Earlier this week I wrote about guitar triage, the act of prioritizing what you need to work on next. Between the time I wrote it and the time that I sent it, Seth Godin shared this little gem about the Critical Path.
One of the biggest problems with the way most of us learn the guitar is the complete lack of sequencing. We bounce around, following our interests, learning songs and occasionally absorbing theoretical bits like the blues scale.
At some point we realize that in order to continue improving, we need to study the guitar’s (and music-in-general’s) underpinnings.
But here’s where the whole thing goes horribly awry: for all the guitar lessons & youtube videos in the world today, no one is even talking about the proper order in which to tackle the guitar.
And there are definite path dependencies in guitar learning: things you absolutely must do before you can get any of the value out of the things that come next.
If you’ve been reading this blog, you might have guessed that the ability to play in time tops the list of required skills. If you can’t play with a metronome, you can’t play.
Once you have that under control, the next logical step is to learn the notes. Everything else that you need or want to do with guitar is either impossible or stupidly difficult if you can’t look at a note you’re playing and instantly know its name.
I could go on and on, but the important idea here that I want you to consider is that
THERE IS A RIGHT ORDER IN WHICH TO LEARN GUITAR.
We’re going to get into more detail soon––I have a monster post in the works where I’ll share the whole sequence as well as the most enjoyable way to learn the note names.
Please sign up for Fretboard Anatomy emails so you don’t miss it, and leave a comment below with your questions/concerns/complaints/chili recipes.
