One would need to speculate a lot to answer this question. Certainly following the YT video cannot replace sheet music, as @ToddWilcox points out. So no, the technology is not yet ready, at least not for anything beyond beginner level. Also, you loose the generality that a score provides – it's a similar question of guitar tabulatures vs scores. For educational purposes, would it be beneficial not to teach young students to read scores, and leave that for later? Questionable, I don't know.

I’m voting to close this question because it is purely opinion based. However, it would make an excellent chat topic. When you have enough reputation, please consider posting the same question there.

@Aaron Perhaps it could be rewritten as "what are the advantages and disadvantages of the <...> teaching method vs using scores".

@user1079505 Perhaps, but that would still be fundamentally opinion.

@Aaron many answers given on music SE are to some degree opinion based. I think the point is to ask the questions that are not completely open ended. To me this one is on the edge, though certainly could be improved.

@aaron, thanks reading and responding. I was trying to find more people that have given videos an honest try or reading music and/or teaching others using new tech so they compare the two. seems like everyone that's replied so far started off sight music before these videos became widely available over the past few years. oddly, more experienced players likely have more speculative opinions versus intermediate players since these only have become popular recently.

for context, i never got great with sight-reading from 2010-2016, but i could manage. when i made the switch, i got way better way faster, especially with technique. to me sheet music are both paint by numbers, you play what you see. the video is just a simpler language that also shows you which fingers to use.

@aaron, what is reputation and where is the proper place to post this. this is my first post hahaha

@prettykitty Well, first of all, welcome to the site. "Reputation" is a score that represents your experience and contributions to the site. Being new, your score started at "1", and as I write it's at "11". You got 10 points because your question received an upvote (the arrows next to a question or answer). As your reputation grows, you receive permission for new site activities, like using the chat room (rep>=20). I recommend the site tour, which was very helpful to me when I joined. It's a quick read and explains all the basics.

I see your reputation has gone up to 21, so you should be able to post in our main chat room. I have experience teaching with the kinds of videos you're asking about, and would be happy to participate in a discussion there.

I'm a complete beginner in music. Initially, I thought Synthesia looked nice, and I know a friend who learned a piano piece entirely from it. But I decided to learn sheet reading, because of 2 things: I wanted to be able to read the information out of it instead of watching a video that I have to put on pause every two seconds; second is, there are tons of videos like that for some musics, and sometimes there are none at all. And I keep wondering: "Is that the official way of playing or an arrangement?" - There's no clear information, unless I buy it (like Ur Text editions).

As a side note, as someone pointed out in their answers, from my point of view, it seems like the music sheet is more "complete" in information. I mean, you learned the keys and the fingering of Moonlight Sonata from watching the video. But the video itself (without the sound) lacks some markings, such as: shoud I play it pianissimo or crescendo, or should I use the sustain pedal. Usually, I have a look if I have doubt in reading. But only after I have tried reading and know something sounds off.

I'm sure there are people out there who have learned using this method, along with teachers who utilise it with some of their students - for various reasons. That takes it fairly and squarely out of 'opinion', surely?

I don't think this is opinion based at all. Although there can be answers like "this does or does not work for me", there have been discussions among musicians concerning different ways to write music down. And especially during the last decades, with software using piano roll (something that makes things easier for a beginner), this kind of discussion is more and more common.

This is just so wrong.

Perhaps a related question: music.stackexchange.com/questions/90109/…

I highly doubt that every "song" ever has been transcribed/presented this way. Not even all pieces for solo piano. Not even close. And there are reasons composers haven't and won't publish their work this way, as others here explain.

"Should piano teachers move away from sheet music.." It's pretty much inevitable as they get older. They call it long-sightedness.

As a side note (no pun intended), I really hate the trend of calling a video like that a tutorial. There is no guidance or instruction there. Just musical notation and a playthrough. Which can be useful, mind you. But not a tutorial, the way I understand the word.

Funny, I was listening to Moonlight Sonata while first reading this question.