Hello Jason and a very big round of applause for hit the big red button and sharing your progress.
I’m curious that you say you haven’t watched them. I hope you mean only before uploading them in a way to fool yourself psychologically and not back out of sharing. I hope you have or will watch them very soon. You need to watch and listen to make use of them.
I’m going to echo some comments already made and add a few other suggestions to improve.
FIRST - RHYTHM
The guitar is fundamentally an instrument designed for playing rhythmically. In addition to that, you can play chords and melodies - bonus. But rhythm is the basics of it. And you need to learn solid and secure rhythm as a most important skill. You need to spend some time on improving yours and rebuilding good habits - which means ending old and not-so-good habits. Start by setting aside songs with riffs, lead lines, embellishment notes and fills etc. Concentrate solely and exclusively on strumming and being rhythmic and bringing that to chords and chord changes.
This is my main and most important piece of advice and I urge you to discipline yourself to do this before you make it even harder to step back and re-learn.
Your strumming arm is moving through large arcs of motion that can be reduced. Aim more for the 2nd not the 1st of these pics.
Also, your wrist is very stiff and your forearm is doing all of the strumming action. Loosen up your wrist for strumming. Your forearm moves (though not in a very large arc) and your wrist also needs to be flexible, having a flicking or whipping motion across the strings with the down and up strums. Justin talks of shaking water off your fingers. That is a good descriptor.
Your strumming arm stops and starts and stops and starts. Unlearn that bad habit now. Please, you need to change that before it becomes too much of an issue as you look to develop your skills.
You must develop an inner sense of time and tempo. That is going to take regular and structured practice. I suggest these exercises on a daily basis.
10 mins – Muted Percussive Rhythm Practice
Touch the strings lightly to mute them. Strum using the most basic of patterns - playing four times per bar, all Down strums.
Try to control the moving arc of your forearm. Try also to ensure your wrist is relaxed, loose, supple and is involved in the strumming.
Count: 1, 2, 3, 4 out loud throughout the strumming.
Try to make a conscious act of tapping your foot or nodding your head or moving some part of your body as you play. This is rhythm. You are allowed to move - to dance as it were. Alternate your count of the 1, 2, 3, 4 with saying out loud the direction of your strum.
Say out loud: Down, Down, Down, Down.
You are aiming to be very conscious of strumming with a consistent rhythm. To begin with go at your own speed (and I suggest you make it a slow speed, very slow is good here) until you are comfortable with the mechanics of the arm movements and the counting. Once comfortable you need to begin to train yourself to do all of the above and keep time, keep a steady beat. You are going to play along with a drummer. A metronome can do the job also but I recommend a drum track at 60bpm to start. There is a count in on a click. Use it to start counting 1, 2, 3, 4. Listen to the drums alternate between ‘Boom’ and ‘Bash’. Those are sounding out the count of 1 then 2 then 3 then 4.
Boom, Bash, Boom, Bash = 1, 2, 3, 4.
Drum beats are a little more organic and feel better than metronome clicks in my view.
The development of this is to incorporate Up strums. Of necessity, playing four Down strums involves your arm coming back up again. On those movements you are now going to strum the muted strings also.
Strum with a full pattern of eighths as shown.
Count out loud: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & as you strum occasionally changing what you say to Down, Up, Down, Up, Down, Up, Down, Up. Verbalising the counts will help embed the rhythm into your body and brain.
Once again, do this unaccompanied so that you become comfortable with the feel and the mechanics. Then play along with the same 60bpm drum track.
SECOND - The G Chord
You have a most unconventional approach to playing the G chord, wrapping your thumb around the neck. I know that you have made it work for you so kudos for figuring out something that works. That said there is a but, and a big but. Long term it is going to restrict you and prevent you from being able to do other things around and with the G chord. Embellishments such as Gsus4, Gsus2, G with melody notes added, other forms of G. The reason being is that to play it your way your hand is dropped low and your wrist is angled such that your other fingers are virtually taken right out of the equation and unable to do any of this extra work.
Look how low your wrist and fingers have to srop to play it your way.
There are the four diffferent variations that Justin teaches to play the G chord.
These two are in Grade 1.
–
These two are in Grade 2.
–
Once again, I encourage you with all my powers of encouragement to relearn that chord, to break and lose your old habit and learn a new, better one.
I will leave it there. I have given what I hope is helpful, constructive critique and advice and that you take it in the spirit it is meant - as encouragement and a guide to improve, not as a criticism or a negative dismissal of your efforts too date.
Cheers
Richard