Hello, I posted a while ago asking if a mediocre guitar player could get away with it if they could sing. Everybody said yes, but I still want to improve my playing. What I would really like to do is pick out the melody for a verse, or at least a few bars, of the song - something like Doc Watson (I realize he's very advanced but you get the idea). I can't read music (only chords) and I can't afford lessons, so I'm on my own. I've picked out several songs and have managed to figure out how to play the melody and have been practicing although I still can't play anything through entirely without mistakes. I've chosen things like "Star of the County Down", Loch Lomond", "Barbara Allen" etc.

Here are my questions:

Is it better to just stick to a few songs and just practice ad nauseum until I can play them all the way through without mistakes i.e. perfectly, or should I experiment more in the beginning. For example, I'll be working through "Star of the County Down" and then start thinking about other songs and start trying to pick out other melodies. I'm getting much better at it as I go along.

Another problem I'm having - I find it so difficult to play bar chords. It's like I don't have enough hand or finger strenght. Any tips on how to overcome that?

Thanks!