There are 6 phases you’ll go through when learning anything on guitar — whether it’s a song, riff, lick, concept, etc.
And when you get through all 6 phases, that’s when you’re “playing without thinking”. That’s when that thing you wanted to learn becomes “automatic”.
So what are the 6 phases? They are:
- At first, that “new thing” is “impossible”. You can’t do it. (That’s why you’re trying to learn it.)
- After a few attempts, it becomes “possible”. And you start to see how you can do it.
- After you practice it a few more times, you start to “get it” a little more. That’s when it shifts from “possible” to “challenging”. You like a challenge so you keep practicing, and you see the
progress you’re making. - At that point, it becomes “annoying” because you almost have it down, but not quite. You still need to smooth out a few small “wrinkles” here and there.
- Then — the phase you’ve been looking for — it gets FUN and EASY. This is the best part. You love playing it, and it feels great every time.
- That is, until the next phase. It starts to become a “habit”, and when you play it, it feels a little “stale”. But because it’s now a habit, you keep playing it whenever there’s a guitar in your hands. And that’s when – even before you start playing – you know what’s going to happen.
At this point, you’ve truly mastered it…
It’s time to move on to the next thing.
And that means you have the opportunity to go back to phase 1 — working your way towards your NEXT mastered skill.
Oh yeah, one more thing to mention:
Staying at phase 6 — where you know something and it feels too “comfortable” — is actually one of the worst things you can do if you wanna constantly get better.
That’s because you’re never challenging yourself. Meaning you’re never “growing”.
So make sure to take on the next thing when you reach phase 6.
And to avoid the other BIG, progress-killing mistakes, go here:
