Thanks for the update, James, sounds like excellent progress.
Looking forward to hear you play and sing those songs.
Hope GC come through with the electric soon.
As for lyrics, I know just how you feel. I find writing originals challenging but writing the lyrics is always the biggest hurdle for me (without minimising all the rest that goes into an original song).
Good update James. The Hummingbird looks great. Looking forward to hearing it either on a cover or an original.
Thanks @DavidP that means a lot. Yes, progress is coming along. I wouldn’t say excellent but slow and reasonably well. I would be very grateful if you could give me some pointers to getting that Bm transitions down. I’m doing the PFC every day and not really having any difficulties. It seems to be only when I want to apply it to the song. As for the original that just came about by accident, I thought I’d just apply everything Justin has taught me through the beginners course and RUST course and experiment just making music as an exercise to drill what I have learned.
Sorry James. Don’t know how Dave got in there 
The Community is just so big now!!
Hahaha no worries @sairfingers … I was going to reply to you calling you trigger but not sure every one would have got the reference to only fools and horses 
Thanks, the Hummingbird was a very good purchase, it’s taking a wee bit of time getting used to it as the Yamaha is a toy in comparison. The funny thing was I could play the F Chord reasonably well on the Hummingbird and when I went back to the Yamaha I could suddenly play it reasonably well on that too.
Once I get this Bm transitions sorted I will be taking the plunge and posting my first AVoYP. I read that you just use your phone to record, any recommendations on set up to get best vocal/guitar recording?
Haha yes James/Dave. I’m very lo-tech with recording. I admire and respect all the others with their DAWs and multitracking of course but other than posting here for a bit of feedback, my recordings aren’t going anywhere, so a phone is good enough. It’s beyond me why others have more as this is essentially a beginners website/forum. I’m now ducking my head to avoid the inevitable onslaught of replies .
The first thing is to get the video framed the way you want it. For constructive feedback you need to show your fretting hand and strumming hand in the frame. Including your head is optional! 
I’ve found that strumming and singing in a ‘normal’ way works pretty well after that.
The exception to this is if you use a backing track or a loop or whatever through an amp because the built in phone mics are designed to pick up the closest sounds.
I have a Trio+ looper/backing band creator. If I use that through my amp I need the amp volume pretty high so the phone can pick it up. It’s then a case of experimenting with your vocal and guitar volume to get the balance right.
Now, if I only knew how to work a DAW.
Edit : Have a look here. Home Recording
If you’re short of a rabbit hole to go down then here’s one!
You’ve got a variety of pots filled with tasty goodness simmering away here James.
This is a wonderful outcome and expression of the inner musician, quite magical.
Slow and well is excellent in my book, James.
Not that I am most qualified, to offer such tips, but maybe try these initially eventually as One Minute Change drills. In no particular order of priority:
F# to Bm. May help to use this to build on from being able to play the E-shape barre, needing the familiar E to Am shape move of three fingers and the adjustment of the barre.
Make an Am with middle, ring and pinky and then slide Am to Bm. May help to just have to add the barre
When those are working well, perhaps try F to Bm, E to Bm, slowly increasing the movements required.
Finally OMCs on the chord change for the song you are playing.
Such a great show. Still not getting why using Trigger would work 
Guess it’s been too long and I don’t know it as well as I know some others.
I generally agree with you Gordon, but not sure about this ‘essentially’. But shan’t take the bait and ramble off …
Thanks David, I will give that a shot. As for the reference to trigger check out this clip Trigger's Best 'Dave' Moments | Only Fools and Horses - YouTube
Do you like Bob Dylan Dave, I mean James? The chord progression for Lay Lady Lay is -
A, C#m, G, Bm.
This progression is a good exercise for moving barre chords down the neck changing between the E Major shape and the Am shape barre chords.
That’s one of my favourite Dylan tunes
Thanks, Maggie. I’m trying to make the best practice of everything I have learned from the Strumming Techniques Course by applying it to songs with chords that have learned from Modules 1 to 9, albeit I I’ve thrown in that extra challenge of learning the Bm.
I thought it would be a good idea to experiment with strumming patterns, alternate picking, and chords I have learned. To just let it loose, feel the rhythm, have some fun and bond with the guitars. It may even help me along the way with ear training etc.
Yes, I do like a bit of Bob Dylan and that’s a song that I really like so exercise and enjoyment at the same time, just what the doctor ordered.
P.S. as they’re that many Dave’s on here we might as well call everyone Dave just like we call everyone Jimmy in Scotland
How are you finding the Trio Plus? I’ve been trying to compare it with the Boss RC-500. At some point when I’m a bit more skilled I’d like to try some of this stuff out Gerry Cinnamon - 'Sometimes' Guitar Tutorial // 2 Chord Song + LOOPER Pedal (no capo) - YouTube. It would tie in nicely when I get to the stage of learning the A major scale.
Wish that was available for streaming. I’ve never seen it and it looks like something I would enjoy a lot!
It’s definitely a show I’d recommend to watch if you get the opportunity to stream it. It’s one of those shows where you could watch it over and over again and still be laughing.
An inspired, creative and all round excellent idea James. Enjoy 
Well, it’s been a couple of days, and your advice @DavidP is starting to slowly pay off. I also tried just playing random strumming patterns to loosen myself up and not thinking I’m playing a song and that helped too. Hopefully won’t be too long now before I’ve got those transitions sorted. Thanks for your help.
Grade 1 Consolidation Update
#1 You should be able to tune your guitar with a tuner.
I’m confident tuning a guitar. Though I just bought a replacement tuner, a Peterson Stroboclip HD. So, I will be familiarising myself with using a Strobe Tuner this week.
#2 Memorize and play the 8 essential beginner chords on the guitar
I’m confident with playing the chords from memory and without looking at the fretboard.
#3 Play 30 chord changes in 1 minute.
I’m confident of doing this with any pairing of the 8 essential beginner chords.
#4 Play The Old Faithful strumming pattern consistently at 80 beats per minute.
I’m confident of doing this up to 120bpm, along with the other strumming patterns taught on Part 1 of the Strumming Techniques Course.
#5 Memorize 5 easy songs.
I’m confident of playing from start to finish Brown Eyed Girl, Stand By Me, Mad World, Girl Like You and Last Kiss.
Current Progress
I’m currently working on Module 9 of Stage 2, while I continue to consolidate Grade 1 by learning more songs and applying the strumming techniques that I have learned from the Strumming Techniques Course including playing on the base note. So far, it is going well.
Why does it always rain on me?
This song is coming along well. It’s the first song that I’ve played and felt I’m making music. It’s been really fun playing along with the YouTube video of Travis playing it. I have to admit, at first, I thought I’d bitten off more than I could chew taking on this song, but the changes to and from the barre chord are starting to come together. I just need to keep working on those Perfect Fast Changes.
Bad Moon Rising
This is a song I’m really enjoying playing on the base note. It’s been a good song to take and apply the lesson from the Strumming Techniques Course. I’ve been starting off slowly and gradually increasing the beats per minute. A bit more practice required but it doesn’t feel like practising a strumming technique when it’s a lot of fun.
Sweet Home Alabama
The reason I chose this song was to have a song where I could practice some alternate picking and strumming at the same time. It also has that little section where I could apply the F Chord or one of the cheats to practice F Chord changes. It’s also one of those songs that as I develop I can go back and learn the proper version taught by Justin. Surprisingly, it is coming along well and playing it is a lot of fun.
GAS
Still no sign of the electric guitar that I want becoming available. It’s probably going to be a few months or more before it’s available. It will be worth the wait, I tell myself.
In the meantime, I’ve ordered a Trio Plus, which I’m looking forward to using. I’ve been wanting to learn some songs that use a looper. And having read the reviews on here for the Trio Plus, the band in a box sounds like fun.
I’ve also ordered a Scarlett 2i2 Studio package to start recording and analysing my progress as I continue on my guitar learning journey.