Hi,

I have been subscribing to Guitartricks for 5 years now but (same old story) never found enough time to seriously use it. I want to change that now. But one thing I miss and didn't really find here, is a guide on what to learn in which sequence, a system. Can anyone help me with that? I guess it depends on what you want to do and what your starting point is, so let me tell you about that.

- I have been playing guitar casually for about 12 years and also played a few of decades ago in my youth for a few years, never practicing much or methodically, especially the last few years. Which I want to do now. Basic chords and a bit more advanced chords, barre chords and some finger picking with attention to the base line, feel quite natural. I have practiced the minor pentatonic scale and know the patterns to some degree. I have followed some of the courses here on blues and bending and could do that more, learn some riffs and such. However, having a general idea about what is what, feeling at home in a key, knowing which chords and notes to use there and generally knowing what a certain chord/harmony is needed to achieve what effect, such things must be the most important and without having this insight, it feels a little like running around in the dark and that is not motivating for learning isolated parts of the whole. 

- I like to write songs and sing them, usually using acoustic guitar accompaniment. What works well is generating chords and then writing a text. The other way, having the lyrics and a melody and then creating chords, is more difficult. I probably lack music theory…

- I want to focus on Blues for a while, because I like it and find it to be the mother of many other genres. Rock would also be interesting in that respect. In these studies I imagine using mainly electric guitar.

- On the electric guitar I would like to be able to play a bit of soloing, not necessarily shredding it completely, just a little mood creation. I don't see myself becoming a professional lead guitarist. Also, some understanding/mastering of chords for the electric guitar, like power-chords, is on my to-learn list.

- I want to understand music theory as much as necessary to match what I am able to do practically. I imagine first learning the important things, while practicing physically, building up practical playing and theory together.

- Learning notes: I am not sure if that is feasible or if tabs would be more beneficial?

- Eventually, if time and talent permits, I would be interested in playing Jazz. Which I now see as a really big challenge, for which you not only need great technical skills but also a profound knowledge of harmony.

Anyone know what I mean?

Cheers to all

Henrik