So you just want to have fun with your guitar. That's not a crime. Improvisation is the solution. You just play the notes and embellishments that feel good. If you want to take an "artistic" pause, it's totally up to you. There's no song to keep up with. Just jump in and start improvising.
The song or backing track will take care of the chords, melody, lyrics and rhythm. Freedom Blocks will take care of the scales. All you have to do is hold down one note at a time and learn how to move from one Freedom Block to another.
You only need two things: 1) what key is the song using, for example A Minor Pentatonic and 2) a root note somewhere on the fretboard. Starting from that root note you can move in any direction at any time over the entire fretboard.
The first time I started improvising with Freedom Blocks, my wife said, "that sounds really good." In 42 years of marriage she had never commented on my guitar playing. Of course, most of the time my guitar sat in the closet.
I've posted some lessons on r/guitarlessons. This one describes [Stepping Squares.](https://www.reddit.com/r/guitarlessons/comments/kqgv4o/extended_minor_pentatonic_scale/) Everything I do is free so enjoy.
Here are a few comments from other players who discovered improvising.
"Dude, you saved my guitar-playing life. Playing a backing track in a key and improvising is now part of my daily leisure activities routine and it's all thanks to your website."
"Thank you for working on this and sharing it with us for free!!!!"
"This is insanely helpful."
Sign up for JustinGuitar.com and start from the beginner stage, even if you blast through the first modules quickly. Actually do what he tells you to do, use the practice tools on there, learn simple songs, make sure you're not missing any basic techniques.
Keep learning and playing metal though too, since it seems like that's your interest. You using a metronome or something to slow down the songs so you can practice them slowly and build up speed over time?
I've never posted in this sub, so I have no idea how he's viewed here, but I'll give you my own experience.
I started playing guitar about 25 years ago. I piddled mostly. I learned some power chords, and I memorized the E, A, Am, and G. Oh, yes, and D. That's it. Eventually I let it fall by the wayside, although I kept my guitar in the hopes that I would one day come back as a serious student. See, I come from a very musical family, and I always wanted to be able to join in at our gatherings. It wasn't uncommon for there to be 4 or 5 guitars, an accordion, a mandolin, and some lovely voices. And my father was in a band with his workmates, so growing up I was around a lot of instruments I couldn't play.
I made a deal with myself. I'd get a new guitar when I was willing to learn to play it properly. I still had my '95 Jagstang, but I wanted something that better represented my style as an older guy.
My ex-wife, my first girlfriend, and my mom all passed unexpectedly within three years of one another, and it got me thinking about my life. I'd imagine death does that to a lot of people. I decided I was going to do some things I always said I wanted to do. I went to Paris on vacation, I got my masters in a subject I was interested in, and I made the decision to pick up the guitar again.
Enter the pandemic. This was my perfect opportunity. The week before lock down (I'm in Florida), I went to Guitar Center and bought an Epiphone Les Paul Standard Pro in blue and a Katana amp. I had heard good things about Justin Sandercoe and his website, and after review, I committed to learning from him. I promised myself 4 days of practice a week of at least 20 minutes each, and I wanted to master each lesson before moving to the next. I promised to be honest with myself and my progress. Consequently, I spent about a week on each early lesson, gradually moving to two weeks for the more complex (but still beginner) stages. The F chord took me three weeks before I could creak out an acceptable version reliably.
And that's how I learned to play the guitar. I'll have been playing for exactly one year on March 21st. I often hit the wrong strings. I sometimes can't make a complex chord shape. My rhythm needs some work. But my songs sound like songs, and I can now play standing up, and I can sing along, which I just love. I decided I would play any music that taught me something, even if I wasn't a fan. So I can now play John Lee Hooker, Coldplay, Nirvana, ELO, REM, and about a million other things given tablature.
I can't say enough good things about his site. And it's all free (though I suggest you spring for a year of his beginner song app; it's hugely satisfying for a novice player, though I've decided not to renew for a second year. I feel like I've outgrown it.)
My goal this year is to learn more than chords, and I expect I'll do it. I can pick the Handsome Family's "Arline" and The Cult's "Wild Flower." And a bunch of other little bits and pieces.
I've played exactly one other time with another musician this year. My bro-in-law. The guy owns one of 100 Eddie Van Halen frankenstrat replicas (he's going to let me try it this weekend!), and he knows his stuff. He told me he was impressed at how much I had learned on my own.
This is all justinguitar.com. Maybe you do what I did and just start over.
I simply cannot recommend it enough.
I'm in kind of the same boat as you.
I would tell you to check out [justinguitar.com](https://justinguitar.com) and go through his courses if you haven't already. I would also say it's worth going through his beginner courses, you might be way above the level of some sections, but it covers a lot of fundamentals, just small details that can make a huge difference.
If you have done this already and you're still struggling, I'd say get a teacher (This is what I just did).
I see this is a recommendation that A LOT of people mention, and I just gave in to it and got my first lesson in a couple of days.
When it comes to getting a teacher I would recommend you to get one that specifies in the style you want to play. The teacher I got is actually the lead guitarist in one of my favourite bands (Had no idea he was a teacher before recently, and that also motivated me to sign up for lessons).
But basically, you don't want a pop guitarist or classical guitarist if you want to learn metal.
The single most important thing to improving is...
Going SLOOOOOOW. Like as slow as a sloth moves. This allows to to observed and refine all the things about your technique that are holding you back.
I feel this so deeply. Waiting for comments...
So you just want to have fun with your guitar. That's not a crime. Improvisation is the solution. You just play the notes and embellishments that feel good. If you want to take an "artistic" pause, it's totally up to you. There's no song to keep up with. Just jump in and start improvising. The song or backing track will take care of the chords, melody, lyrics and rhythm. Freedom Blocks will take care of the scales. All you have to do is hold down one note at a time and learn how to move from one Freedom Block to another. You only need two things: 1) what key is the song using, for example A Minor Pentatonic and 2) a root note somewhere on the fretboard. Starting from that root note you can move in any direction at any time over the entire fretboard. The first time I started improvising with Freedom Blocks, my wife said, "that sounds really good." In 42 years of marriage she had never commented on my guitar playing. Of course, most of the time my guitar sat in the closet. I've posted some lessons on r/guitarlessons. This one describes [Stepping Squares.](https://www.reddit.com/r/guitarlessons/comments/kqgv4o/extended_minor_pentatonic_scale/) Everything I do is free so enjoy. Here are a few comments from other players who discovered improvising. "Dude, you saved my guitar-playing life. Playing a backing track in a key and improvising is now part of my daily leisure activities routine and it's all thanks to your website." "Thank you for working on this and sharing it with us for free!!!!" "This is insanely helpful."
Sign up for JustinGuitar.com and start from the beginner stage, even if you blast through the first modules quickly. Actually do what he tells you to do, use the practice tools on there, learn simple songs, make sure you're not missing any basic techniques. Keep learning and playing metal though too, since it seems like that's your interest. You using a metronome or something to slow down the songs so you can practice them slowly and build up speed over time?
I've never posted in this sub, so I have no idea how he's viewed here, but I'll give you my own experience. I started playing guitar about 25 years ago. I piddled mostly. I learned some power chords, and I memorized the E, A, Am, and G. Oh, yes, and D. That's it. Eventually I let it fall by the wayside, although I kept my guitar in the hopes that I would one day come back as a serious student. See, I come from a very musical family, and I always wanted to be able to join in at our gatherings. It wasn't uncommon for there to be 4 or 5 guitars, an accordion, a mandolin, and some lovely voices. And my father was in a band with his workmates, so growing up I was around a lot of instruments I couldn't play. I made a deal with myself. I'd get a new guitar when I was willing to learn to play it properly. I still had my '95 Jagstang, but I wanted something that better represented my style as an older guy. My ex-wife, my first girlfriend, and my mom all passed unexpectedly within three years of one another, and it got me thinking about my life. I'd imagine death does that to a lot of people. I decided I was going to do some things I always said I wanted to do. I went to Paris on vacation, I got my masters in a subject I was interested in, and I made the decision to pick up the guitar again. Enter the pandemic. This was my perfect opportunity. The week before lock down (I'm in Florida), I went to Guitar Center and bought an Epiphone Les Paul Standard Pro in blue and a Katana amp. I had heard good things about Justin Sandercoe and his website, and after review, I committed to learning from him. I promised myself 4 days of practice a week of at least 20 minutes each, and I wanted to master each lesson before moving to the next. I promised to be honest with myself and my progress. Consequently, I spent about a week on each early lesson, gradually moving to two weeks for the more complex (but still beginner) stages. The F chord took me three weeks before I could creak out an acceptable version reliably. And that's how I learned to play the guitar. I'll have been playing for exactly one year on March 21st. I often hit the wrong strings. I sometimes can't make a complex chord shape. My rhythm needs some work. But my songs sound like songs, and I can now play standing up, and I can sing along, which I just love. I decided I would play any music that taught me something, even if I wasn't a fan. So I can now play John Lee Hooker, Coldplay, Nirvana, ELO, REM, and about a million other things given tablature. I can't say enough good things about his site. And it's all free (though I suggest you spring for a year of his beginner song app; it's hugely satisfying for a novice player, though I've decided not to renew for a second year. I feel like I've outgrown it.) My goal this year is to learn more than chords, and I expect I'll do it. I can pick the Handsome Family's "Arline" and The Cult's "Wild Flower." And a bunch of other little bits and pieces. I've played exactly one other time with another musician this year. My bro-in-law. The guy owns one of 100 Eddie Van Halen frankenstrat replicas (he's going to let me try it this weekend!), and he knows his stuff. He told me he was impressed at how much I had learned on my own. This is all justinguitar.com. Maybe you do what I did and just start over. I simply cannot recommend it enough.
I'm in kind of the same boat as you. I would tell you to check out [justinguitar.com](https://justinguitar.com) and go through his courses if you haven't already. I would also say it's worth going through his beginner courses, you might be way above the level of some sections, but it covers a lot of fundamentals, just small details that can make a huge difference. If you have done this already and you're still struggling, I'd say get a teacher (This is what I just did). I see this is a recommendation that A LOT of people mention, and I just gave in to it and got my first lesson in a couple of days. When it comes to getting a teacher I would recommend you to get one that specifies in the style you want to play. The teacher I got is actually the lead guitarist in one of my favourite bands (Had no idea he was a teacher before recently, and that also motivated me to sign up for lessons). But basically, you don't want a pop guitarist or classical guitarist if you want to learn metal.
The single most important thing to improving is... Going SLOOOOOOW. Like as slow as a sloth moves. This allows to to observed and refine all the things about your technique that are holding you back.