big deal--they're only 15 seconds long and run before the clip. I should also note that the site's video player doesn't offer all the extras like those that you'll find with 5min, so you'll probably find yourself moving the slider back quite often to figure out how to do something.
But video isn't what eHow is all about. The site is ideal when you want to bring instructions with you wherever you need to complete a task. Unlike 5min or Expert Village, I don't need to sit in front of my computer to see how to sand wood flooring when I use eHow; I can print out the instructions and read them. And on complex projects, having that option is ideal.
Expert Village
Expert Village is a little different from a service like 5min, which allows users to upload videos to display their expertise. Expert Village employs experts who work in fields ranging from music to home improvement who research particular topics and create short videos--usually no longer than five minutes--detailing how to perform a particular task.
The value of Expert Village's use of experts is seen almost immediately. Sure, you can find a really informative video on 5min and it might provide the same quality as something on Expert Village, but generally, that's the exception, not the norm.
According to Expert Village's internal figures, the site features over 131,000 videos that have been viewed more than 292 million times. And given the wide range of topics those videos cover, Expert Village is an ideal source for help.
One especially nice offering that shouldn't be overlooked is Expert Village's series. Unlike 5min or even eHow, some Expert Village experts stay on one topic and create a series of videos to walk you through a process.
For instance, one expert is teaching Chinese etiquette.... Read more
While Microsoft, Nokia, and others paid untold sums of money to have the biggest and brightest booth at the Web 2.0 Expo, in a quiet part of the show floor, one of my favorite DIY sites Instructables.com essentially stole the show.
Ignoring boring pamphlets or forgettable swag, the company brought a laser etching machine and offered up free custom-designed laser etching to anyone who brought a laptop, iPhone, or other portable device that they were willing to have burned with warranty-voiding goodness.
Word spread like wildfire around Blogtropol.us' blogger lounge that this was going on downstairs, the geek equivalent of hearing that there's an ice cream truck outside on the hottest day of summer. Throwing caution to the wind I had my iPhone etched with the Webware logo, no doubt solidifying my nerd cred while simultaneously destroying any sort of warranty I had from Apple in case of the need for repair.
Oh well, it was totally worth it.
I grabbed the video below off my digital camera, so I apologize for the noisiness--but I hope it captures the awe and wonder of having an electronic good customized in one of the coolest ways possible. Don't forget, if you're at the Web 2.0 Expo tomorrow, Instructables will still be there.
Yet another company launching at this week's DemoFall 2007 conference is Graspr, a video-based social network for instructional content that's both professionally- and user-generated. Categories on the site will include topics as disparate as gardening, sports, crafts, and cooking.
Created by a handful of former Yahoo vice presidents, including Teresa Phillips, who serves as the new company's founder and CEO, Graspr will open to a public beta on Tuesday.
Suffice it to say that this is not a particularly open niche of the Web. eHow and Instructables currently dominate the "instructional encyclopedia" niche, and since Graspr has not yet launched, it's unclear as to just how similar or different it will be. The main innovation appears to be the Graspr Editor, an in-broswer video editor that will allow users to drag-and-drop their way to instructional video nirvana. A release from the new site has said that upon its launch on Tuesday, it will already be aggregating over 10,000 videos from across the Web.
It also seems that Graspr is aiming for more robust social media features that will allow its users to promote themselves and build followings, perhaps using the service as a supplement to an existing presence on the Web. The company has also said that revenue- and ad-sharing programs are in development.
From the Web 2.0 Conference:
Instructables is an awesome site of how-to guides. The content seems to be weighted towards clever and geeky projects rather than basic home improvement. While it's easy to find a lesson on how to paint your laptop lid, it's hard to find one on how to paint a room. Still, the design and layout of the lessons--most of which are photo illustrated--are beautiful.
New at Web 2.0: better collaboration features, so you can build lessons, wiki-style, with compatriots instead of building one yourself and relying on the comments to clear up your goofs. This is a great site if you think the 20-page projects in Make require too much commitment. See also: Wikihow.
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