Recently I learned to drive a car. It brought back memories of my experience of learning to ride a scooter about a decade ago and a bicycle another decade before that. In theory, we have studied about the continuous S-curve of learning. In this post, I propose a dis-continuous curve to all learnings that result into muscle memory based on conscious effort and capability. This holds true for situations like learning to play a musical instrument, driving a car or preparing for marathon. Let's understand this better through the example of learning guitar.

This is the stage before we start learning. We know we don't know but we're not quite bothered about it. It comes to our active conscious once in a while but we dismiss it and deprioritize among other things. We may venture out in some proxy of the said activity but never quite engage with the act of immersing in the learning part. At this stage, the engagement is limited to careless browsing of related content without commitment to the practice itself.

Guitar learning - In this stage, some guitar videos on youtube about types of guitar, easy songs for beginners, chord and tabs - these form largest part of the related content consumed. Occasional digs into guitar brands and planning when to start taking classes may also feature in this stage.

As we become aware of our need/desire to learn, the first thing is serious research - either through seeking recommendations in the network or gathering information from various sources. This is different from watching some videos or reading some article as they come across during idle browsing done in the 1st stage. This is a methodical approach to understand different nuances of the art.

This stage also highlights the need for a guide/mentor/teacher who can break the mountain of collected information into digestible bits of baby steps to get started. After the first few lessons, while the body is still trying to develop reflexes, the information from the instructor keep increasing and the real grind begins. The real-time information coming your way increases while you are under the spotlight with the instructor watching and commenting on your every mistake. This gets overwhelming quite soon and this is exactly where majority of drop-outs are found. When the grind becomes more than the love for the activity, the learning stops.

Guitar learning - In this stage, you reach out to reliable musicians in your personal network - someone whose recommendations can be trusted. After finalizing on type and brand of guitar, you start actually practicing it. As the interest picks up and inadequacies become more apparent, an instructor will be sought. Finally, after quickly rushing through the basic theory, when what needs to be done is abundantly clear, the real struggle of putting it into action will begin. 

For the ones that survive stage 2, the rewarding experience of stage 3 awaits them. This is the stage where confidence builds up. The alertness is still required but each iteration is less exhausting now. Expert supervision may still be required to discharge the activity satisfactorily but it wouldn't be a disaster if the expert takes off in between. The accomplishment of almost having made it makes the effort worth it. The grind now feels pleasurable and the intensity increases as the goal is now just One Step Away.

Guitar learning - This stage is when you can play some songs with absolute concentration with minor errors. This needs full focus but you can deliver your practiced songs without faulting on every chord switch, or looking for next chord combination or the riff pattern. Practicing now becomes more enjoyable.

This is the final stage when the learner is now transformed into an artist/ a practitioner. Muscle memory can kick in and conscious effort in being always alert is not required now. It just becomes one more thing that the mind and body can work out on their own without active participation from the consciousness.

Guitar learning - Playing guitar is now not about improving your core technical skills but more about enjoying and expressing yourself through it. Chord switches can happen with much more finesse without even focusing upon it. The advanced stages may still require dedicated efforts of practicing but basic songs can be played and enjoyed with friends with higher capability and lower conscious effort.