This question means congratulations are in order. You've finished the part of guitar that has a syllabus. Chords, changes, strumming, some songs: that's the foundation. What nobody warns you about is the feeling that follows: 'now what?' So let me hand over the secret that unlocks the next decade: from this point on, it's a menu. You choose by appetite.
Five doors, all legitimate:
- 1REPERTOIRE: get to ten songs you can play start-to-finish on request. Nothing builds skill and confidence like finished songs, and it's what every party will ask of you.
- 2BARRE CHORDS & THE NECK: unlock every key and the fretboard past fret 3. The workhorse choice (see the readiness guide).
- 3LEAD PLAYING: the pentatonic box, bends, slides — melody and solos. The door most electric players sprint through.
- 4SONGWRITING & RECORDING: turn the chords you know into things that didn't exist before. Our Write & Record topic is this whole door.
- 5PLAYING WITH HUMANS: jams, open mics, a friend slapping a beat on a box. Grows skills nothing solo can — timing, listening, recovery, joy.
◆ KEY IDEA
Pick by pull, not duty
★ PRO TIP
The project trick
And keep one habit from the beginner era: the daily-ish ten minutes. The menu changes what you practice; the habit is why you'll still be playing in ten years. Skills stack on skills, doors open into doors, but only for the player who keeps showing up.
Ten songs, the neck, lead lines, your own music, other humans — five doors, zero wrong answers. Pick the one that made your heart do the little thing just now. That reaction was the answer, by the way. Welcome to the wide part of guitar. 🎵
Your turn ⭐
Choosing your door
Question 1 of 3
After the basics, how should you choose what to learn next?
The cheat sheet
- After the basics it's a menu: repertoire, the neck, lead, writing, humans.
- Choose by pull — motivation is the engine, and every door leads onward.
- Frame the next phase as a finishable project, not an endless subject.
- Keep the daily-ish ten minutes; the habit outlasts every menu choice.
Common questions
How do I know I'm actually 'past the basics'?
A practical bar: a handful of open chords land automatically, you can switch them in time inside real songs, and you can play two or three songs start to finish. If that's you, you're ordering off the menu — whether you feel 'ready' or not.
Should I get a teacher for the intermediate stage?
It's arguably the BEST stage for one. A few lessons to audit habits and aim your chosen door beats weekly lessons forever. Self-taught plus an occasional check-in is a powerful combination (see the teach-yourself guide).
What's the biggest intermediate mistake?
Collecting fragments — fifty song intros, no finished songs, no project. The cure is embarrassingly simple: finish things. Ten complete songs teach more than a hundred openings, and they're what people actually want to hear.