Are there any shortcuts to getting good quickly with the different playing techniques?
Yes and no. Yes, by not getting into bad habits early on that you may have to break later, you will save time in the long run. And no, it’s not merely the matter of how much you know and how much you practice, but it takes time for things to really sink in. It is said that to truly master any art form, it takes a minimum of 5-10 years. This doesn’t mean that you can’t get very good in a shorter amount of time, it just means you will lack the experience that makes the masters really the masters. The longer you play, the more this makes sense.