There are many innovative content creators on YouTube, and "Music With Meg" is one of the best resources for beginning string musicians and those interested in music. Founder of "Music with Meg," Meg Chaplin is multifaceted, and her work consists of content creation, music education, and theater. Based in the UK, Meg is a music educator and theatre performer with an impressive background in multiple instruments. We're grateful for Meg's generous interview in which she shares her many career tips and advice about getting started in content creation. Meg's passion for her craft shines through in how she has been able to use her gifts in so many different ventures. Read the transcript of the interview below to learn what a "portfolio career" is, Meg's advice for young musicians, and how she successfully started a YouTube channel and her own theatre company!
How did you first become interested in music?
I was lucky enough to grow up in a musical household. My mum played piano and my dad played guitar in a band. We had a piano in the house and I started learning when I was 4. My parents took us to concerts and gigs and to watch buskers, and it was watching a string quartet in London that got me wanting to learn the viola. I think it's important for young children to experience lots of different styles and genres of music, and I'm lucky that I was able to have that growing up.
Who are some of your biggest inspirations in music?
I'm drawn to musicians and composers who tell stories, across all genres. Great storytellers - Tchaikovsky, Satie, Gershwin, Louis Armstrong, Bob Dylan... And country music - Dolly Parton, Taylor Swift: fantastic storytellers! I'm basically inspired by people who use music to hold up a mirror to our experiences and our emotions. Whenever I feel stuck musically, those are the artists, composers and musicians that I will turn to, as they remind me why I do what I do!
Could you talk a little bit about your music background, education, and theater background?
I began playing piano when I was 4 1/2, then picked up the violin at age 8, switching to viola when I was 12. Being hugely inspired by Taylor Swift, I picked up a guitar for the first time at age 14 and never stopped playing! I went through the ABRSM grades, reaching Grade 8 on piano and viola, Grade 6 on violin, and Grade 5 singing. I also did some jazz exams on piano too. I studied music up to A Level (the highest qualification you can reach before university in the UK), then went on to study Drama & Theatre Arts at the University of Birmingham, before heading to drama school in London to train as an actor.
As with many musical kids, I did a lot of extra-curriculars growing up, but most of them were performing arts related. Alongside instrument lessons, I played in the school and county youth orchestras (and eventually university orchestra too), took part in orchestral residentials, sang in the school choir and sang in a close-harmony quartet. I did two drama clubs and was involved in all sorts of plays and musicals. I grew up in Cornwall - a really rural part of the UK - so there wasn't a huge amount of opportunity for young performers, but through the county orchestra I was lucky enough to play with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and perform as part of a festival at the Royal Albert Hall.
Music and theatre have always been my two passions in life, and as long as I remember, I've always wanted a career in both. I got into theatre from a young age, going to see shows in all sorts of venues - outdoors, in village halls, in theatres and in tents. Most of the theatre I saw as a child was very grassroots - using puppetry, visual performance, and most importantly: live instruments. A lot of it was created there in Cornwall, inspired by the sea, the rugged landscapes and folklore. The first theatre production I remember seeing is Tristan & Yseult by Kneehigh, site-specific at Restormel Castle. I fell in love on the spot!
I've never considered music and theatre as separate entities - music plays a central role in the theatre I create, and I believe that storytelling is at the root of all music.
There were limited opportunities to create the theatre I loved when I was in school, but after university I trained as an actor and began a career as an actor-musician. Since then, I have toured the UK with an outdoor theatre production, worked as an actor-musician on a number of projects (including at the Royal Albert Hall... again!), and began my own theatre company, currently developing my very first show based on an old folk-tale about the violin.
How did you know you wanted to start a YouTube channel and music education business specifically?
To be totally honest, I completely fell into work as a music educator. When I graduated drama school, I knew I would need a job to support me alongside my career as an actor-musician, and after a lot of hit-and-miss, I found myself teaching EYFS music groups (babies, toddlers and pre-school). I absolutely loved teaching that age group as it combined performing, storytelling and music. I realised that as much as I love my career as a performer, it is equally fulfilling to work as a music educator. I still teach the EYFS age group, but I now also teach young beginners in piano, violin, guitar and singing. I owe so much to the teachers who got me into music growing up, and I love being able to pass that onwards.
As for the YouTube channel - that was really a result of the Coronavirus Pandemic. I'd been toying with the idea of beginning a Youtube channel for a few months before the pandemic began: mostly because I was interested in pursuing some children's presenting work. When Covid hit the UK and we were told to stay at home, I found I had absolutely no work. The creative industry completely ground to a halt, and I was left with a lot of time on my hands! Schools and parents were scrambling to home educate their kids, and I really felt that young children were going to miss out on those musical opportunities. I decided to go ahead and launch Music With Meg. My goal was to create resources that teachers and parents could use to continue to fuel children's interest in music. I wanted to make my videos short and interactive, upbeat, with good quality and slick graphics. School teachers were way too busy to be creating these resources themselves, so I wanted to do my part to help them out!
To begin with, my content was basic music theory and history, and meeting musical instruments, aimed at younger children aged 4-7. Following the success of my first violin video, I had a lot of requests for more specific violin content, so I launched Violin School. Again, my aim was to create engaging, fun, concise tutorials going over the basics of the violin, and helping people get to grips with the instrument. It's very difficult to learn an instrument from Youtube videos alone, but by offering these videos for free, my hope was that more people could access violin lessons. Launching Violin School helped to grow my audience, and build a community of followers, and after 10 months, I was made a Youtube Partner, allowing me to run ads on my content - keeping it free for everybody, but allowing me to earn a little money from each video.
What is your favorite part about your career, and what do you find most rewarding?
I have what you might call a "portfolio career" - in other words, I do a variety of different "jobs": from music educator, actor-musician, children's presenter and entertainer! My absolute favourite thing about my career is the variety. I've never followed a very linear career path, and the best thing about being a freelancer is having complete control over the work I choose to do. I never feel defined by a single element of my career. Currently, the majority of my work is in education, but as we begin to recover from the pandemic, the performing arts industry will begin to re-open, and the focus of my work will likely shift a little bit. It can be scary to work for yourself, and it can be difficult to justify to friends and family who view it as a risky career choice, but the freedom and rewards that come from it far outweigh the negatives.
I'm so glad that part of my career is as a music educator. Seeing children's confidence grow is one of the most rewarding things I've experienced. I can really see the connection between musical confidence and social confidence, and I love being able to nurture that in my students.
I think it's so important to teach younger generations to think creatively, to stay open and empathetic, and that they can be anything they want to be.
As a music teacher, I am able to plant that seed and encourage my students to stay curious.
What is the most challenging part about your career?
The unpredictability of a career as a freelance performer/educator is probably the most challenging part. Sometimes I really have to think on my feet to find creative solutions, and when you work for yourself, there's nobody else to fall back on! So it can be stressful at times. Juggling the different elements of my career is also a challenge that I still struggle with. Finding the hours in the day to work on creative projects, film content for Youtube, and plan my lessons is a real balancing act. It's especially difficult when I'm in rehearsals for a play and having to schedule teaching around that. But having open dialogue and flexibility really helps. When I'm really busy, it's hard to find the time to tackle the "admin" of the job: invoicing, payments, diary management, etc.
Besides that, self-doubt can sometimes kick in, and I definitely suffer burn-out at times. I often have to remind myself that my career is not my life!
How do you combine your passion for music with your passion for theater?
For me, storytelling is at the root of both music and theatre, so they fit together very naturally. Most of the work I do as a performer combines the two - whether it's plays with a musical score that weaves into the storytelling, or instruments taking centre stage along with the actors.
It's a really exciting time in the theatre industry at the moment, as there's a real desire for music and theatre to co-exist, and lots of new work is hailing back to the old folk traditions of live instruments and storytelling on stage.
I'm currently developing a show inspired by one of my favourite pieces of music: Czardas by Vittorio Monti, and based on a Transylvanian folk story about the origin of the violin. Music will be at the centrepoint of the storytelling.
How has your experience being a content creator allowed you to explore further audiences or other facets of music education?
Creating content on YouTube has definitely opened me up to a more global audience, and I have taught and met students in the US via Zoom as a result of my Youtube content.
What are some of the most helpful tools or tricks you have found for beginners who are starting a youtube or social media presence?
I'm definitely no expert on social media, but what I will say from my limited experience, is if you want to become a presence on social media, it really is a full-time job of it's own. Creating and promoting content on youtube is also a full-time job. So if you want to create a YouTube or social media presence, you really do need to be prepared to put in the time! Personally, I don't put much time into my social media presence, but as for YouTube, I would advise trying to find a niche.
It's an over-saturated market, so once you've decided your field, do some research to find out what content is already out there, what is popular, and what there is demand for.
(For example, if there are a ton of videos teaching vibrato for string musicians, and many of them have tens of thousands of views, then there is clearly a demand for that content, and that demand is being fulfilled by those videos. So, either you find something else to create a video about, or you figure out how to make your content more relevant and engaging). Generally, you want to make sure that people click on your content, and if there are many people doing what you're doing, you want to make sure they'll choose your content over somebody else's.
How do you get people to click on your content? My number one tip if you're starting out is focus on Quality: image, sound and editing. Using a decent quality camera supported on a tripod will go a long way, but the key to getting an appealing image is lighting and background. Don't be backlit - you can film opposite a sunny window to get good lighting on your face, or (I would recommend) invest in lights or a light ring. They're pretty cheap and well worth the money for the difference they make. Try and frame your shot nicely, and if you can, use the same shot in all your content to create continuity and identity. Having quality sound really makes a difference too, even just a cheap lapel mic will improve your sound. Finally, take time to get to grips with editing, as this can really make your content look more professional. There are some fantastic free/open source editing softwares out there,so you don't need to break the bank. All of my videos are edited on HitFilm Express, which is a free software and really fantastic. Clean, sleek editing makes a massive difference!
Keep your videos concise and to the point, always be honest with your audience, don't waste their time, and make sure your thumbnail is bright, smiley and engaging!
What advice would you give to a young string musician?
My number one piece of advice is to be patient! Stringed instruments are notoriously tricky, but if you put the technical work in now, it will save you a world of pain down the line!
Don't try to run before you walk, and follow advice from your teachers and professionals.
For example, don't attempt vibrato until you have a solid technical foundation! If you're doing music exams, make sure you play repertoire outside of the curriculum too. I'd really recommend everybody to try their hand at jazz, klezmer and folk music. Music theory may seem dull, but it's really worth learning it now, especially if you want a career in music. Learn your key signatures, circle of fifths and intervals: not just in theory, but how they relate to your instrument. If you ever find yourself in a role that requires you to create music, you're going to need that knowledge! Finally, I'd say all young string musicians should join an orchestra. There's no faster way to learn your craft, you can meet and collaborate with your peers, and it's great sight-reading practice!
What skills and personality traits are useful for students to develop if they want a further career in music education?
Don't take yourself too seriously!
Try to stay open to new opportunities, and don't be too rigid with your expectations. Opportunities present themselves in strange ways, but if you stay blindly fixed on a single path, you will miss out!
Don't depend too much on your career, no matter what it is, and remember to live your life and find satisfaction and fulfilment in other things. Stay flexible. Hold on tightly to the things you're passionate about, but be prepared to let go lightly when things don't work.