Go to your local library or music shop and get yourself some sort of an instructional book. There are loads of good books to start learning those chords, arpeggios and scales from. I personally recommend Ralph Denyer's "The Guitar Handbook", because it has pretty much all you'll need to get started with that stuff and there's so much other info there as well. Of course, any guitar instructional book will do that covers the basics of guitar playing. I know Guthrie Govan has a book that quite thoroughly explains the basics and more advanced things too. The most important thing is to have a good practicing routine so you keep getting better.

Hi Reaper,

I was in the same boat. I started playing back in 1983 with the only lessons I had were how to hold a power chord and how to tune my guitar. Eventually I found "The Guitar Grimoire" by Adam Kadmon. There are a few books in the sreies. The one I have now is The Guitar Grimoire - Chords and voicings. It shows you all the chord patterns and voicings within those chords. There is also a Grimoire on scales and there were one or two more although can't remember what they are. Your local music shop should be able to order them and I have seen them at Border's books. Their about $20.00 each. The book was published by Metatron.

Stay safe,

Mike

Ive been playing quite a while, and I still am sometimes overwhelmed by the fretboard possibilities that I will perhaps never venture accross. So, have fun while you're there. Try different genres(completely), keys, modes, jam with new people, try a new guitar or different instrument altogether. Try composing some new stuff. Get a drum machine.

Chris

Chris is right. Trying different genres gets you a fresh perspective on your own music. It might still be an Em but they are playing an Emb9 that may sound better in some situation. I think that the best music comes from blending genres in new ways. Oddly enough, my guitar playing was accelerated by learning to play banjo. Because I was playing alot of banjo chords up the neck, it got me into finding new ways to play chords up the neck on guitar, which lead to other discoveries in blues, jazz and even metal. There is something to learn from every kind of music.

Practice, practice, practice...

It's really the only way. I also, am self taught on guitar. Not to say that I didn't have some musical training that made the whole process easier. Personally, I've bought a LOT of guitar books and methods and all sorts of learning material that I only use as reference. I just don't seem to be able to follow learning from a book. Add to that, that I'm pretty set in my ways at this age. I decided years ago that I didn't want to play lead and that rhythm was my thing. I've concentrated on chording and am happy with what I do. That's what it's really all about for me. I enjoy playing too much to turn it into some kind of chore or job. Still the ONE thing that is common to whatever method you choose is...

Practice, practice, practice...

theres a lot of good advice, you can also search online and find most stuff for free. sometimes simple is best, music doesn't have to be extremly complicated, Xark said it best when he said he was happy with what he does, and that is trully all that matters...

also I have a friend that is in the same boat as yourself, He's been playing for some time and while he is a really good player he doesn't know what he's playing, if i ask him what a chord progression for his tunes is he just looks at me blankly.....

Like Zarkzilla says, practice, practice, practice. The more you play, the more it will come to you. Sometimes I wonder if I'm annoying the hell out of my girlfriend if I come up with something new by plaing it over and over and over again. Thankfully she enjoys it. But the more I play, the better things sound and come together. I forgot who said it, but someone once said, "If it sounds good, it is good."

And I am also like inablackout's friend, I may know how to hold and play the chords, I just don't know what all of them are LOL. Ask me to play in a certain chord and I'll look at that person funny also LOL.

Chris, Look at the license plate... It's where I live.

One of the things I've done over the years is to develop little "licks." They're not "songs" by any means, just chord combinations that I like, that are a little unusual, or even difficult to play. I do a lot of hammer/pull finger work within the chords and eventually, they find their way into some composition or another. This allowed me to work on difficult fingerings and changes, without having to compare what I was doing with something that was done by someone else. If you gauge your progress against your OWN abilities, it is far less discouraging than comparing yourself to someone else.

One other thing that might help...

Be yourself! By this I mean that just because a particular song was recorded in a particular way, doesn't mean you have to play it the same way. Make it your OWN song. It's your interpretation that counts here, not the actual notes, timing or even structure. You have the power to interpret music in the way it feels best to you. Rewrite it to suit your skills. Change that fingering if you can't get it all and just play a part of the chord. The flavor remains. Change the chords to something similar that gives the same impression, if it's easier for you. Eliminate half the notes in that solo to retain the flavor, but make it your own. Above all... Don't reach beyond your abilities.

We see this in the studio with many groups. "Well, we're not that good because we've never played with anyone that's that good." "We want to sound exactly like, whatever group it might be." What? These are players who are lost in the art. Who want to be copy cats. Who gauge their abilities based on what others are doing. It's not who's better, it's who really enjoys what they're doing. Even the most mediocre musicians who come to the studio with a real LOVE of playing sound better than the technically proficient "musicians" who treat it all like a contest comparing themselves to others.