Is anybody curating their own practice songs instead of learning the ones included in the JG songbook? Obviously, there’s a bunch of great stuff in there (and I do have several JG songs in my campfire queue) but, for me, there’s not much I would actually choose to perform once I learned them. I’d rather be learning songs I’m actually likely to play. From a skill standpoint, is this a bad idea? Should I be sticking with the program and learning the JG material anyway?
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You should definitely learn songs you like rather than limiting yourself to only ones Justin has done.
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Hi Donovan. Use Justin’s lessons to learn the skills. Then use those skills to play whatever songs you like! He’s got some terrific song lessons too but they are of course only a tiny fraction of the thousands of songs that can be played on guitar.
Sure, you should look for songs that you like. Just be aware that other teachers don’t grade their songs the same as Justin when looking on YouTube.
An easy beginner song for X teacher can be a grade 4 song in JustinGuitar. And trying to learn that in grade 2 may feel discouraging and less fun than one from the songbook.
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You should definitely learn the songs you will enjoy the most. Justins songs are a starting point to help learn. The more you enjoy the songs you play, the more you will want to play. 
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Hey Donovan,
Some good advice here already.
I’d just like to add that most songs can be played with various skill levels.
So if you really like a song, just locate a version - simpler chords, melody etc - that is near, or just above your skill.
Thay way, you get to play the songs you like, and at the same time provide a bit of a challenge to develop some more skills.
Cheers, Shane
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I am doing this all the time, since I want to play songs in German as well, and I have only played for four months. I have found that for nearly every song, there is at least one tutorial on youtube, if not more. Or at least you can find chord suggestions if not videos. Sadly, most people do not structure their lessons as well as Justin; I was so shocked the first time I watched a tutorial where the person did not even count out their strumming^^
Anyway, what happens to me most of the time is I find two or three different versions on youtube, and I end up frankensteining my own version with all the parts I liked best. Once I find ‘my’ version, I record it in my songbook, memorise it, and off we go to practice.