Guitar Chords and getting confused

[DamienDlol]

Okay so ive been a self taught guitarist since i was 15 but only got serious playing at 16 and now im getting really confused with everthing happening on guitar! SO I NEED SERIOUS HELP

So basically im a singer songwriter and im getting so confused between what chords i should learn and where i can find them i already know , Open chords, Barr Chords, Dominant 7s, 7 chords but i dont know where to go from here i know there are things like 13 chords and slash and stuff but im so confused by them like what key do what ones fit into and where do i find the real ones i should learn!  its quite depressing being this stuck with my music at the minute, im also having problems with learning songs by ear so i could use some suggestions for easy songs to learn by ear, also i have a question does learning songs by ear and progressing over time improve your singing ? i know there is a lot packed into this but its like everything that is confusing me and i only know that you would be able to help me atm thankyou!

[shadowscott007]

Do you understand how to harmonize the major scale?  Understand the basic chords in a key? 

I would step through Justin's beginner's and intermediate courses on his website.

Shadow

[jacksroadhouse]

+1
Get the basics together, and that'll give you a solid place to start for new things. From the intermediate course you can easily go into different styles, and that'll give you new stuff to learn.

Speaking of: if you can spare a few quid, get Justin's Practical Music Theory eBook. All these "which chords do I learn" worries tend to get deeply unimportant once you got the theory behind it solid. Then you can just make up chords as you go along, figure out different voicings and chord variations, etc. Makes your playing a lot more interesting.