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  #16  
Old 10-09-2015, 03:57 PM
jseth jseth is offline
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If it's a passing chord or the blues or rock, I'll catch all three with one finger, first or third, depending upon what comes next...

If I HAVE to hear that high open E note for melodic purposes, then I will use either index or middle finger to fret the 3rd and 4th string notes and the either the index or ring finger to catch the C# on the B string... hammering on to the C# is an iconic sound, too.

I have smallish hands/fingers, and when I make a barre chord with that "open A" shape, I use my pinky, most times, for those 3 notes across...

I don't believe I have EVER used the middle version that you wrote down... although I am aware of it, just feels really awkward for me, even if the next chord is an open Amaj7...
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  #17  
Old 10-09-2015, 04:12 PM
JonPR JonPR is offline
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2-3-4 most of the time, sometimes index barre.
Never the other two - except when teaching because some students find them easier.

1-1-1 is very useful for certain riffs, and I generally either mute the top E, or use pinky on 5th fret. But the main reason is to free up 2nd and 3rd fingers for various embellishment.
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  #18  
Old 10-09-2015, 06:18 PM
Vol46 Vol46 is offline
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2 1 3 or barre with 1
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  #19  
Old 10-09-2015, 06:35 PM
Riverwolf Riverwolf is offline
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Door number 2.
I have problems with this chord if not used regular.
When I had a GS Mini it was so cramped as to be almost impossible.
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  #20  
Old 10-09-2015, 07:41 PM
stanron stanron is offline
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As others have pointed out the choice of chord fingering is usually a matter of context. For a long time my default fingering of

X 0 2 2 2 0

has been two fingered. 2nd finger on the D string and 3rd finger on the B string. My fingers are broad enough for both fingers to fret the G string as well. Mostly I play finger style and often only play the parts of chords that hold the notes I need. It's rare for me to play full conventional chords.
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  #21  
Old 10-09-2015, 07:45 PM
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TBman TBman is offline
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I never do the first one, and the others depend on whats going on. To be honest, most of the time I do a mini barre and the heck with the open e unless I need it.
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  #22  
Old 10-10-2015, 06:50 AM
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SprintBob SprintBob is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ljguitar View Post
Hi B…

The middle one (pictured above)…

It is the most flexible for everything else I'm doing.

It's also the one I have fingerstyle students add to their library.

From that single position alone you can move only fingers 2-3 to 3rd fret to form a Dm, or drop the first finger back to the first fret for AMaj7, or lift the 1st finger for an A7. You can leave the first finger in place and move fingers 2-3 to form a D without having to reconfigure.

As a teacher and player, there is no single fingering more right or wrong. But there are a few which make more sense.



I'm with LJ on my fav A chord fingering. Early in my guitar journey, I was learning a Wilco song in the key of A using only the A-D-E chord progression and that fingering was the cat's meow for playing the progression in time and smoothly.
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  #23  
Old 10-10-2015, 08:19 AM
ToneHunter ToneHunter is offline
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Usually I use the first configuration or an index finger barre. However after 50 years of playing I finally learned the middle one because I found it works better for playing my all time favorite song - James Taylor's Fire & Rain, and getting it to sound more like the recording. It does feel kinda strange but I believe it does work better for many of James's songs as well as many others I would imagine. I'm with LJ on this one also.
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  #24  
Old 10-10-2015, 09:38 AM
john57classic john57classic is offline
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I primarily use 234, probably because my first main teacher recommended it, but if I'm strumming, a single finger bar (e string muted) does frequently make an appearance.
The thread is kind of fascinating to me because in all the time I've been playing I can only think of just a handful of times when I noticed someone playing 234, but so far this thread would indicate it's not really that rare.
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  #25  
Old 10-10-2015, 09:52 AM
Mdinterman Mdinterman is offline
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2-3-1 for me. Makes it easier to go to an E and a D. Got that anchor finger. I find I get fret buzz on the D string with the 1-2-3 or the 2-3-4.

I actually find the A a difficult chord for me. Using the 2-3-1, I wrap my thumb up to mute low E but that sometimes causes me to mute high E as well. Hard to get it all to ring out clearly.
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  #26  
Old 10-10-2015, 09:58 AM
JonPR JonPR is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by john57classic View Post
I primarily use 234, probably because my first main teacher recommended it, but if I'm strumming, a single finger bar (e string muted) does frequently make an appearance.
The thread is kind of fascinating to me because in all the time I've been playing I can only think of just a handful of times when I noticed someone playing 234, but so far this thread would indicate it's not really that rare.
I've always played 234 because (a) those fingers squeeze together better than 123 and (b) it's easier to change to an E and back - which I guess was the most common chord it was paired with when I was learning.

I never heard of (or thought of) the 213 method until Larry mentioned it a while back, and he's quite right it's good for changing to and from both E and D, as well as easier for those with thicker fingers.
I still prefer 234 for changing to E, but 213 is better for getting to D. Still, when I'm going between A and D, because I'm so used to 234, I'll often slide my pinky and play D with fingers 142! Habits are hard to break...
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  #27  
Old 10-10-2015, 09:58 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by john57classic View Post
I primarily use 234, probably because my first main teacher recommended it, but if I'm strumming, a single finger bar (e string muted) does frequently make an appearance.
The thread is kind of fascinating to me because in all the time I've been playing I can only think of just a handful of times when I noticed someone playing 234, but so far this thread would indicate it's not really that rare.
Hi j57classic

As a teacher, and more-so as a player, I'm rarely amazed by the variety of fingerings anymore which work for people I run into. And as a teacher I rarely tell anyone their fingering is wrong. If it's working it's not wrong (you cannot be arrested for using a different fingering than mine). I do teach players to add several other ways to finger existing chords, and to play inversions of them.

In context, I'm a full-time finger styler who occasionally strums, and even when I strum, I still bend and use a ton of hammer/on pull/offs. So for me the particular fingering I usually use for the A under discussion (x02220) is based on hammering, rapid chord changes, and integrating runs, scale work, and arpeggio work.

Since there is an open A string available in both Standard tuning, and Dropped D, and since as a finger styler I can selectively choose strings, I also use a lot of three string inversions for the A chord up and down the neck. I've certainly not limited myself to the one under discussion. It's probably only a 1-in-3 chance I'll use it very often.



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  #28  
Old 10-10-2015, 10:06 AM
RustyAxe RustyAxe is offline
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Depends where I'm coming from and where I'm going to next. There's also the "long A" ... X02225 ... barre the 2nd fret and grab the A on the Estring with the pinky, and if I need the E I just barre the 5th fret of the B and E strings with the pinky finger. Lots of ways to skin the cat.
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  #29  
Old 10-10-2015, 10:44 AM
Scootch Scootch is offline
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Either;
Two fingers, index and middle, mashing them all down,
Or,
Ring finger bent back in a mini barre.

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  #30  
Old 10-13-2015, 01:00 PM
gitardude gitardude is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ljguitar View Post
Hi B…

The middle one (pictured above)…

It is the most flexible for everything else I'm doing.

It's also the one I have fingerstyle students add to their library.

From that single position alone you can move only fingers 2-3 to 3rd fret to form a Dm, or drop the first finger back to the first fret for AMaj7, or lift the 1st finger for an A7. You can leave the first finger in place and move fingers 2-3 to form a D without having to reconfigure.

As a teacher and player, there is no single fingering more right or wrong. But there are a few which make more sense.

What he said.
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