Hello Christopher and welcome to the community.
Wow, what a back story. That is an introduction and a learning log combined!
Your stuckness is the sort of situation I have seen in others. You can and will navigate your way out.
First up is rhythm.
Without solid rhythm, harmony and melody gave no firm ground to stand onvand weave the musical magic. If you don’t dig a metronome then play to a simple drum beat. Boom Tish Boom Tish 1 2 3 4. Play muted. I emphasise to students the importance of being able to hold a steady groove. Not just for 30 seconds but for minutes and munutes on end. Rhythm and song stamina. Guitar is, at heart, a rhythm instrument. When strings are muted it is a percussion instrument. Learn to live the percussive sound. Hokd the guitar clise and allow its vibrations to infuse you with the pulse of music.
Beyond rhythm is harmony - chords. Play them well (chord perfect), change between them in goid time (one minute changes) then you’re all set to learn songs, learn songs, learn songs.
Welcome Chris & good luck with this latest attempt…
My personal opinion is that you should buy a bunch of really, really expensive guitars… then you’ll be so “invested” that you HAVE TO LEARN!!! LOL!!!
Just kidding… as a re re restarter too, I think it’s best to try to keep it fun & not to pressure yourself or get down on yourself… keep going & it will just happen eventually!
Welcome Christopher, I am in the same boat as you been learning on and off for 15 years now, but still can’t play a full from start to finish. Back again and dont know where to start. Do i go back to basics and go from grade 1? That could be tedious, I can play barr chords (poorly) and have some rytham patterns.
One thing I have found really use full is the new Strumminig Machine. Add in the strums you want and speed it up as you go. I find the voice coutning the most usefull.
Hi Duncan, although this is more a thread for welcoming Christopher as I saw you had an unanswered question floating in the air I’m providing my thoughts about it that of course may be different from Christopher ones and the ones of other members of the community. For my case, although I had a basic previous knowledge of open chords, barre chords, some fingerstyle rhythms and other stuff, starting the lessons from the beginning was the best choice I have made as going through all the lessons provided me with the opportunity to consolidate and develop my previous knowledge. I went relatively fast through Stages 0 to 8 of the Beginner Guitar Course [Classic] and I’ve been happily for year and half on Stage 9 that’s where I.ve found material that I have no previous knowledge to draw from. Justin also provides a lot of information during all his videos that you would be missing if you skip them. If you find the beginner lessons boring you could mix them with taking look at some specific videos of more advanced skills you want to acquire. If you struggle with them it may be a signal that you need go back to the basics to reinforce your foundations.
