444 - Why Learning Bagpipes Feels Harder Before It Gets Easier (Dojo Conversations Episode 114)

Ever tried something new and thought, "Easy! I could do that"—only to fail spectacularly? That’s the hierarchy of competence in action. It’s the universal journey from complete ignorance to effortless mastery. And guess what? You’ve been through it more times than you can count.

This week, Andrew and Jim break down the hierarchy of competence, explaining the four stages: unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence, and unconscious competence. They stress the importance of moving beyond conscious competence to perform skills effortlessly, applying this concept to various aspects of bagpiping, such as learning new tunes and tuning drones. 

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Here’s what we cover this week: 

00:00 Old Injury Recap

00:45 The Intensity Equation Explained

02:13 Peer Pressure in Gym and Pipe Band

03:21 Understanding the Intensity Equation in Bagpiping

07:35 Commandment 8: Strive for Unconscious Competence

09:56 The Hierarchy of Competence

12:44 Learning New Skills and Overcoming Challenges

18:32 Bagpiping and Musical Mastery

26:55 Pursuing Personal Interests

27:25 From Conscious to Unconscious Competence

28:31 Angus McCall's Electronic Chanter

29:52 The Hierarchy of Competence

30:52 Learning New Tunes

34:06 Avoiding Demoralization

37:30 Memorization Techniques

48:30 Unconscious Competence in Action

53:51 Commandment 9 Preview