Social media affordances in music learning and performance: a systematic review of empirical evidence, 2020–2026

Journal of Educational and Learning Studies July 29, 2026 Volume 9, Number 1 4 authors

Abstract

Social media platforms have become embedded in how musicians practise, perform, and are taught, yet the research base describing this phenomenon remains fragmented across disciplines, platforms, and educational levels. This systematic literature review examined how social media shapes music learning and performance, synthesising evidence on informal self-directed learning, formal instructional integration, teacher professional communities, and the psychosocial consequences of platform-mediated visibility. Following the PRISMA 2020 framework, a search was executed in the Scopus database on 24 July 2026, returning 657 records; after removing one duplicate, 656 records were screened by title, abstract, and keyword, of which 249 were assessed in full text against explicit eligibility criteria requiring a substantive combination of music, a named social media platform, and a learning or performance focus. Fifty studies published between 2020 and 2026 met the inclusion criteria and were retained for synthesis. Findings converged on four themes: social media, particularly YouTube, Instagram, and WeChat, functions as an informal and self-regulated learning resource that complements rather than replaces formal instruction; platforms are increasingly integrated into formal curricula and teacher professional communities as tools for content curation, feedback, and community-building; the visibility and metrics inherent to platforms generate documented risks of social comparison, performance anxiety, and impostor phenomena among students and educators; and a smaller critical literature questions the platformization of musical labour and pedagogy itself. Theoretically, the review extends self-regulated learning and communities-of-practice frameworks into networked, platform-mediated contexts. Practically, findings suggest that music educators can deliberately scaffold platform use to support motivation while mitigating comparison-related harms. Future research should pursue longitudinal designs, cross-platform comparisons, and greater representation from under-studied regions and non-Western musical traditions

Authors

  1. Benovan Rahmandicca

    Universitas Negeri Padang

  2. Ardipal Ardipal

    Universitas Negeri Padang

  3. Tulus Handra Kadir

    Universitas Negeri Padang

  4. Indrayuda Indrayuda

    Universitas Negeri Padang

Keywords

No keywords available

References

  1. Abramo, J.M. (2020). The ‘Social Justice Plot’ in learning, consuming, and (re)creating music on social media. Journal of Popular Music Education, 4(2), 193-210. https://doi.org/10.1386/jpme_00025_1
  2. Adorno, S.S., Mattio, C.D., & Ryan, M.J. (2025). K–12 Music Educators’ Perceptions of Social Media Use and Social Justice Engagement. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 243, 9-32. https://doi.org/10.5406/21627223.243.01
  3. Barcellos, L.C., & Wade-Chung, R. (2022). #SaveTheAmazon: Promoting global competence and making bridges in the middle school music classroom. Journal of Popular Music Education, 6(3), 403-421. https://doi.org/10.1386/jpme_00099_1
  4. Bell, A.P., Martinez, J., & Tavassoli, F. (2026). Pedagogy of the Producer: DAWs, YouTube, and Music Education. International Journal of Music Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/02557614251407316
  5. Cayari, C. (2023). Becoming a ‘Trans Synth Queen’: YouTube, electronic music composition, and coming out. Music Education Research, 25(1), 60-73. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2022.2143489
  6. Chen, T. (2024). Classical music education in China: The effectiveness of the WeChat social media platform and its impact on the communicative and cognitive skills of music students. Education and Information Technologies, 29(13), 17467-17483. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-12554-w
  7. Clark, J.C., Abbazio, J.M., & Sauceda, J. (2024). MUSIC FACULTY AFTER PANDEMIC CLOSURES: A MIXED METHODS STUDY OF EVOLVING RESOURCE PREFERENCES AND LIBRARIES. Notes, 81(3), 455-488. https://doi.org/10.1353/not.2024.a952010
  8. Coghlan, N. (2023). Reflective journals in music production pedagogy: A case study. Journal of Music, Technology and Education, 15(1), 27-56. https://doi.org/10.1386/jmte_00044_1
  9. Coppola, W.J. (2021). What if Freire Had Facebook? A Critical Interrogation of Social Media Woke Culture Among Privileged Voices in Music Education Discourse. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 20(1), 16-52. https://doi.org/10.22176/act20.1.16
  10. Cremata, R. (2025). Multiselfing in Music Education. Education Sciences, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15010055
  11. De Moya Martínez, M.D.V., Segura Tornero, A., & González Amo, G. (2024). MUSIC AND TIKTOK IN SOCIAL SCIENCES A Didactics of Brain Languages. VISUAL Review. International Visual Culture Review / Revista Internacional de Cultura , 16(1), 179-195. https://doi.org/10.62161/revvisual.v16.5175
  12. De Moya Martínez, M.V., & de la Cruz Ramos, S.Y. (2025). Connected education: social networks in the musical education of adolescent students. Systematic review. Musica Hodie, 25. https://doi.org/10.5216/mh.v25.83072
  13. de Quadros, A., & Abrahams, F. (2022). No justice, no peace: an arts-based project with a college choir. Music Education Research, 24(5), 533-548. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2022.2134330
  14. Dockan, D., Knapp, D., Clauhs, M., & Powell, B. (2023). An exploratory study on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on music teacher engagement with Soundtrap. Journal of Music, Technology and Education, 16(1), 25-40. https://doi.org/10.1386/jmte_00058_1
  15. dos Santos Silva, C., Marinho, H., & Fiorini, C. (2023). #100daysofpractice: Selection and adaptation of self-regulated learning strategies in an online music performance challenge. Psychology of Music, 51(3), 667-681. https://doi.org/10.1177/03057356221108762
  16. Gee, J.L. (2026). Exploring Trends in Social Media and Music Education: A Content Analysis of the Elementary Music Teachers Facebook Group. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 44(3), 3-13. https://doi.org/10.1177/87551233251349832
  17. Hakim, U., Dilfa, A.H., Trinanda, R., & Hidayat, H.A. (2024). Integration of the Instagram Social Media Platform in Gamad Music Performance and Learning at Sendratasik FBS UNP. Resital, 25(2), 338-356. https://doi.org/10.24821/resital.v25i2.13783
  18. Holmes-Davis, T. (2026). A portrait of self-regulated musical learning behaviors among rock musicians: Applications in music education. International Journal of Music Education, 44(2), 503-515. https://doi.org/10.1177/02557614241282883
  19. Jaakkola, M. (2023). Digital performance at the side stage: the communicative practices of classical musicians and music hobbyists on Instagram. Continuum, 37(2), 296-308. https://doi.org/10.1080/10304312.2023.2234109
  20. Jost, C. (2020). How to play … popular music: Didactic action and the display of musical expertise in online tutorials. Studies in Communication Sciences, 20(2), 159-179. https://doi.org/10.24434/J.SCOMS.2020.02.002
  21. Lei, S.Y., Chiu, D.K.W., Lung, M.M.-W., & Chan, C.T. (2021). Exploring the aids of social media for musical instrument education. International Journal of Music Education, 39(2), 187-201. https://doi.org/10.1177/0255761420986217
  22. Li, L., & Tayrattanachai, N.-O. (2023). Exploring Music Student Teachers’ Professional Identity: A Systematic Literature Review. Revista Electronica de LEEME(52), 230-248. https://doi.org/10.58262/LEEME.52.27385
  23. Lilliedahl, J. (2022). Visually communicating exclusiveness: how specialist music secondary schools in England represent themselves on the web. Music Education Research, 24(4), 430-441. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2022.2085679
  24. Lockwood, J. (2024). Live Davenings: Technologies of Ritual Learning and the Convening of a Jewish Sacred Music Underground. Jewish Social Studies, 29(2), 34-61. https://doi.org/10.2979/jss.00008
  25. López-Carril, S., González-Serrano, M.H., Ribeiro, T., & Jiménez-Jiménez, P. (2024). TikTok for learning through movement, dramatization, and music: Insights for higher education applications in sport sciences. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education, 35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhlste.2024.100501
  26. Mantie, R., Bayley, J., Veblen, K., Allstaff, K., & Sirek, D. (2023). Considering musical communities online and offline: A dedication to the life and work of Janice Waldron (13 April 1957–7 November 2022). International Journal of Community Music, 16(1), 113-123. https://doi.org/10.1386/ijcm_00078_1
  27. Merrick, B., & Joseph, D. (2025). Confidence, preference, and application of ICT and music technology: The changing face of Australian music educators’ practice. Research Studies in Music Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X251361438
  28. Monreal-Guerrero, I.M., & Gozalo, S.H. (2023a). YouTube as informal music learning resource for teenage users. Systematic review. Human Review. International Humanities Review / Revista Internacional de Humanidades, 18(3). https://doi.org/10.37467/revhuman.v18.4886
  29. Monreal-Guerrero, I.M., & Gozalo, S.H. (2023b). Social Media as informal learning agents for teenagers. Systematic review. TECHNO Review. International Technology, Science and Society Review / Revista Internacional de Tecnología, Ciencia y Sociedad, 14. https://doi.org/10.37467/REVTECHNO.V14.4965
  30. Montoya Rubio, J.C. (2021). Music, Youtuber! Jaime Altozano’s incidence in music education classrooms. Revista Electronica de LEEME(47), 63-79. https://doi.org/10.7203/LEEME.47.19379
  31. Nápoles, J., & Rinn, T.J. (2025). A Mixed Methods Examination of Perfectionism and Online Social Comparison Among Texas Choir Teachers. Journal of Research in Music Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/00224294251394398
  32. O'Leary, E.J., & Bannerman, J.K. (2023). Technology Integration in Music Education and the COVID-19 Pandemic. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education(238), 23-40. https://doi.org/10.5406/21627223.238.02
  33. O’Leary, E.J. (2023). Music and the Challenges of Platformization. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 22(4), 14-43. https://doi.org/10.22176/act22.4.14
  34. Pacheco-Costa, A. (2025). Assessing informal learning in higher education: Instagram as a tool for a student-centred approach to popular music teaching. Journal of Popular Music Education, 9(3), 359-373. https://doi.org/10.1386/jpme_00166_1
  35. Park, E. (2023). Development of Web Content for Music Education Using AR Human Facial Recognition Technology. Journal of Web Engineering, 22(5), 783-796. https://doi.org/10.13052/jwe1540-9589.2252
  36. Rinn, T.J. (2025). Online Social Comparison and Impostor Phenomenon Among Music Education Undergraduates. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 35(1), 15-35. https://doi.org/10.1177/10570837241277781
  37. Salvador, K., & Sierzega, A. (2023). Characteristics and Formative Experiences of DEI Leaders in Music Education Professional Associations. Journal of Research in Music Education, 71(2), 133-154. https://doi.org/10.1177/00224294221123076
  38. Schmidt-Jones, C. (2022). Instrument-based music theory on YouTube: Entries and barriers to lifelong learning. Journal of Music, Technology and Education, 14(1), 5-20. https://doi.org/10.1386/jmte_00031_1
  39. Simpson, R. (2023). Delete the PDF and Start Again? Exploring the Potential for Innovative Dissemination Methods of Music Education Scholarship. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 22(4), 159-183. https://doi.org/10.22176/act22.4.160
  40. Stuart-Hitchcox, H. (2025). A Lucid Exploration of a Terrain: Music Education Against Capitalist-Realist Cybertime. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 24(2), 103-135. https://doi.org/10.22176/act24.2.103
  41. Suryati (2021). Utilizing Youtube as a Learning Media for Pop-Jazz Vocal Course at Music Education Study Program of Institut Seni Indonesia Yogyakarta. Resital, 22(2), 117-126. https://doi.org/10.24821/resital.v22i2.6040
  42. Tintiangko, J., Fung, A.Y.H., & Leo-Liu, J. (2023). Compelled TikTok creators? The ambivalent affordances of the short video app for Filipino musicians. Media, Culture and Society, 45(8), 1600-1615. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437231174356
  43. Toscher, B. (2020). The skills and knowledge gap in higher music education: An exploratory empirical study. International Journal of Education and the Arts, 21(10). https://doi.org/10.26209/ijea21n10
  44. Treß, J. (2025). Tracking Down the Musical Habitus of the Machine. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 24(3), 79-108. https://doi.org/10.22176/act24.3.79
  45. Urpí-Cámara, M., Guallar, J., & Rey-Martín, C. (2024). Content curation in the social networks of higher music education institutions. Revista General de Informacion y Documentacion, 34(1), 99-113. https://doi.org/10.5209/rgid.92549
  46. Utermohl de Queiroz, D., Foletto, C., López-Íñiguez, G., & Pedro, L. (2025). Self-regulation in online string instrument lessons: Motivation, social interaction and learning environment. International Journal of Music Education, 43(4), 585-599. https://doi.org/10.1177/02557614241227227
  47. Vinuales, M.G. (2020). The Role of Social Media Networks in Promoting Music Teachers’ Work-Related Flow. International Journal of Adult, Community and Professional Learning, 27(1), 17-26. https://doi.org/10.18848/2328-6318/CGP/v27i01/17-26
  48. Vizcaíno-Verdú, A., Contreras-Pulido, P., & Guzmán-Franco, M.-D. (2021). Youtube musicians and self-perceived multimedia, hypermedia, intertextual and transmedia competencies. Learning, Media and Technology, 46(4), 515-530. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2021.1941099
  49. Wang, K., & Webb, M. (2025). Chinese music in Sydney, Australia, and new modes of transmission: The case of a community conservatory. International Journal of Music Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/02557614251318323
  50. Ward, F. (2023). Enabling Musical, Pedagogical, and Social Continuities through “Participation” in Mary O’s Virtual Irish Traditional Music Session. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 22(4), 87-130. https://doi.org/10.22176/act22.4.87