Awarenessยท6 min readยท

How to Organize Music Production and Instrument YouTube Channels into Folders

Channels about making music are a different category from channels you subscribe to for listening โ€” instrument lessons, gear and pedal reviews, DAW and production tutorials, and cover or performance channels. They serve a practice-oriented purpose rather than a passive-listening one, and mixing them with general music channels buries the lesson you need under videos you'd only ever half-watch.

Folders separate music production and instrument channels by what you're trying to get out of them โ€” practice, gear research, or technique โ€” so sitting down to actually work on an instrument doesn't start with scrolling past channels you follow just to listen. This guide covers the folder structures that work and how to set them up.

How this is different from a general music folder

A channel you follow to listen to an artist's new releases and a channel you follow to learn scales serve completely different purposes, even though YouTube treats them the same way. If you're organizing channels you listen to for enjoyment, see the guide on organizing music YouTube channels instead โ€” this guide is specifically for lesson, gear, and production channels.

Folder structures for music production channels

By instrument

Guitar, Piano, Drums, Vocals, or whichever instruments you actually play. Useful if you're learning more than one instrument and want lessons for each to stay separate.

By purpose

Lessons & Tutorials, Gear & Reviews, Production & DAW, Covers & Performances. Useful when instrument matters less than what you're actually trying to do โ€” practice technique, research gear, or learn production.

A sample setup

If you're not sure where to start, this layout covers most music-making subscription lists:

  • Lessons โ€” instrument tutorials and technique channels
  • Gear โ€” reviews and comparisons for instruments, pedals, and equipment
  • Production โ€” DAW tutorials, mixing, and recording techniques
  • Covers & Performances โ€” channels you follow for playing rather than teaching

Set it up in FolderTube

  1. Install FolderTube from the Chrome Web Store.
  2. Click the purple FolderTube button on YouTube to open the sidebar.
  3. Press the sync button to pull in every channel you follow.
  4. Create the folders above and drag channels in based on what you actually use them for, not just the instrument they feature.
  5. Open the Subscriptions page and filter by folder depending on whether you're practicing, researching gear, or working on a mix.

Add real folders to YouTube

FolderTube is free to install. Drag your subscriptions into folders and finally find what you actually want to watch.

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When subfolders earn their place

If you're learning more than one instrument, a Lessons folder can get crowded fast. Subfolders (Lessons > Guitar / Piano) keep each instrument's material separate without needing a full top-level folder for every instrument you're picking up.

Use Mark as Watched to track lessons

Instrument tutorials build on each other, and it's easy to lose track of which lesson you've already gone through. Mark as Watched greys out videos you've completed and adds a checkmark, so picking up practice after a break shows exactly where you left off.

If you're organizing channels you listen to rather than learn from, see how to organize music YouTube channels. For the general folder workflow, see the complete guide to organizing YouTube subscriptions.

Try FolderTube free

Add real folders to your YouTube subscriptions in under a minute. No credit card required.

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