Ask HN: How do you learn Spanish guitar?

If you're on HN, you've probably experienced the dopamine rush of encountering something new, understanding it well enough in short order, applying it, and seeing results; or building something that others engage with in the same way. Or being especially good at math, or science, or computers, seemingly without much effort.

Music is (for most people) not like that. For getting proficient at instrumental music, the skill floor is high, progress is slow, and only comes through hard boring work which rewires your brain. Teachers tell you to do boring things, and say things that don't make sense, and you will be frustrated. Eventually you realize that you can do things you couldn't do before.

There are whiz kids who don't appear to experience this, but I think they do; they are just wired to not hate it as much as the rest of us, and are doing it when their brains are nicely plastic.

When I say "getting proficient at instrumental music" I mean to differentiate from learning how to play Wonderwall or Louie Louie and having a great time singing along. That's absolutely valid, it's a great place to be, and that love of the instrument forms the basis of further progress.