I have been attempting to learn guitar for about a year now. I have learned from videos and I know all my major and minor scales, pentatonic scales, chords, chord progressions, etc... I can play songs from tabs, and I'm taking a class on how to read music. The instructor tells me that it will help me understand the music and how to learn for myself. However, I met this kid at Guitar Center that just learned to play by himself. He was incredible. He was playing Hendrix and Van Halen, etc.. He knew all the tricks and he was shredding it up!!!

My question is for all you professionals and great guitar players out there, "Am I doing the right thing?" Should I stay in the class and learn to read music or what should I do to learn and get better? How do I learn the effects and tricks and all that stuff? I know that sometimes you have to get lucky and come across someone who'll take you under their wing, however, that's not the case here.

Thanks in advance:

Frank