Another way to think about this is the parable of two brothers building a pyramid.

A popular version of the story describes an Egyptian Pharaoh with two sons. Each is asked to build a pyramid in ten years.

The first son gets to work immediately. Relying on thousands of laborers, enormous, heavy stones are cut, transported, and arranged to form the base of the pyramid.

Meanwhile, the second son has made no visible progress. He has spent his time developing and sketching ideas for a pyramid-building machine.

Several years pass and the first son has made even more progress. Two rows of stones have been stacked slowly (each stone requires substantial human labor, and the higher the stones are stacked the more labor that’s required).

The second son has not moved a single stone. However, he has designed and built a crane that moves stones without requiring thousands of laborers.

While the first son continues dragging stones up ever-longer ramps, the second son uses his crane to build his entire pyramid with far less time and effort.

The parable ends with Pharaoh giving his lands and power to his second, wise son.

There will be times during “Guitar Miscellany” when you want to be like the first son in this parable. You’ll want the satisfaction that comes from seeing the metaphorical stack of stones begin to pile up.

I encourage you, instead, to focus your energy and attention on creating the foundation that will build your playing ability faster and more effectively later.

Go slowly, at first, to go much faster later.