Abstraction

Abstraction is a concept that is found across domains, from computer science to visual art. Each use case varies depending on the context but at the core, it can be looked at in a couple of ways (or two opposing directions):

1. Simplifying a group of things into more general (more abstract) ideas or concepts, rather than looking at the individual events or actions themselves (aka from micro to macro). A few examples are viewing i) a series of tasks as a singular process, ii) a set of beliefs as a single ideology, or iii) individual motions into a single, fluid movement

2. Breaking down a more complex "thing" (an idea, concept, song, really any thing) into smaller and smaller "things", parts, or pieces (aka from macro to micro).

A great example of this bi-directional concept in relation to music is "chunking". When we learn a new song or riff, we take it (in its entirety) and we break it into smaller pieces, learning those smaller pieces individually - sometimes down to the atomic level, note by note. Once we are able to comfortably remember or perform one of the pieces, we move on to the next. After some time, we can confidently perform multiple "pieces" to the point where we combine them back together, eventually ending up back where we started - with the original "thing" (in its entirety).

"Chunking is great and all but I already do it...how is this going to help me more?"

Well, let's take a step back and consider how the concept that was explained relates to how many players learn theory and other new ideas in this age of self-help knowledge.

Online, many topics (scales, chords, modes, songs) are covered through diagrams, charts, shapes, patterns, etc. Now don't get me wrong - visual mediums are awesome. They help us memorize things spatially and are incredibly useful. The problem lies in that many resources either omit or assume that the player already knows and understands how to apply the item.

Many self-taught players do not fully apply these concepts or explore them to a point of practical nor creative application. Many stop with the shape and go on believing that that shape is the concept. But in failing to go deeper to identify and understand the individual parts and pieces (whether out of eagerness to move on or from not knowing what is not known), an important opportunity for true insight is missed. Think of it as losing the forest for the trees. And it's understandable - in this age of information, we see and want to do and experience so much. We're conditioned to want it fast and get it easily.

And so we rush to learn a pattern, abstracting the entirety of knowledge into that one thing, and then are eager to move on, thinking we’ve really learned it. But we’ve only memorized a pattern. There is no knowledge or benefit in simply memorizing the pattern. Memorizing the pattern is how you get "stuck in the box" when attempting to be creatively free.

So here is where I present an alternative - whether you're one that is in a rush, or whether you're one that was never shown how deep you can go to internalize these lessons and concepts:

Instead of looking to move on to the next topic, have an open mind and challenge yourself to see how deeply you can learn something. How much value you can you squeeze from one lesson. Genuinely ask yourself if you feel "in control" of what you've learned. How easily can you move through it in more ways than simply forward or backwards? How easily can you apply it to another area of the fretboard?

To give you a real world example - take an arpeggio or chord shape found online. For many years, I would memorize the shape and think that that was it. That it needed to be used in the context that I "learned" it in and then I would rush to either get it up to speed (focusing on technique) or to move onto the next thing (chasing more rather than understanding what was already there). But instead, take a moment to get calm and comfortable. And then see just how slow you can move through each string. See if you can recognize the note names of the intervals being utilized.

THAT is going deeper to identify the parts (through naming). That’s the “hard” or seemingly boring part for many people. But it's only "hard" in the beginning. And it's only hard for as long as you're resistant to it. Because in the beginning, you're starting with "nothing". But that means the only way to go is forward...unless you continue to avoid it, in which case you remain stagnant. Understand that taking the time to understand the fretboard is where you really learn and gain control of the instrument.

Which brings us to the real application of the concept of abstraction in relation to the instrument.

Once you are comfortable with the physical movement of a thing (scale, chord, arpeggio, riff, etc), and have it "baked" into muscle memory, the next huge benefit to adding layers of the naming and fretboard knowledge beyond the movement is that you level up to making the movement become second nature (which is what we want to do when we play). Rather than focusing so much on the minutia of the physical movement and adding that mental pressure of having to pull it off every time, we instead think about what is happening "under the hood" when we do it. It gives us something else to focus on, something more useful to occupy our mental power.

Eventually you just focus on the musical aspect more than the technique and execution.

And that should always be the goal - not to get something faster, but to get something slow enough to where you can focus on the next level without making mistakes or using up too much brain power.

The brain will learn it through reps and rests. There are ways to optimize that but you can’t force it. It too must be done with ease.

You only need to learn something well enough to abstract or chunk it to the next level of use.