What Kind of Guitarist Are You? Build a Practice Plan Around Your Guitar Identity

Explore the guitarists, genres, techniques, and songs that inspire you, then turn your guitar identity into a focused practice plan.

By Jordan

There are thousands, no, millions of things to learn on guitar. More than any of us could possibly practice in one lifetime.

Scales. Arpeggios. Chords. Songs. Ear training. Alternate picking. Sweep picking. Fingerstyle. Improvisation. Music theory. Rhythm. Sight reading. That ridiculous lick you saved on Instagram three weeks ago.

And tomorrow there will be another ridiculous lick.

That's the problem.

It's never been easier to find something to practice. The harder question is deciding what actually deserves your practice time.

Before you ask “What should I practice?”, I think there's a better question:

What kind of guitarist are you trying to become?

Start With What Made You Want to Play

Think back to when you first picked up a guitar. What made you want to play in the first place?

Was there a guitarist who made you think, I want to do that?

Was there ever a song where you had to tell everybody in the room to be quiet because you couldn't believe what you were hearing?

Maybe it was the solo. Maybe it was a riff. Maybe it was a beautiful chord progression. Maybe it was Eddie Van Halen playing Eruption and doing something with a guitar that didn't seem physically possible.

Or think about the songs you actually learned when you were starting out. Do you still have a sentimental attachment to any of them? I do.

A lot of the music I learned early on was acoustic singer-songwriter stuff: Neil Young, Crosby, Stills & Nash and similar music. Some of that was simply because the songs were accessible to a beginning guitarist. I could actually play them.

But decades later, that music is still part of my musical DNA. Unknown Legend will always have a special place in my musical heart.

The things that first pulled you toward the guitar can tell you quite a bit about the guitarist you want to become, even if your interests have changed dramatically since then.

What Makes You Want to Pick Up the Guitar Today?

Now forget the past for a minute.

Who makes you want to grab your guitar right now?

Who makes you a little jealous?

Not I hope terrible things happen to this person jealous.

The useful kind.

Dang. I want to be able to do that!

Pay attention to that reaction.

Maybe you're a metalhead. Maybe you're a jazz nerd. Maybe you're a hillbilly. Maybe you're a pretty boy.

Maybe you're an adrenaline junkie who isn't completely satisfied unless there are too many notes, too much gain and some legitimate possibility of physical injury.

Maybe you're several of those things at once.

Good.

You don't need to fit neatly into a genre.

That's not what we're trying to figure out.

We're looking for the music, players and styles that keep pulling you back to the instrument.

Your Guitar Identity Can Change

There's one other thing I want to get out of the way before we start exploring:

You're not signing a contract.

Deciding what kind of guitarist you want to be doesn't mean choosing what you'll play for the rest of your life.

Your interests can change. Your priorities should change.

Maybe you just saw a concert and suddenly want to work on a style you haven't touched in years.

Maybe you've joined a band.

Maybe there's a jam coming up.

Maybe you discovered a guitarist you can't stop listening to.

Maybe it's September and you've decided that this is finally the year you're going to have a handful of Christmas chord-melody arrangements ready before December 24th.

Those are all perfectly good reasons to change what gets your attention for the next few weeks or months.

Your overall musical identity can be huge.

Your current practice priorities shouldn't be.

Explore the Guitar World

Now we get to the fun part.

Below we’ve put together a giant collection of guitar styles, players and music. Some will be familiar. Some probably won't.

As you browse, click any genre or guitarist that makes you think:

“Yeah. I want some of that in my playing.”

Pick one. Pick twenty. Change your mind. Unselect something. Click nothing and just steal a bunch of listening recommendations.

This list is interactive. Click any genre or guitarist that catches your attention. You don't have to select anything, and you're not committing yourself to anything.

It’s strictly up to you. This list is here to get your creative juices flowing and let your imagination run wild for a little while.

Don't worry yet about turning your choices into a practice routine, either.

At the bottom, we'll put everything you selected together and look for the techniques, skills and musical knowledge that keep showing up.

That should give us some clues about what actually deserves your practice time.

So browse around.

Follow your curiosity.

And if you've never heard somebody on this list, maybe you've just found something new to listen to!

Classic Rock

Big riffs, memorable solos, strong songwriting, blues influence, and the guitar as a central voice.

Jimmy Page

Led Zeppelin

You may like:

  • Whole Lotta Love
  • Black Dog
  • Stairway to Heaven

David Gilmour

Pink Floyd

You may like:

  • Comfortably Numb
  • Time
  • Shine On You Crazy Diamond

Brian May

Queen

You may like:

  • Brighton Rock
  • Bohemian Rhapsody
  • Killer Queen

Hard Rock

Heavy riffs, aggressive rhythm guitar, flashy lead playing, hooks, and high-energy performance.

Eddie Van Halen

Van Halen

You may like:

  • Eruption
  • Panama
  • Hot for Teacher

Slash

Guns N' Roses

You may like:

  • Sweet Child o' Mine
  • Welcome to the Jungle
  • November Rain

Angus Young

AC/DC

You may like:

  • Back in Black
  • Highway to Hell
  • Whole Lotta Rosie

Progressive Rock

Long-form writing, unusual meters, textural playing, ambitious arrangements, and strong musicianship.

Alex Lifeson

Rush

You may like:

  • La Villa Strangiato
  • Limelight
  • Xanadu

Steve Howe

Yes

You may like:

  • Roundabout
  • Mood for a Day
  • Siberian Khatru

Robert Fripp

King Crimson

You may like:

  • 21st Century Schizoid Man
  • Frame by Frame
  • Starless

Alternative Rock

Song-first guitar music that ranges from raw power chords to unusual textures, effects, and layered arrangements.

Jonny Greenwood

Radiohead

You may like:

  • Paranoid Android
  • Just
  • There There

Billy Corgan

The Smashing Pumpkins

You may like:

  • Cherub Rock
  • Geek U.S.A.
  • Soma

Kim Thayil

Soundgarden

You may like:

  • Rusty Cage
  • Spoonman
  • Fell on Black Days

Indie Rock

Inventive rhythm parts, melodic hooks, angular chord work, and guitar textures that serve the song.

Albert Hammond Jr.

The Strokes

You may like:

  • Reptilia
  • Last Nite
  • Hard to Explain

Jamie Cook

Arctic Monkeys

You may like:

  • I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor
  • Brianstorm
  • R U Mine?

Kevin Parker

Tame Impala

You may like:

  • Elephant
  • Mind Mischief
  • Let It Happen

Southern Rock

Blues-rooted rock with strong riffs, harmony guitars, expressive lead work, and rootsy songwriting.

Duane Allman

The Allman Brothers Band

You may like:

  • Statesboro Blues
  • Whipping Post
  • In Memory of Elizabeth Reed

Dickey Betts

The Allman Brothers Band

You may like:

  • Jessica
  • Blue Sky
  • Ramblin Man

Gary Rossington

Lynyrd Skynyrd

You may like:

  • Free Bird
  • Simple Man
  • Tuesday’s Gone

Surf Rock

Clean-to-cranked instrumental guitar, rapid picking, reverb, melodic lines, and driving rhythm.

Dick Dale

You may like:

  • Misirlou
  • Nitro
  • The Wedge

Nokie Edwards

The Ventures

You may like:

  • Walk, Don’t Run
  • Perfidia
  • Pipeline

Hank Marvin

The Shadows

You may like:

  • Apache
  • Wonderful Land
  • FBI

Rockabilly

Twangy lead guitar, energetic rhythm, country-blues vocabulary, and early-rock attitude.

Scotty Moore

Elvis Presley

You may like:

  • Mystery Train
  • That’s All Right
  • Hound Dog

Brian Setzer

Stray Cats

You may like:

  • Rock This Town
  • Stray Cat Strut
  • Rumble in Brighton

Cliff Gallup

Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps

You may like:

  • Race with the Devil
  • Be-Bop-A-Lula
  • Cruisin’

Traditional Heavy Metal

Heavy riffs, twin-guitar harmonies, melodic solos, power chords, and dramatic songwriting.

Tony Iommi

Black Sabbath

You may like:

  • Iron Man
  • War Pigs
  • Heaven and Hell

Glenn Tipton

Judas Priest

You may like:

  • Painkiller
  • Electric Eye
  • Beyond the Realms of Death

Adrian Smith

Iron Maiden

You may like:

  • The Trooper
  • Wasted Years
  • 2 Minutes to Midnight

Thrash Metal

Fast, tightly picked riffs, aggressive palm muting, stamina, precision, and high-intensity solos.

James Hetfield

Metallica

You may like:

  • Master of Puppets
  • Battery
  • Creeping Death

Dave Mustaine

Megadeth

You may like:

  • Holy Wars... The Punishment Due
  • Hangar 18
  • Tornado of Souls

Alex Skolnick

Testament

You may like:

  • Practice What You Preach
  • Souls of Black
  • Over the Wall

Progressive Metal

Complex arrangements, rhythmic experimentation, technical precision, and advanced musicianship.

John Petrucci

Dream Theater

You may like:

  • Pull Me Under
  • Under a Glass Moon
  • The Dance of Eternity

Tosin Abasi

Animals as Leaders

You may like:

  • CAFO
  • Physical Education
  • The Woven Web

Michael Romeo

Symphony X

You may like:

  • Sea of Lies
  • Of Sins and Shadows
  • Set the World on Fire

Neoclassical & Shred

Virtuosic lead guitar built around speed, sequencing, arpeggios, dramatic phrasing, and classical influence.

Yngwie Malmsteen

You may like:

  • Black Star
  • Far Beyond the Sun
  • Trilogy Suite Op. 5

Paul Gilbert

You may like:

  • Technical Difficulties
  • Scarified
  • Fuzz Universe

Jason Becker

You may like:

  • Altitudes
  • Perpetual Burn
  • Air

Djent & Modern Progressive Metal

Low-tuned precision riffing, syncopation, extended-range guitar, polyrhythms, and modern production-minded playing.

Fredrik Thordendal

Meshuggah

You may like:

  • Bleed
  • Demiurge
  • Future Breed Machine

Misha Mansoor

Periphery

You may like:

  • Marigold
  • Scarlet
  • Icarus Lives!

John Browne

Monuments

You may like:

  • I, the Creator
  • Atlas
  • Cardinal Red

Delta Blues

Raw acoustic blues built around fingerstyle, slide, alternating bass, vocal phrasing, and deep rhythmic feel.

Robert Johnson

You may like:

  • Cross Road Blues
  • Hellhound on My Trail
  • Sweet Home Chicago

Son House

You may like:

  • Death Letter
  • Grinnin’ in Your Face
  • Preachin’ Blues

Mississippi John Hurt

You may like:

  • Candyman
  • Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor
  • Spike Driver Blues

Chicago Blues

Electric blues with expressive bends, call-and-response phrasing, shuffle feel, and strong band interaction.

Buddy Guy

You may like:

  • Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues
  • Stone Crazy
  • Five Long Years

Otis Rush

You may like:

  • All Your Love (I Miss Loving)
  • Double Trouble
  • I Can’t Quit You Baby

Magic Sam

You may like:

  • All Your Love
  • Easy Baby
  • Sweet Home Chicago

Texas Blues

Aggressive blues lead playing, strong shuffle feel, muscular rhythm guitar, and blues-rock intensity.

Stevie Ray Vaughan

You may like:

  • Pride and Joy
  • Texas Flood
  • Lenny

Freddie King

You may like:

  • Hide Away
  • Going Down
  • Have You Ever Loved a Woman

Billy Gibbons

ZZ Top

You may like:

  • La Grange
  • Tush
  • Just Got Paid

Blues Rock

Blues phrasing and harmony pushed through louder rock tones, longer solos, riffs, and higher-energy arrangements.

Eric Clapton

You may like:

  • Crossroads
  • Layla
  • Badge

Gary Moore

You may like:

  • Still Got the Blues
  • Parisienne Walkways
  • The Loner

Joe Bonamassa

You may like:

  • Sloe Gin
  • The Ballad of John Henry
  • Mountain Climbing

Traditional Jazz Guitar

Improvisation, sophisticated harmony, swing feel, standards, and strong melodic vocabulary.

Wes Montgomery

You may like:

  • West Coast Blues
  • Four on Six
  • Bumpin’ on Sunset

Joe Pass

You may like:

  • Night and Day
  • Satin Doll
  • There Will Never Be Another You

Grant Green

You may like:

  • Idle Moments
  • Green Street
  • Matador

Jazz Fusion

Jazz harmony and improvisation combined with rock energy, electric tone, odd meter, and virtuoso technique.

Allan Holdsworth

You may like:

  • Metal Fatigue
  • Devil Take the Hindmost
  • Fred

John McLaughlin

Mahavishnu Orchestra

You may like:

  • Meeting of the Spirits
  • Birds of Fire
  • Dance of Maya

Frank Gambale

You may like:

  • Thunder from Down Under
  • Passages
  • Stella by Starlight

Gypsy Jazz

Acoustic swing guitar with driving rhythm, fast single-note lines, arpeggios, and dramatic phrasing.

Django Reinhardt

You may like:

  • Minor Swing
  • Nuages
  • Djangology

Biréli Lagrène

You may like:

  • Made in France
  • Minor Swing
  • Hungaria

Joscho Stephan

You may like:

  • Hey Joe
  • Bossa Dorado
  • Sweet Georgia Brown

Modern Jazz Guitar

Contemporary jazz guitar spanning modern harmony, ambience, groove, angular phrasing, and open-ended improvisation.

Pat Metheny

You may like:

  • Bright Size Life
  • Last Train Home
  • Phase Dance

John Scofield

You may like:

  • A Go Go
  • Chank
  • Still Warm

Bill Frisell

You may like:

  • Throughout
  • Strange Meeting
  • Shenandoah

Traditional Country & Telecaster

Clean twang, hybrid picking, bends, pedal-steel-inspired phrases, tight rhythm guitar, and song-centered playing.

Don Rich

Buck Owens and the Buckaroos

You may like:

  • Act Naturally
  • Tiger by the Tail
  • Buckaroo

James Burton

You may like:

  • Hello Mary Lou
  • Polk Salad Annie
  • Susie Q

Brad Paisley

You may like:

  • Ticks
  • Mr. Policeman
  • Cluster Pluck

Bluegrass

Acoustic flatpicking, fiddle-tune vocabulary, crosspicking, rhythm drive, and high-level ensemble timing.

Tony Rice

You may like:

  • Church Street Blues
  • Manzanita
  • Nine Pound Hammer

Doc Watson

You may like:

  • Black Mountain Rag
  • Deep River Blues
  • Beaumont Rag

Billy Strings

You may like:

  • Dust in a Baggie
  • Meet Me at the Creek
  • Away From the Mire

Americana

Roots-oriented songwriting that blends country, folk, rock, blues, and acoustic guitar traditions.

Jason Isbell

You may like:

  • Cover Me Up
  • If We Were Vampires
  • Decoration Day

Sturgill Simpson

You may like:

  • Turtles All the Way Down
  • Life of Sin
  • Brace for Impact

Tyler Childers

You may like:

  • Feathered Indians
  • Whitehouse Road
  • Lady May

Modern Country Guitar

Polished country guitar combining Telecaster vocabulary, rock influence, acoustic rhythm, hooks, and session-style versatility.

Vince Gill

You may like:

  • Liza Jane
  • One More Last Chance
  • Go Rest High on That Mountain

Keith Urban

You may like:

  • Somebody Like You
  • Days Go By
  • Stupid Boy

Johnny Hiland

You may like:

  • Chicken Pickin’
  • The Taker
  • Barnyard Breakdown

Acoustic Singer-Songwriter

Song-centered guitar playing built around accompaniment, memorable chord progressions, rhythm, and storytelling.

Neil Young

You may like:

  • Heart of Gold
  • Old Man
  • The Needle and the Damage Done

Stephen Stills

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

You may like:

  • Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
  • Helplessly Hoping
  • Love the One You’re With

James Taylor

You may like:

  • Fire and Rain
  • Carolina in My Mind
  • Sweet Baby James

Folk

Acoustic songcraft, storytelling, accessible harmony, fingerpicking, strumming, and a deep repertoire tradition.

Bob Dylan

You may like:

  • Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
  • Girl from the North Country
  • Tangled Up in Blue

Joni Mitchell

You may like:

  • Big Yellow Taxi
  • A Case of You
  • Both Sides, Now

Paul Simon

You may like:

  • The Boxer
  • American Tune
  • The Sound of Silence

Fingerstyle Acoustic

Solo acoustic guitar combining bass, chords, melody, percussion, harmonics, and independent voices.

Tommy Emmanuel

You may like:

  • Classical Gas
  • Angelina
  • Mombasa

Michael Hedges

You may like:

  • Aerial Boundaries
  • Ragamuffin
  • Because It’s There

Andy McKee

You may like:

  • Drifting
  • Rylynn
  • For My Father

Funk

Tight sixteenth-note rhythm guitar, muting, syncopation, chord fragments, and relentless groove.

Nile Rodgers

Chic

You may like:

  • Good Times
  • Le Freak
  • Everybody Dance

Jimmy Nolen

James Brown

You may like:

  • Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag
  • Cold Sweat
  • I Got the Feelin’

Cory Wong

You may like:

  • Cosmic Sans
  • Companion Pass
  • Meditation

Soul & R&B

Supportive guitar parts, tasteful fills, chord embellishments, groove, and emotionally direct accompaniment.

Steve Cropper

Booker T. & the M.G.’s

You may like:

  • Green Onions
  • Soul Man
  • Dock of the Bay

Cornell Dupree

You may like:

  • Rainy Night in Georgia
  • Memphis Soul Stew
  • Respect

Curtis Mayfield

You may like:

  • Move On Up
  • People Get Ready
  • Freddie’s Dead

Neo-Soul

Modern R&B guitar centered on rich voicings, pocket, chord melody fragments, slides, embellishments, and space.

Isaiah Sharkey

You may like:

  • Love Is the Key
  • Heaven
  • It’s a Shame

Mateus Asato

You may like:

  • The Cure
  • Kyoto Jam
  • Let It Be

Tom Misch

You may like:

  • South of the River
  • Movie
  • It Runs Through Me

Punk Rock

Direct, energetic guitar built around power chords, fast rhythm, hooks, and attitude.

Johnny Ramone

Ramones

You may like:

  • Blitzkrieg Bop
  • Rockaway Beach
  • Sheena Is a Punk Rocker

Joe Strummer

The Clash

You may like:

  • London Calling
  • Career Opportunities
  • Clampdown

Billie Joe Armstrong

Green Day

You may like:

  • Basket Case
  • Longview
  • Welcome to Paradise

Hardcore & Post-Hardcore

Aggressive rhythm guitar, fast chord movement, dissonance, breakdowns, and high-intensity ensemble playing.

Greg Ginn

Black Flag

You may like:

  • Rise Above
  • Nervous Breakdown
  • My War

Ian MacKaye

Minor Threat

You may like:

  • Straight Edge
  • Out of Step
  • Minor Threat

Kurt Ballou

Converge

You may like:

  • Concubine
  • Dark Horse
  • Axe to Fall

Classical Guitar

Solo nylon-string repertoire emphasizing fingerstyle control, independent voices, tone, reading, and interpretation.

Andrés Segovia

You may like:

  • Asturias
  • Recuerdos de la Alhambra
  • Chaconne

Julian Bream

You may like:

  • Capricho Árabe
  • Nocturnal
  • Fantasia

Ana Vidović

You may like:

  • Asturias
  • Cavatina
  • Recuerdos de la Alhambra

Flamenco

Rhythmically intense nylon-string guitar built around rasgueado, picado, compás, golpes, and expressive solo playing.

Paco de Lucía

You may like:

  • Entre Dos Aguas
  • Almoraima
  • Rio Ancho

Vicente Amigo

You may like:

  • Tierra
  • Roma
  • Tres Notas para Decir Te Quiero

Tomatito

You may like:

  • La Vacilona
  • Rosalía
  • Aguadulce

Bossa Nova & Brazilian Guitar

Syncopated fingerstyle accompaniment, sophisticated harmony, soft dynamics, and Brazilian rhythmic vocabulary.

João Gilberto

You may like:

  • Chega de Saudade
  • Desafinado
  • Corcovado

Baden Powell

You may like:

  • Samba Triste
  • Canto de Ossanha
  • Berimbau

Luiz Bonfá

You may like:

  • Manhã de Carnaval
  • Samba de Orfeu
  • Gentle Rain

Reggae

Offbeat rhythm guitar, tight muting, pocket, sparse accompaniment, and deep interaction with bass and drums.

Peter Tosh

The Wailers

You may like:

  • Get Up, Stand Up
  • Legalize It
  • Stepping Razor

Bob Marley

Bob Marley & The Wailers

You may like:

  • Stir It Up
  • Exodus
  • Could You Be Loved

Earl “Chinna” Smith

You may like:

  • Fade Away
  • Police and Thieves
  • None Shall Escape the Judgment

Reggae Rock & Modern American Reggae

Reggae grooves mixed with rock, dub, hip-hop, acoustic textures and the laid-back sound of the modern American reggae scene.

Tim Mahoney

311

You may like:

  • Amber
  • Down
  • Beautiful Disaster

Scott Woodruff

Stick Figure

You may like:

  • Weight of Sound
  • Smokin’ Love
  • World on Fire

Joshua Swain

The Movement

You may like:

  • Set Sail
  • Habit
  • Sounds of Summer

Math Rock & Modern Instrumental

Intricate clean guitar, tapping, odd meter, open voicings, rhythmic displacement, and highly arranged instrumental writing.

Tim Henson

Polyphia

You may like:

  • G.O.A.T.
  • Playing God
  • ABC

Ichika Nito

You may like:

  • I Miss You
  • Awakening
  • She Waits Patiently

Yvette Young

Covet

You may like:

  • Shibuya
  • Nero
  • Falkor

Shoegaze

Layered guitar textures, effects, alternate tunings, drones, walls of sound, and atmosphere-first arranging.

Kevin Shields

My Bloody Valentine

You may like:

  • Only Shallow
  • Sometimes
  • When You Sleep

Neil Halstead

Slowdive

You may like:

  • When the Sun Hits
  • Alison
  • Sugar for the Pill

Andy Bell

Ride

You may like:

  • Vapour Trail
  • Leave Them All Behind
  • Seagull

Post-Rock

Cinematic guitar music built around dynamics, repetition, texture, delay, tremolo picking, and long-form development.

Mark Smith

Explosions in the Sky

You may like:

  • Your Hand in Mine
  • First Breath After Coma
  • The Only Moment We Were Alone

Stuart Braithwaite

Mogwai

You may like:

  • Mogwai Fear Satan
  • Auto Rock
  • Take Me Somewhere Nice

Mike Sullivan

Russian Circles

You may like:

  • Harper Lewis
  • Youngblood
  • Mladek

Instrumental Rock & Guitar Virtuoso

Melodic, technically advanced guitar-forward music where the instrument carries the main voice.

Joe Satriani

You may like:

  • Surfing with the Alien
  • Always with Me, Always with You
  • Satch Boogie

Steve Vai

You may like:

  • For the Love of God
  • Tender Surrender
  • The Attitude Song

Eric Johnson

You may like:

  • Cliffs of Dover
  • Manhattan
  • Trademark

Your Guitar Identity So Far

These are the styles and players that caught your attention.

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Genres

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Guitarists

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What Your Choices Suggest

As the same ideas appear across multiple styles, they become stronger candidates for your practice time.
The darker the badge, the stronger the match.

Techniques

Make a selection above to see suggestions.

Skills

Make a selection above to see suggestions.

Knowledge

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Okay. Now We Have a Problem.

If you clicked your way through that list, take a look at what you ended up with.

Maybe there's an obvious theme. Maybe you're staring at Progressive Metal, Jazz Fusion, Neoclassical Shred and a collection of guitarists who seem determined to use every available fret before the song ends.

Or maybe your list makes absolutely no sense. Joe Pass. Eddie Van Halen. Tony Rice. David Gilmour. Tommy Emmanuel.

Congratulations. You're a mess.

So am I. It's cool! 😄

That was actually the point of the exercise. Your guitar identity doesn't need to fit neatly into one genre. The list was there to get you thinking about the sounds, songs and players you want to bring into your own playing.

But now we have to deal with reality:

You can't practice all of it. At least not right away.

We discover something interesting. We save a lesson. We hear a great player. We find a new technique. We add another song to the list. Pretty soon we're trying to become twelve different guitarists at the same time.

So now we're going to take that huge list of possibilities and turn it into something you can actually use.

Start With the Music

I'm a start-with-the-end-in-mind kind of planner, so I wouldn't begin by choosing a bunch of techniques to practice.

I'd start with the music.

Go back through the list you just browsed and grab a handful of songs that represent the kind of guitarist you want to become. You don't necessarily have to choose the songs we suggested, either. If seeing John Petrucci reminded you of a different Dream Theater song you've always wanted to play, use that one.

Maybe you want to tackle Eruption. Maybe it's a Joe Pass chord-melody arrangement. Maybe you want to play Unknown Legend around a campfire without having to think about it. Maybe you've got a gig coming up and there are five songs on the set list that aren't going to learn themselves.

Those are destinations.

And your destinations can be all over the place. Your guitar identity can include progressive metal, jazz chord melody, acoustic singer-songwriter music and whatever else gets you excited about playing.

Your practice plan just needs to answer a much smaller question:

What am I working on right now?

Today. This week. For next week's gig. For the family Christmas gathering next month. For that reggae jam I agreed to play with my buddies at the beach in a couple of weeks.

Given enough time, maybe you can become the best version of Eddie Van Halen, Tommy Emmanuel, Joe Pass and Jimi Hendrix all rolled into one.

Okay, maybe give yourself 200 years.

For now, pick some music.

Now Work Backward

Once you've chosen what you want to play, ask:

What is standing between me and being able to play this well?

This is where all those techniques, skills and bits of musical knowledge from the list above become useful.

Take another look at your results. If you selected Progressive Metal and players like John Petrucci, maybe alternate picking, odd-meter rhythm and fretboard fluency kept showing up. If your choices leaned toward jazz, maybe you're seeing chord inversions, voice leading and extended harmony. Blues-heavy choices might keep pointing you toward bending, vibrato, phrasing and pentatonic vocabulary.

Now compare those suggestions with the songs you picked.

What does the music actually require from you?

That's the important part.

A Dream Theater song might expose a weakness in your alternate picking. A Joe Pass arrangement might make it painfully obvious that you need to work on chord inversions. A Van Halen solo might send you toward tapping, legato, bending and vibrato.

Your reggae jam might reveal that your biggest priority right now isn't shredding at all.

It's rhythm.

Let the music expose the gaps. Then practice the gaps.

If a difficult passage exposes a weakness in your alternate picking, pull the technique out and work on it separately. Slow it down. Build an exercise around it. Use a metronome. Figure out what's going wrong.

Then put it back into the song.

The goal wasn't to become amazing at an alternate-picking exercise. The exercise was there to help you play the music.

Build Your Practice Plan

At this point, you've got the ingredients.

Grab a few songs or pieces from the list you just explored, or others those players inspired you to think about.

Then grab a few techniques, skills or areas of musical knowledge from your results that will help you play them.

That's your starting practice plan.

It doesn't have to account for everything you ever want to accomplish on guitar. It only has to represent what you're trying to accomplish right now.

And when you finish a song, solve a problem, get through the gig or simply decide your priorities have changed, change the plan.

Just Don't Throw the Other Stuff Away

This might be as important as deciding what makes the plan.

Remember the millions of things we talked about at the beginning? They're still out there. Tomorrow you're probably going to discover another one.

That killer Buddy Guy lick you heard on Instagram? Maybe later.

That fingerstyle arrangement you stumbled across last night? Never Going Back Again just landed on my own list because I heard it on the radio last night.

Save it. Write it down. This is important.

Putting something aside doesn't mean throwing it away. You're simply saying, not right now.

If sweep picking has nothing to do with the music you're currently trying to play, it'll still be there three months from now.

One of the hardest parts of practicing effectively isn't deciding what to practice. It's deciding what you're willing to leave alone.

And that's much easier when you know you haven't lost the idea. You've just put it somewhere for later.

There's Your Practice Plan

You started by thinking about the guitarist you want to become.

You explored some music and players that represent that guitarist.

You picked some music you actually want to play.

Then you worked backward to figure out what you need to practice to get there.

That's really it:

Choose the destination → Find the gaps → Practice the gaps → Play the music

And when the next killer lick, guitarist, YouTube lesson or shiny new technique inevitably shows up, you have a pretty useful filter:

Does this help me get where I'm trying to go right now?

If it does, maybe it belongs in the plan.

If it doesn't, save it.

Its turn can come later.

Keep Your Practice Plan Somewhere

The plan doesn't have to be complicated, but it does need to live somewhere.

Write down the songs you're working toward. Keep track of the techniques and problem areas you've discovered. And when something interesting comes along that doesn't belong in today's practice session, save it for later instead of letting it hijack the plan.

That's a big part of why I built Thrive Guitar.

Thrive gives you a place to organize what you're learning, break bigger musical goals into smaller Studies, keep track of your repertoire and log the work you're actually doing.

The goal isn't to tell you what kind of guitarist you should become.

That's your decision.

The goal is to help you keep moving toward it.

Ready to put your practice plan somewhere?

Thrive Guitar gives you a place to organize what you're learning, break bigger musical goals into smaller Studies, keep track of your repertoire and log the work you're actually doing.

Start Organizing Your Practice