What Comes Next: Your Path Forward

You have completed the Acoustic Guitar Journey Beginner Course. You have worked on eight open chords, power chords, a simplified F chord, two scales, fingerpicking patterns, and short simplified arrangements from rock, metal, folk and Hindi film music. You read TAB, know the basics of how chords and scales are built, and have improvised over a 12-bar blues. This page maps out where you can go from here.

Immediate Options

1. Prepare for a Grade 1 Guitar Exam

This course has built skills at about Debut to Grade 1 level. It has not prepared you to walk into an exam: each board examines its own pieces and tests, which this course does not teach. If you would like a certificate, expect further work with the board’s own Grade 1 book first; the course’s estimate is one to three months. Exam rules change, so read the board’s current syllabus before you buy anything or enter.

RSL Awards Rockschool Acoustic Guitar, Grade 1 (rslawards.com): the closest match to this course and to your guitar.

The Grade Exam has five parts: three performance pieces (60% of the marks), technical exercises (15%), your choice of sight reading or improvisation (10%), two ear tests (10%) and five general musicianship questions (5%).
Pieces: at least one of the three must come from the Rockschool Acoustic Guitar Grade 1 book. Up to two may be ‘free choice’ pieces. A free-choice piece must be handed in as fully written-out sheet music (TAB alone is not accepted) and should last about 50 seconds to 1 minute 30 seconds. The song excerpts in this course are not in that form.
Technical exercises: the scales C major, A natural minor, A minor pentatonic and G major pentatonic, one octave in quarter notes at 70 BPM to a click; the chords A, D, C, G, Am, Dm and Em, strummed once each when asked; the power chords B5, A5 and D5 played in sequence to a click; and a riff from the grade book played with its backing track.
Sight reading, if you choose it: a four-bar melody in A minor in half and quarter notes at 70 BPM, on the first three strings up to fret 3, with 90 seconds to prepare. The alternative is improvising four to six bars in C major or A minor over a backing track.
Ear tests: say whether three notes go up or down; play back a two-bar rhythm on the low E string, then pick it out from two written rhythms.
Questions: the treble clef, the time signature, note values, the difference between major and minor chords, parts of the guitar and the names of the open strings.
Rockschool also offers a Performance Certificate: five pieces and no tests.
Rockschool has a separate Electric Guitar syllabus with its own book and scale list. The Acoustic Guitar exam is the one written for your instrument.

Trinity College London Rock & Pop Guitar, Grade 1 (trinityrock.com)

The exam is three songs (25, 25 and 30 marks) and one ‘session skills’ test (20 marks) in which you choose playback or improvising. There are no scales, no chords on demand, no sight-reading test, no ear tests and no theory questions.
Songs 1 and 3 must come from Trinity’s own Grade 1 guitar song list and be played with Trinity’s backing tracks; Song 3 is a ‘technical focus’ song. Only Song 2 may be your own choice. An own-choice song must last 1 to 2.5 minutes, and you must give the examiner written music for it: a lead sheet with lyrics, chords and melody, a chord chart with lyrics, or a full score.
An acoustic guitar is allowed up to Grade 2, though Trinity says some of its songs do not suit one.
Marks out of 100: pass 60, merit 75, distinction 87.
Trinity also offers a recorded (digital) exam: the three songs, with no session skills test.
You must bring an original Trinity songbook even if you play from memory, and have your guitar in tune before you go in; a warm-up room is not guaranteed.

What you would still need for either exam

The board’s Grade 1 book and its backing tracks, and time to learn its pieces.
Practice at playing along with a backing track from the count-in to the last note.
For Rockschool: the two scales this course does not teach, and practice at its reading or improvising test, its ear tests and its questions.
The board’s current syllabus, for the entry rules, what to bring and how to book.

2. Continue Building Repertoire

You have the skills to learn many songs beyond this course. Here is how:

Find a chord chart. Websites like Ultimate Guitar (ultimate-guitar.com) have chord charts and TAB for thousands of songs. Search for a song you love and look for versions labelled “easy” or “beginner.”
Check the chords before you start. Look up every chord name on the chart in Chord Chart. Many popular songs use only G, C, D, Em, and Am — your core vocabulary. If every chord is there, the song is within reach. If one chord is missing, the chart will usually show its shape: learn it the way you learned each new chord in the sessions. If several are missing, or the chart says “capo” (a clamp placed across the strings at a fret, which this course has not taught), keep that song for later.
Work out the strumming pattern. Listen to the recording. Is it in 4/4 or 3/4? Are the strums even or syncopated? Match one of the five patterns you know, then adjust.
Learn the melody. If TAB is available, learn the vocal melody or guitar solo on a single string. This deepens your connection to the song.

Charts on the web are written by other players and are not always right. If a chord sounds wrong against the recording, compare a second chart before you blame your playing.

3. Deepen Your Improvisation

The open-position pattern you learned is one of five pentatonic shapes that together cover the neck. Next, learn the shape that sits at frets 2 to 5, then the shape at frets 5 to 8 (the one most books call Box 1).

Next steps for improvisation:

Practise joining the open-position pattern to the shape at frets 2 to 5 with slides.
Solo over backing tracks in different keys. A shape with no open strings, such as the one at frets 5 to 8, can be moved to a different fret for a different key.
Learn the blues scale (Am pentatonic + one extra note: Eb/D#). This adds tension and colour to your solos.

4. Start on the Full Barre Chord

The six-string F is beyond this course; the simplified F is your starting point. The full shape is shown in Session 17, under “Beyond This Course: The Full F Barre Chord”. It can be moved to any fret, so one shape gives you many chords. It is one of the most important techniques for intermediate guitar.

A barre is not a squeeze. The pressure comes from the weight of your arm, not from pinching the neck. Begin with the barre at fret 5 instead of fret 1, with the other three fingers the same distance above it as in the Session 17 diagram: a barre is easier further from the nut.

Barre chord practice (no more than 3 minutes a day):

Finger: lay finger 1 across the strings just behind the fret wire, rolled slightly onto its bony edge (the side nearer your thumb), with the tip reaching just past the last string it has to cover.
Thumb: rest your thumb lightly on the back of the neck, roughly behind finger 1 or finger 2. It steadies the hand. It does not press.
Arm: let your elbow hang close to your side and let the weight of your arm draw your hand gently back, so the finger sinks into the strings. Your strumming arm resting on the guitar’s body keeps the guitar still.
Press, pluck each string, release. 8 times. No more than 3 minutes a day.
When the shape is solid at fret 5 (an A major barre chord), move it to fret 3 (G major barre) and fret 7 (B major barre). Leave fret 1 (the full F) until last: it is the hardest place for the shape, because the strings feel stiffest next to the nut.

This will take weeks of practice. That is normal. The barre chord rewards patience.

Barre work: no more than 5 minutes a day in total. Pain rule: tender fingertips are normal. Pain in the wrist, forearm, thumb joint or knuckles, numbness or tingling, any sharp pain, or pain that lasts into the next day means stop. The full rule is in START HERE.

5. What Intermediate Study Covers

This site has an intermediate guitar course that follows this one: Guitar: Intermediate Course. It is being published one phase at a time and takes you to about Grade 2 level. These are the topics of intermediate study, in that course and beyond it:

CAGED system — Five chord shapes that map the entire fretboard
Full barre chord fluency — Major and minor barre chords in all positions
Modes — Dorian, Mixolydian, and other scales that give you new melodic colours
Extended chord voicings — Seventh chords, suspended chords, add9 chords
Advanced fingerpicking — Fingerstyle arrangements, independence exercises
Advanced strumming — Funk patterns, reggae rhythms, complex time signatures
Deeper genre exploration — Blues, jazz, classical, Hindustani music on guitar
Grade 2–3 preparation — Technical and theoretical skills for higher certification

Recommended Resources

Books

Book	Author	What It Covers
Hal Leonard Guitar Method, Book 2	Will Schmid, Greg Koch	Intermediate reading, technique, and repertoire
The Guitar Handbook	Ralph Denyer	Comprehensive reference for all skill levels
Fretboard Logic	Bill Edwards	CAGED system and fretboard mastery

Apps and Websites

Resource	What It Does
Ultimate Guitar (ultimate-guitar.com)	Chord charts and TAB for thousands of songs
Songsterr (songsterr.com)	Interactive TAB with playback
JustinGuitar (justinguitar.com)	Free structured video lessons (complements this course well)
Yousician (app)	Gamified practice with real-time feedback
Metronome apps (any)	Essential for continued tempo practice

Backing Tracks

Search YouTube or Spotify for:

“12 bar blues Am slow backing track” — for pentatonic improvisation
“Backing track in G major” — for practising chord progressions and melody
“Slow rock backing track” — for general soloing practice

Playing along with backing tracks is one of the most effective and enjoyable ways to develop your skills.

Genre Paths

Your course has given you a foundation in multiple genres. Here is how to go deeper in each:

Rock and Metal

Learn more power chord riffs (AC/DC, Green Day, Ramones — all heavily power chord based)
Study palm muting patterns from Metallica and Megadeth rhythm guitar
Learn pentatonic soloing in the style of Slash, Jimmy Page, and Tony Iommi
Work toward full barre chords for playing complete rock songs

Hindi Film Music

Explore the chord progressions of Arijit Singh, Pritam, and A.R. Rahman songs
Find out how the notes of some ragas map onto scale patterns you know. A raga is more than its scale, so this is best done with a teacher or a dedicated course.
Study the vocal melodies of Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi — transcribing them to guitar builds your ear and your fretboard knowledge
Many Hindi film songs can be given simple accompaniments with the open chords you know, though published charts often differ and stanzas may need other chords.

Fingerstyle

Learn fingerpicking arrangements of songs (many available on YouTube and TAB sites)
Study Travis picking patterns in the style of Chet Atkins and Tommy Emmanuel
Practise arpeggio patterns with more complex chord shapes
Fingerstyle is an excellent path if you enjoy playing solo guitar without a band

Blues

Deepen your 12-bar blues vocabulary with turnarounds, shuffles, and walking bass lines
Learn all five pentatonic shapes
Study blues guitar in the style of B.B. King, Robert Johnson, and Muddy Waters
The blues is the foundation of rock — everything you learn here feeds back into your rock playing

Classical Guitar

Classical guitar technique uses nylon strings, but the fingerpicking principles transfer directly
Study simple classical pieces (Sor, Giuliani, Carcassi studies)
Classical training builds exceptional finger independence and reading skills

Timeline Expectations

Guitar progress is not linear. Here is a rough guide to what comes after this course; the times are the course’s own estimates:

Timeframe	What You Can Expect
1–3 months after course	Full barre chord fluency. 5–10 new songs added to repertoire. Comfortable improvising over simple progressions. Ready to sit a Grade 1 exam, if you have worked through the board’s Grade 1 book.
3–6 months after course	CAGED system basics understood. Pentatonic scale in multiple positions. Seventh chords learned. Beginning to play with other musicians. Grade 2 preparation underway.
6–12 months after course	Early intermediate player. Can learn most popular songs from a chord chart or TAB. Basic understanding of modes and music theory. Starting to develop personal playing style.
1–2 years after course	Solid intermediate player. Comfortable in multiple genres. Can play barre chords fluently, improvise in multiple keys, and perform confidently. Grade 3 level.

The most important factor is consistency. Twenty minutes of focused practice on most days produces more progress than two hours once a week. Keep a regular practice routine and you will continue to improve steadily.

Finding a Guitar Teacher

While this course proved you can learn on your own, a teacher can accelerate your progress — especially for intermediate and advanced skills where bad habits are harder to identify and correct.

What to look for in a guitar teacher:

Experience teaching your preferred genre (rock, classical, Hindi film, etc.)
Willingness to work with what you already know rather than starting from scratch
Structured approach with clear goals (not just “play whatever”)
Encouraging but honest — tells you what is good and what needs work

Where to find one:

Local music schools and conservatories
Online lesson platforms (for example Lessonface)
Music shops often have notice boards with teacher advertisements
Ask at local open mic nights or music gatherings

When you start lessons, tell your teacher:

You have completed a beginner course (24 sessions, at about Debut to Grade 1 level)
You have worked on eight open chords, power chords, the simplified F chord and two scales (C major and A minor pentatonic in open position)
You read TAB and can name notes on the staff; you have not yet played from standard notation.
Your goals (exam preparation, genre specialisation, general improvement)

This gives the teacher a clear starting point and avoids wasting time on skills you already have.

Your Guitar Going Forward

Your Saga SF-600C-BK has served you through 24 sessions. It will continue to serve you well through intermediate study and beyond. Keep it maintained:

Change strings every 6-10 weeks if you practise on most days (or sooner, when they sound dull and feel rough). Fresh strings make everything sound and feel better.
Wipe the strings after every playing session with a dry cloth. This extends string life.
Keep it in a case when not playing, to protect it from dust, humidity, and accidental damage.
Consider a professional setup if you have not had one. “The String-Height Check” in Guitar Guide tells you whether your guitar needs one. A guitar technician adjusts the string height (action), neck relief, and intonation. This can make your guitar significantly easier and more pleasant to play. A setup typically costs the equivalent of a few guitar lessons and is worth every penny.

When you eventually want a second guitar (and you will), you will have the experience to know what you want — an electric for rock, a classical for fingerstyle, a jumbo for strumming, or something else entirely. But your Saga will always be the guitar you learned on.

Final Words

You started with nothing — no knowledge, no skill, no experience. You now have all three. You are a guitarist. Not because a certificate says so, not because you passed an exam, but because you can pick up a guitar and make music.

Whatever path you choose — grade exams, new genres, songwriting, jamming with friends, or simply playing for yourself in a quiet room — the foundation is built. Everything that comes next rests on what you have already achieved.

Keep playing. Keep learning. Keep listening.

The music is yours.