It’s said that there are four stages to learning.
The first stage is Unconscious Incompetence. Not only do you not know what you are supposed to be doing, but you can’t do it anyway.
We all start off like this as newborn babies. As we grow we transition to the other stages in different areas of our lives. We do that because we learn. But, at whatever age you begin learning to play your musical instrument, you will be at this first stage. You may be four years old or 84 years old, but you will be at the stage of Unconscious Incompetence until you learn something.
The second stage is Conscious Incompetence. You know what you are supposed to be doing, but you can’t do it yet.
Children pass through this stage in all areas of their lives, such as dressing themselves, tying shoelaces, learning to spell, writing an essay, revising for an exam. You know what’s required, but you still need teaching, guidance and help. This stage is where many students are as they learn to play music. Your teacher shows you what to do. They explain it very carefully. You understand the explanation, but it’s still too much of a challenge, and you don’t succeed. Provided you practise well, this stage can be very transient, moving rapidly into the next one.
The third stage is Conscious Competence. You know what you are supposed to be doing, and you can do it if you really think about it.
This is where practice pays off, whether it’s that spelling test, tying your laces, passing an exam or playing your music. If you practise in the right way (and, if you’ve been an avid reader of Humoresque, you will know exactly what that means), then this stage will quickly open up for you. You will still have to concentrate, and you are aware that this is not yet instinctive. But, much of the time, you get those laces done up, you master those tricky spellings, you pass that exam and you make progress with your music.
The fourth stage is Unconscious Competence. You know what you are doing and can do it without thinking.
Moving from the third stage to the fourth takes hard work and dedication. All of us stay on the third stage with many things, and that’s often because we don’t see a need to get any better at whatever skill we’re learning. We’re happy to have to think about it, and we know we’ll carry out the task better anyway if we concentrate.
Most adults will be at this fourth stage of Unconscious Competence when it comes to tying their shoelaces – but not many will be able to pass an exam without thinking about it. We can all dress ourselves without conscious effort, but we may still have to look up some spellings. Not many people would claim to be able to write an essay without conscious thought. So it depends, doesn’t it?
Ultimately, this fourth stage is where you’re trying to be with your music, although not necessarily with every part of it. Perhaps you can play certain things without thinking about what you’re doing, but in your lesson you are being given more challenging tasks. You may show Unconscious Competence when singing a well-known song, but Conscious Incompetence when practising a Mozart sonata.
And, after all, pushing the boundaries is actually the point. If you’re at the fourth stage with everything, you’re no longer learning.
So, we are all at one stage or another – or transitioning between them – with everything we do.
If someone put me in charge of a nuclear reactor, I would be an Unconscious Incompetent. But if you want me to play Happy Birthday on the piano, I will be an Unconscious Competent. When I upload a new book to the publisher, I am a Conscious Competent. When I attend my Welsh lesson, I’m moving between Conscious Incompetence and Conscious Competence, and that’s a good place to be.
When you next practise your music, and you are carefully applying all the principles of good practice technique, think as well about where you are on this competence spectrum.
Where are you with this one piece? Or with this one line? Or even with this one bar?
Can you get yourself to the next stage? What will it take? Will you need extra help from your teacher? If you’re at the first stage, something is very wrong and you need to ask your teacher for help. If you are at the fourth stage, you don’t need to practise that piece/line/bar anyway. Use your time more productively. Think about it, and work hard to move on.
Competence is not innate, it is learnt.
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Humoresque = a whimsical or fanciful piece of music. Be whimsical, be fanciful, but play in time!
This is Humoresque Number 48