"...but I would like to learn two things:
1- develop harmonic skills that allow me to lay down tasty chords with a jazzy flavour in my songs
2- develop melodic/improvising skills that allow me to improvise harmonically, i.e. following the chord changes of a song, albeit not at super-fast tempos.
I will consider myself a fulfilled amateur musician if I succeed in these two tasks.[/B][/QUOTE]

Dreamer,
Many of us would consider ourselves 'fulfilled' professional musicians if we could succeed at these two tasks.
Ciao,
Jerry