my skills, lil brush ups maybe....

right i'm 14 i've been playing guitar for a fair while (3 years) i'm devoted but theres one problem....
i can tap, i can tap with both hands, i can play joe satriani - midnight, but i don't know a single chord, i only know the pentatonic scale, and i can't tremolo pick or alternate pick very well (my teacher dosen't teach us these skills which i know for a fact i need) i also don't know very much about pickups, humbuckers, etc. etc. i was wondering if any kind soul (notice the flattery the levels i'm sinking to) would mind giving my a few or a few hundred pointers of where i should go what i should do etc etc.
thanks all

As for the alternate picking, start very slowly and practice your scales by picking in an up/down fashion. You might find that you are picking the first notes on a new string in an up fashion but it will feel normal eventually. Check out http://www.stevemorse.com under his lessons tab. He is probably one of the best alternate pickers I know.
As for chords, get a chord book. Simple.
The rest will fall into place in due time.

But don't ever forget the most important thing. Use a metronome. Noone wants to play with someone who can't keep in time, not to mention it will take you a lot longer to progress without one. You can always download one from the internet, or buy one from your local music store.

As for that idiot you got for a teacher, tell him you want a refund. There is no excuse for not teaching the basics like that. Jerks like that piss me off.

Have fun

yeah get a new teacher..u need to get the basics down like chord progression and all that oter "stuff" alternate picking can be done on ur own time but take it slowly..unlike me i took it to fast and became sloppy and now im starting all over again.. make sure all the notes sound even then raise the speed... you dont have to use a metronome if u dont want to1) they can be get really frustrating...i dont use one..i just have a naturall feeling for being in time and like i said earlier..slowly raise the speed..