Abstract

The development of communication technologies, resulting in the arrival of the Internet and the World-Wide-Web has been rapid, influencing almost all aspects of modern society including education. Concepts of epistemology, how we know what we know, have been forced to rapidly adjust to these new and emerging technologies. Online communities of learners have developed in virtual spaces where community members share knowledge and resources as well as offer support and feedback. This is particularly prominent in the field of learning to play the guitar. This paper presents findings of a systematic literature review to empirically examine the question: What does it mean epistemologically to use digital methods when learning the guitar? With a particular focus on self-directed learning through online communities, notions of epistemic inertia and resonance are discussed, and concepts of epistemic indulgence and discretion are presented. This paper also presents the conception of the evolving communication in online guitar communities, in the form of tablature developed in word processors and simple imaging software, to be a folksonomy, which is itself a product of epistemic resonance.