Originally Posted by: ChristopherSchlegel

The most important thing to develop is your physical technique & your aural skills (ear training) to the point that you can hear chord changes & melodies & know what they are before you put your hands on the guitar.

Being able to read is a valuable skill, but the physical skills required to actually play the guitar parts in songs you want to play is the priority.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the reply. Interesting pointer on aural skills. Do you have any recommendation on how to start developing that? Thanks again.