Reached module 6 of grade one and learned the G chord this evening, so thought I’d give singing and playing a go for the first time. It’s incredibly hard, I don’t know how people manage it!
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That’s really good progress Steve. Your strumming was nice and smooth and you kept your arm moving all the time. Well done on singing too. As you said it’s not an easy thing to do but it does get easier. As you progress further your guitar playing will become automated and then singing and playing at the same time becomes a lot easier. Almost like changing gears when driving in that you will do it without thinking about it. Keep up the good work!
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Hey Steve, that was really very good. Your strumming was regular and your chord changes are progressing well. Great job singing and playing too. Well done!
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Hey Steve that’s a very good start to singing along! I think with some more practice it will click 
first focus on Justin’s lessons about strumming and rhythm as the latter is key to get singing along going well. Once you learn the basics you will see it’s not so bad all the best
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@ninjasteve
Bravo, Steve, you did really well playing and singing. You’re off to a great start. For some people it seems to click naturally, for others (like me) it has taken years of persistence to slowly reach a point where it starts to sound and feel good.
You are going well with your playing, smooth strumming and changes, fingers well behaved (not flying around wildly).
I did notice a little hesitation on some of the G to D changes, so keep working at that (One Minute Changes) without singing at first and as the change becomes smoother then bring the singing back.
Then develop the stamina (physical and focus) to play the second verse.
Look forward to more!
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Here’s a recording of me playing good riddance by greenday, there are alot of things wrong with it. The timing is terrible and stuff and I mess up alot of the chords so I definitely need to stay on module one of week 2 for a couple more weeks but… I am super happy that it almost sounds like the song!
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A start well made and on your way to being that rockstar, Amy. Not nearly as terrible as your comment suggested. I do recognise it from others playing it here.
If you feel it is still a little rough then the trick is to slow down a little, get it smooth, and then speed up.
One thing you may want to look at is getting your fingers up closer to the fret, particularly on the D chord.
Keep on rocking!
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Thanks! Usually I’m okay with the D chord it’s just difficult learning to slide the fingers down to the right place from the stuck 3/4 chords. Thanks for the feedback!
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Thanks for the kind words David (and everyone else!). For sure yeah, watching it back you’re right that I need to focus on that G to D. It feels like quite a drastic change in hand shapes currently so I’ll be drilling into that during my practice this week.
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@erdem89 re: Tears In Heaven.
Welcome to the community and congrats for posting your first video here.
That is way beyond a beginner song. You’ve had some good advice and I note you have chosen to start back at the beginning again. That is wise. The one note of caution I would raise is to be aware that if you reached a certain playing-level first time around, try to ensure that as you learn again and learn good habits, you apply them to songs you previously played. Learn those old songs as though they were new songs.
Cheers
Richard
ps
branch out to general AVOYP.
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@Jeff re: All The Small Things
Cool rocking Jeff.
You demonstrate the value of concentrating on building good technique and practicing along with a backing track. All good.
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@ninjasteve re: Mad World
Bravo Steve … if you only learned the G chord and are not used to playing and singing together then you have done a good job here. David mentions hesitation in chord changes … the one that stands out most is forming D after G, your fingers arrive in sequence not together. Remember to practice chord perfect as well as one-minute changes.
Well done.
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@amytherockstar re: Good Riddance
Bravo on your first posting.
You already recognise areas to work on by the fact your recorded and watched / listened to yourself.
One issue in the early days when playing songs you know … you know what the song sounds like and you know the tempo of it but you have to resist trying to play at full tempo. Playing too fast makes it very difficult to keep good chord formation and good chord changes. It would be far, far better to play at 50% speed with clean and accurate chords and changes than to play faster and mess up.
Slow, slow, slow. Slow and good. Then speed up incrementally.
Cheers
Richard
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Terrific Steve! For a first go of singing and playing that sounded brilliant
Nothing to add to others comments here, you’ve had some good advice already, looking forward to seeing you contiune to progress.
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Really good recording Amy! It’s not a straighforward song at that tempo, especially getting to and from the D but that looked very decent.
Thanks for sharing and well done on your first video 
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Congrats on your first AVOYP posting. That was cracking, Steve. It does get easier the more you do it. I’m sure you’ve probably read already but if one part can be completely automated then it makes it a lot easier.
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Oh yes, you can hear it’s Good riddance, Amy. Just slow it down some to help nail those chords and to get it really embedded into your brain and then slowly start to bring the speed back up. Nice job.
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Hi all
This is a second video of me playing. The first one I shared was me playing at the end of Grade 1. Now I’m up to module 11 grade 2 but I’ve taken a bit of time out to consolidate some stuff, learn to play F and also learn to sing and play. Here’s a video of the latter. The tempo is slowed somewhat from the original Dylan version.
Best wishes
Murray
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Great job Murray @myall_blues ! Singing and playing, especially with a proper strumming pattern, is one of the most difficult things to get worked out, and you’ve worked it out!! Tempo may be slowed but that suited you and the song really well.
Enjoyed your vocals alot with that, alot of feeling in there and will look forward to hearing some more of that. The guitar playing was smooth, good changes and consistent strumming, plenty to be very pleased about!
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