Where to learn about strumming patterns?

I feel that i have reached a platue in my guitar playing. please give me a guide line of what to learn next.?

• I've only been playing for about 1 year and 3 months (and self taught by internet) and i have a cheep epiphone les paul special 2, a digitech rp350, and a line 6 spider III 15 watt amp. for the first 8 months, i've been just learning just plain songs, and very little about chords and not a single thing about scales. at the 6th month, i started taking guitar lessons locally.(i was self teaching myself online). and for the entire summer, i was learned almost nothing except for chords,and barr chords, and a few funk and groove riffs he made up and strumming patterns.(i didn't learn much because i basically knew everything). i had to quit guitar lessons since school was coming back so i had to self teach myself again and then i was just trying to learn song and a few tricky techniques like alternate picking, pinch harmonics, easy finger tapping. And then when i heard something about theory, i wanted to learn it soo bad because i thought it would make me a better player but the learning curves like rhythm, time signatures and stuff like that got me aggravated at it and i basically quit theory and trying to get my technique better. and now i feel soo confident and i really feel like im not doing as good as i should do. i dont know and want to know theory, improvisation, how chords are made, how to know why they are named certain names. how scales are made, how chords relate to scales, what keys are, how to know what what chords and scales fit in which key, how to improvise with all the scale and keys and chords, what are arpeggios, and how to build my technique to make it soo much better,i don't get it when people say stuff like the 3rd, the 5th, the 7th, or the 9th chord or whatever. and the list goes on. i also don't know if i hold the pick right because i am double jointed in my thumbs so i can hold my pick one way that is like about 45 degrees when you turn the pick counterclockwise from being Parallel to the strings(im right handed), very accurate and comfortable at slow and hard when i go fast but i can do pinch harmonics in this position good. i can't go higher than 480 bpm.(4 plucks for every beat at 120 bpm). i've found this other picking position that i can play a whole lot faster with but can get sloppy if not in the perfect position or have a good pick with a good point and can't do pinch harmonics well with it.(also, i usually hold this like in between 30-45 degree angle when turned clockwise from being Parallel to the strings). right now i feel lost!! my goal is to form a hard rock band by next year and be able to perform at school or where ever but i feel like i suck too much for that to happen that soon!!!!!! i can play some fast rock riffs but sometimes gets sloppy once in a while. the full songs i know are... everlong-foo fighters faint-linkin park given up- linkin park higher-creed my sacrifice-creed scars- papa roach smells like teen spirit and breed- nirvana what i've done- linkin park one last breath- creed here are some songs that i know just the riffs or pieces of solos: american idiot-green day (riff and chorus) all the small things- blink 182 (everything but bridge) animals- nickelback (riff)) blackbird- alter bridge(the acoustic riff,chorus,small pice of mark tremonti's solo) blurry- puddle of mudd (clean riff and chorus) breathe into me- red(riff) bullets- creed(riff but gets a little sloppy at times) buried alive- alter bridge(everything but second solo) cold- crossfade(riff and chorus) dammit- blink 182(riff, verse, and chorus) echo- trapt(riff) enter sandman- metallica(riff, verse, pre chorus, Chorus) fade to black- metallica(acoustic intro before solo, piece of solo) fat lip- - sum 41 (everything but bridge) a favor house atlantic- coheed and cambrea(intro. verse, pre chorus, chorus) feathers- coheed and cambrea(intro, verse, chorus) guerilla radio- RATM(riff) headstrong-trapt(everything but the clean riff where chris taylor brown say "i know, i know all about" and repeats) killing in the name of- RATM(intro riffs) liberate- Disturbed(chorus, bridge riff) lips of an angel- hinder(intro, pre chorus, chorus) metalingus- Alter Bridge(the riff, but its very sloppy) misery business- paramore( intro) more than a feeling- boston(riff) my hero- foo fighters(riff,chorus) overcome- creed(intro, verse, chorus) the pretender- foo fighters(clean riff, distorted verse) remedy- seether(riff, chorus, verse) slither- velvet revolver(riff, verse) smoke on the water(intro, verse, chorus) stand up and stay alive- trapt(riffs) sweet child o' mine- guns n roses(the riff) tears dont fall- bullet for my valentine(the clean riff, distorted intro, verse) Two weeks- all that remains(intro, first piece of solo that repeats twice can be played at about 90% speed) unholy confessons- avenged sevenfold(intro, verse, chorus, solo) welcome home- coheed and cambrea (i can play almost the entire song but sloppel

• Answer:

  It seems to me you are rushing everything. You are jumping around from one thing to another. That can easily be a problem when self taught. I suggest you look for a top rated teacher. Not just the one from the local music store. Ask what they will be teaching and ask about including theory at a slower pace.