Learning Progress

Congrats and welcome to Chordie!  It's good that you're learning scales!  I found that I have to use at least three (of the five) patterns when playing a song.  In addition to minor pentatonic, you should also learn major scales as well. 

One of the ways to guage your current knowledge is to do some jamming with other people.  Yes, knowing your chords and scales is nice, but how do you fair with other players/instruments?  I started jamming with a few guys now for about a year, and although it's fun, it's also challenging at times. 

When you're playing by yourself, it's easy.  Because you're playing the entire song that you have control over.  In a band or jam session, you get to play only part of a song through either lead or rhythm.  And, someone has to lead the group during play so everyone is on the same progression and timing. 

Nonetheless, keep practicing and always try to watch others for inspirations!  I saw Joe Satriani and Derek Trucks band on TV the other day.  And, wow, they were amazing!  Good to see their techniques too!

Tim,

It's a natural human behavior to "hold" things.  However, it's best to be conscious of where your thumb is, on the neck.  The reason for this is to help you when you start playing scales!  If you establish a good habit of keeping your thumb pressed lightly on the back of the neck while playing, it will help make moving your fingers throughout the scales much easier.  Plus, your barre chords will get a bit easier because your wrist will be in a natural (straight) position when you play either chord or scale. 

Another time when people tend to "hold" the neck is when they're sitting and playing.  Since the guitar body is heavier, there's a tendency to try to keep the neck down (or from sliding) while playing.  To fix this problem, wear a guitar strap while you're playing sitting down.  This will help reduce the neck from moving and distribute the weight more evenly across your back. 

Good luck!