I think the question is a good one. if you don't have a teacher and sit grade exams how do you know where you are at but perhaps more to the point how do you know you are practising smartly enough to progress? I agree with many of the sentiments in this thread regarding the journey and the enjoyment but I might like to know when I can class myself as an intermediate player as opposed to a beginner.On that point does anyone know how the guitar symbols work that the lessons use for degrees of difficulty? I have used two sites including this one to learn the basics but I have trouble knowing where to go next in terms of a more structured progression. I have narrowed down the type of material i would like to play and flit from this or that tutorial but is there a more structured approach I should be following. Am I missing something?