When learning something new, I try to start with the simplest stuff I can find, and then move to more complex materials. The idea is to understand the concepts as best I can initially, and move on to applying them in more difficult ways.
Dummies -type books are great for this because they explain everything and assume that you don't know things, when textbooks often do make that assumption.
I also backfill concepts as necessary.
Pretty much exactly how I approach things. I learn
as I apply things, once I've gotten the historical/developmental lay of the land, so to speak. I'm all about backfill, in other words, and it doesn't bother me. I've assumed that this is the result of my doctoral training (since that is how one approaches literature in a field, generally), but it may be a more general approach that many autodidacts follow.
I also tend
not to view my autodidactic learning as-- well, certainly not perfect, and in many cases I'm a little insecure about it, certainly more than seems to be indicated by the impressions of others re: my evident proficiency in the domain.
I'm completely self-taught as a seamstress (and I'm a good one), knitter, and spinner. I'm mostly self-taught as a pattern designer and in several scientific disciplines, too, including some historically relevent things that are just weird and esoteric, like Dageurrotypy. I started with a pretty good musical background to begin with, but I have also managed to teach myself reasonable proficiency on guitar and violin as an adult, too. I did teach myself some advanced math topics using this same basic approach.
I am not much of a visually oriented learner-- more of a text-oriented one, generally. The exception is with handicrafts, where I definitely prefer pictures, diagrams and schematics which are well-labeled and clear.
I'm not a videophile. My DH is.
He uses Dummies books, other books (a lot of them-- and both of us approach book selection by
asking experts what they like and WHY they like it) and YouTube (often as recommended by others or his sourcebooks).
My favorite tools-- snipping tool and bookmarking on the computer, Steno notebooks with books, post-it flags (I buy them by the gross, I swear), and highlighters for use in books that I own.
Like Val, I look for reasonably reliable/stable websites affiliated with trustworthy sources so that I can double check my understanding.
And then I try things.
If I get stuck, I seek out additional source material. If that doesn't help, I either try work-arounds or I find an expert who can give me some advice.
Taking violin as an example of this approach:
a) My spouse bought me a violin. Surprise! (It was a nice surprise, I must say, and I am elated that he remembered my involuntary longing for that particular violin.) I mention this as the initial step because autodidactic learning is a fully metacognitive process for me at this point in my life-- it's
deliberate, but it can be sparked by any number of different triggering mechanisms.
b) I got the name of a teacher from my DD's piano teacher. I still have it, but haven't had a good chance to make use of it-- or need to-- yet.
c) Bought beginner books that are suitable for someone who already reads music well and doesn't need theory instruction. In doing so, I spent a lot of time considering different books and thumbing through them in person. While I love Amazon for a lot of things, I definitely like to have a clear vision of what I am getting when I use a book to support autodidactic learning. No preview = no sale, unless I have a VERY good feeling that it will be useful (from reading expert reviews or talking to an expert that recommends it for my learning needs, I mean).
d) Read everything I could lay my hands on about the development of the violin, its parts, caring for one, etc. etc. etc.
e) bought other items that seemed truly necessary-- case humidifier, a different bow that I like better, different rosin, a fingerboard map/tapes, etc.
as I started playing and building technical skill and finding out what I do and do not like personally. When making purchases, I
explore other items associated with my learning-- and I ask questions if I am buying from a B&M source.
f) watched my technique and ergonomics via a mirror, comparisons with violin tutorial vids, and checking my tone by recording myself playing, and by playing with an autotuner on my music stand and a metronome handy.
g) when I'm engaged in learning/playing/practicing, I am IMMERSED. I am not multitasking, and I prefer to do this without a fixed endpoint. I stop when my hands, joints, or fingertips tell me to, or when I can tell that I'm losing nice tone.
When I don't have time, I don't have time. I'm not going to make the learning less effective or enjoyable in order to wedge it in-- but that is because I don't NEED to learn the violin at any particularly fast rate. I have as much time as I want. I'm enjoying the process itself, and it doesn't feel
acquisitive. Sometimes, my autodidactic learning does feel that way, though-- that's how I approached preparing fleece and spinning, and also fair-isle knitting, linear algebra, and neuroanatomy. It was GOAL-oriented. So it can work that way for me.
In contrast, my DH is a self-taught woodworker (and a good one, if I do say so myself). It has taken him a decade, but he is good enough now that he can (and does) design and sell what he makes. He has spent a lot of time
trying different tools, spending time on specialist message boards, reading specialty periodicals, and buying books. And making a LOT of sawdust, or at least that is what I tease him.
He and I are really different as learners-- different in style, different in strengths. What we have in common as autodidacts is a willingness to critically evaluate ourselves in terms of performance and understanding and confidence of understanding. We also tend to build
theory to hang pragmatic skills from.
DD recently taught herself beginning acoustics using an entirely web-based approach. She used the same method that her dad and I both use-- theory first, relying upon trustworthy source material (University websites, not random YouTube and .com websites), then trying some things herself using tools she already possessed.
One major difference is that at 13, she was sure she had "learned it all" as opposed to what her dad and I both know through life experience; there is proficiency at what I've
seen, and then there is mastery in the zen sense-- mastery is not such an easy mark.
