JRoc_723, it may be helpful to read (or re-read) what Lisa wrote under the "Hey, you're not a beginner anymore!" lesson:
"It is not necessary that you absolutely master every single note, song, chord, or technique that has been presented in Guitar Fundamentals 1.
What IS important though, is that you UNDERSTAND all the concepts, that you make careful note of all the tips and pointers, and that you continue to be your own wise and watchful coach as you get better and better at playing guitar."
I teach lessons, although on a different instrument, and if I didn't allow my students to proceed until they played everything just as well as Segovia, or Lukather, or McCormick, most of them would get frustrated and want to quit.
There is a middle path, and it's different for everyone. In a situation such as this, with video lessons, it is up to you to decide when you have it good enough so that you may move on in the lessons. You will know if you are moving along too quickly. The fact that you are asking this question is, I believe, a good sign that you are conscientious about doing this the right way.
I also am finding it challenging to smoothly change from chord to chord. I was talking about this with a friend of mine just the other day. He teaches and plays guitar professionally. I said, "You know what's hard to do on a guitar? Changing cleanly from chord to chord." He replied, "Yes! Non-guitarists think it must be easy, because they see so many people doing it, but it isn't easy. I believe that it takes about a thousand times for it to get into your muscle memory."
You might try taking a chord change that's giving you trouble, and then get your metronome clicking, and just go back and forth. For example, you might put your metronome at 60 beats per minute and then play:
1
F (2-3-4)
G (2-3-4)
F (2-3-4)
G (2-3-4)
F (2-3-4)
G (2-3-4)
F (2-3-4)
G (2-3-4), etc.
Just strumming each chord on beat 1, and then letting it ring for counts 2, 3, and 4, and then playing the other chord, back and forth. It might be a good idea to use beat 4 to make your move to the next chord. At that tempo, you would be doing, what-- fifteen changes per minute? Do that for ten minutes and you'll have done 150 changes. Do that every day for a week and you'll have hit your 1,000 times. If 60 beats per minute is too fast, go slower; find the tempo at which you can nail it. The goal is not speed, but accuracy. The speed comes after you get the accuracy.
In any given tune you might have three or four chord changes that give you trouble. Well, make little exercises (as above) out of those spots, and within a couple of weeks you'll have that issue solved.
When I have a particularly troublesome chord, where some notes aren't sounding, I'll do what Justin suggests, which is: "strum--- arpeggiate--- strum," arpeggiating meaning to play each string individually, like a very slow strum, to make sure each note is ringing. If there's a note that goes "thub," fix it (Lisa explains very clearly how to do this) and go again.
I hope this helps. A ringing, open chord on a guitar is a beautiful thing!
