Good stuff Firas. Keep working on getting those chord changes clean before you move on to something else.
Loved the tone you had there. 
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Thanks Mark! Yeah, this song was a bit more challenging than the first one, with a lot more room for improvement and development. Definitely going to keep practicing this one and adding more to it as I grow my skills.
I was quite reluctant to try my own setup, but having my cheaper Squier Strat starter guitar to practice on helped a lot, and I’m really happy with how it turned out on the Epi LP 
Thank you Roger. This song is definitely going to stay in my development songs list. So much to learn through it.
Thank you for the kind words and the wise reminder Lisa. I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist and very critical of myself, so your reminder is well-placed and I will keep it mind to enjoy this journey with all it’s ups and downs while enjoying the music as I go along
Thanks Gordon. Will definitely keep practicing those chord changes, which is why I love this song so much. Much more fun to practice them all this way while working on my strumming and rhythm at the same time 
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Fantastic mate, looking good!!
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That LP’s looking and sounding real sweet Firas. Good choice 
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Thank you Toby! I’m really happy with it
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Sounding great Firas and only 2 months, wonderful.
Guitar looks and sounds great and well done on having a go at setting it up properly.
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Thank you Stefan. I’m really happy with the Epiphone and even more so with learning how to do the setup on both of my guitars. It made a noticeable difference on both of them.
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New playthrough of the same song on 4th August, 2023 after practicing and improving my chord changes (E to C in particular) for a few weeks:
(recorded using my new Marshall Code 25 amp, Shure SM57 mic, and Zoom G1X Four for drums all plugged into my Volt 2 Audio Interface)
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Keep on rocking, Firas, all looking and sounding pretty good.
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Thanks again David
In my view, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the forearm moving in a shallow arc and the groove and bounce of a rhythm being enhanced by having your wrist get involved. Once you have the very basics of Down strumming learned - and here Justin does recommend arm movement - i always encourage seeking to play with a relaxed, flicky wrist. Your three spare fingers are also very relaxed, you are playing with no tension in your strumming hand - great stuff.
The second video is an improvement for sure, it seems cleaner and crisper.
You’re doing great - keep it up.
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You can see the improvement over those couple of weeks;
it’s more positive, and crisper.
Nice work
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Hi,
Sounds great to me.
After two months brilliant.
Well done.
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@Richard_close2u thanks for the feedback Richard. I hadn’t really noticed my transition from stiff fingers and hand to the relaxed one as in this video until I recorded it (I was aware that I should be more relaxed but didn’t realize it actually happening). I guess that’s the value of recording progress over a period of time I’ve also transitioned from using a extra thin pick to a medium pick while relearning how to hold it lighter so that might be another contributing factor.
Your advice on relaxed and flicky wrist makes sense now and alleviated any perceived contradiction (in my mind) with Justin’s earlier advice. Learn basic arm movement in the beginning then progress to a more relaxed wrist and less exaggerated arm movement. Makes a lot of sense now 
Thank you @Eccleshall and @Alan_1970 I really appreciate the positive feedback!
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Keep on rockin’! It seems like we’re at the same stage. 
Smooth changes!
One thing i noticed though, it looks like you mute the low E string with your thumb on the E major, but it’s hard to tell the sound is too distorted. Only you can know for sure.
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Hey John, thanks
Yes, I think I did accidently mute the low E string with the E major chord a few times (I’m used to doing that for the D major). Good catch!
What songs are you working on for your consolidation?
My third song memorized and recorded as part of Grade 1 consolidation on 21st July, 2023:
I really loved practicing and learning this song. I only came across it during this course, which is another thing I love about Justin’s course, I’m discovering new music! This is another keeper to work on developing different strumming patterns in the future and to keep practicing my minor chord changes.
As always, feedback is welcome and highly appreciated.
New playthrough of the same song on 4th August, 2023 with alternate chords and strumming pattern (recorded using my new Marshall Code 25 amp, Shure SM57 mic, and Zoom G1X Four for drums all plugged into my Volt 2 Audio Interface):
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It sounded really nice, good job
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Much appreciated Alex!
I thought you done great Firas. Nice consistent strum pattern and I liked the slight transitions you made to the sus chords when holding the Am.
The grade1 lesson for this song looks to have omitted it, but if you can manage to play a G note/chord between the Em and Am, it will match the classic bass line (E-G-A) that can be heard in the original.
I only mention this as an option to spice it up if you want, because you handled the other aspects of this song very comfortably 
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