Just go for it, Erika. Use the labyrinth method in learning, and just go over the rough spots in a song till you nail it. Or, use a capo and play it up the neck in a chord fingering you’re comfortable with. On a D minor nearest the nut, I found putting my pinky finger on fret 3, string 2; middle finger on fret 2, string 3; and index finger on fret 1, string 1 worked the best for me. It can be a stretch and feel awkward till you get it. I’ve also found giving myself more time for chord changes by either letting the strings ring out between chords, or doing one less strum beforehand on the previous chord also helps. Slow it down, and by all means, record yourself so you can see the amazing progress you’re making. Then again, as you said, all else fails, grab the old sax, at least temporarily. I always end each practice session with something I know I can do well, so I get a reward and self-positive feedback at the end. Happy Holidays!
Thank you Deborah for “creating” this space, completely passed me by last year. Respect to all of the contributors so far and those to come, you have got me ‘off the fence” and inspired me to post my first ever AVOYP.
So, commercial or traditional? Decided to go with traditional and my favourite Christmas Carol “In the Bleak Midwinter”. I apologise for the slightly boring strumming but whenever I tried to come up with something more interesting I couldn’t keep the words, the chords and the singing going.
As an aside I recommend Shawn Colvin’s interpretation on the album “Holiday Songs and Lullabies”.
Happy Xmas and a Peaceful New Year to everybody in this fantastic community…
John.
Congratulations John @JohnnyW on your first AVOYP! What a lovely carol and you sung it so beautifully! I found the simple strumming suited the carol just fine. But if you want to work on bringing more variety into the strumming while you are singing try adding just one up strum at a time to your pattern, e.g. D-DU-D-D or D-D-DU-D or D-D-D-DU and keep that throughout the song. And when that feels fine then add or remove one other strum. The trick is to build up complexity in little steps and not all at once. Good luck!
Well done Johnny, nicely played and sung. Congratulations on your first upload!
Well done Johnny, on your AVOYP debut. 
I enjoyed that one; and the straight strumming suited the tune, so all good. Good clean vocals too.
You’ve broken the ice now mate. Lookin forward to some more.
Cheers, Shane
its a lovely tune 
The simple strumming suited it well
Congratulations on your first AVOYP , Im really pleased you shared it in this topic
Christmas is the perfect period to share with others and there is no pressure , its not about being perfect its about participating
Thank you John, that was lovely. I also think the simple strumming pattern was a valid choice, even if it was a choice you felt you had to make.
I’m glad you did. I truly enjoyed your song and rendition and it was a great idea to post your first song!
I’ll try to find and listen to it!
All the best to you, John!
PS. Found the album and artist - I’m glad you recommended her! (thought Shawn would be a man )
Thanks for the encouragement! After I posted this, I managed to fit in a good practice session in which I focused mostly on the change from Am to Dm, just slowly using my metronome to increase the speed, and I think I’m starting to get it! The 3rd fret is the trickiest though. Hopefully I’ll find some time to record myself over the next week or so!
This is a beautiful rendition, John! I still struggle with strumming and singing as well, but it doesn’t seem so boring with your lovely vocals.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Merry Christmas and happy new year all!
Thank you Molly @MollyT for watching and taking the trouble to feedback. With everything else going on just couldn’t get any consistency when introducing upstrokes. As always, just needs more practice! Thanks again.
Thank you Boris @Boris1565 feels really good to have got through the first one.
2 wonderful Christmas songs !
We’ve never had a cowboy song before 
well done !
and what a voice you have Traveler !
cozy by the fireside
perfect Christmas song
Thank you Shane.
There will be more.
Thank you Deborah @GrumpyMac, pressure is something we put on ourselves but
Won’t argue with that.
Thank you John for watching, couldn’t keep it together if introducing upstrokes, just got to keep practicing!
WOW Clint @CT and Travis @Traveler two great songs and renditions to add to our party! Loved the horse trotting on your video Clint - a welcome change to the all-present sleighbells!
Fantastic rendition @Traveler!