Different ways to play the open G chord

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by fpuhan

When I first taught myself guitar, I learned the open G chord as using my third, fourth and fifth fingers,

You have five fingers??
Oh wait, you're counting your thumb as your first "finger"...

(You must be a pianist... )

[EZYPIKINS]

Dad taught me the G chord when I was a kid.

He played it with two fingers. Ring and middle, muting the A string.

I played this way for years as it was easy.

Today, I'll play that way. Or, the traditional, fretting the A at 2.

Sometimes I use pinky and ring on strings 1 and 2 respectively,at 3rd fret, while fretting strings 5 and 6 at 2 and 3 respectively.

Other times i might play the A string at 2 while muting the #6 string, with pinky at string 1 at 3.

All depends on what the rest of the song is doing.

[tbirdman]

This whole thread got me thinking about my issues trying to play G chord with my pinky and my problems with playing Freight Train using the pinky to play the melody. I also want to learn to play the G chord with the pinky

Since I live close to Mark Hanson I contacted him, and we plan to sit down for at least one lesson. I'm convinced that it is bad technique that is holding me back.

Please share whatever you find out if you think it will be helpful. And thank you to everyone who replied. There are many different ways to play a G chord, so many more than I realized!

[Scuzzo]

the most easy one is the f moved to the 3fret.. it will not have the open ring of the g.. its best just to practice it.. it comes.. you can use third finger and fret the high strings or just mute high e .. but it comes with practice.. there is pain involved.. wait till you get to some weird minor 9ths... Ick...

[sinistral]

If you want a real challenge, try playing Freight Train the way Elizabeth Cotten payed it—with the guitar strung upside down. I keep a couple of right-handed guitars around for guitar-playing guests, and will sometime pick one up and try to play Freight Train on it. It’s maddening.





Also, it’s pretty much impossible to play Libby Cotten-style without the pinky!

[Laughingboy68]

Pinky on the G at the third fret, 1st string. Ring finger on the G at the third fret, 6th string. Mute the 5th string, let everything else ring. The major third is on the open B, the perfect fifth on the open D. I've always found the standard, chord chart G chord to be a little clunky with two thirds.

This leaves the index and middle fingers free to add notes for colour and suspensions.

If you want a G5 sound, play the D on the second string.

[davidbeinct]

Originally Posted by sinistral

If you want a real challenge, try playing Freight Train the way Elizabeth Cotten payed it—with the guitar strung upside down. I keep a couple of right-handed guitars around for guitar-playing guests, and will sometime pick one up and try to play Freight Train on it. It’s maddening.





Also, it’s pretty much impossible to play Libby Cotten-style without the pinky!

I have occasionally thought about grabbing a lefty off the rack at a GC or something and giving that a go. Then I remember I have enough problems right way round.

[sinistral]

Originally Posted by davidbeinct

I have occasionally thought about grabbing a lefty off the rack at a GC or something and giving that a go. Then I remember I have enough problems right way round.

Grab a lefty and try to play Stairway to Heaven upside-down.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by janinep7

Just a casual survey... how many of you play the open G chord with your pinky on the high E string vs. the ring finger? I keep practicing with my pinky, but it wants to fold in on itself and it's not stable. I tried taping the first joint with some white first aid tape, but then it was too rigid.

Am I really going to have so many problems down the road if I don't learn the open G with pinky? I can play the alternate fingerings for other chords using my pinky but it must be something about the stretch between the top and the bottom of the fretboard that's not working for the little finger of my left hand.

Just for the sake of comparison, I flipped my guitar upside down so it was in L-hand playing position. Same issue if I fret and open G with my right hand.

No, the best fingering is to either fret the BASS E string on third fret with your middle finger (if playing as a I chord in key of G, or with your ring finger if playing as a V chord in the key of C, but the top E is always fretted with the pinky.

If not you are over stretching your hand and the wrist position is probably wrong.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

No, the best fingering is to either fret the BASS E string on third fret with your middle finger (if playing as a I chord in key of G, or with your ring finger if playing as a V chord in the key of C, but the top E is always fretted with the pinky.

Not always! It's extremely common - in fact commonly recommended in beginner books - to fret the top E with ring finger.

Like you, my own preference is for pinky there, but countless players get by just fine using ring. It might be inefficient now and then, but it doesn't bother lots of people.

For me, btw, the choice of finger on 6th is not dependent on what key I'm in - just on what I need to do on the other strings. I.e., I guess your point about key of G is that middle on 6th means your ring is free to play the 2nd string to change to and from the D major chord?

[Joe Beamish]

Ring finger on the 6th string gives you the most freedom to play lines with your index finger and middle finger (lifting off the major third note to do other things.)

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by tbirdman

I've tried warmups and stretching to no avail. I still need to get a better sound by fixing the fingers rolling issue. The good news is I have better control over the pinky since when I started to play 2 years ok.

Well the encouraging news is that just realizing you have a problem is a step closer to not having that problem.

[mr. beaumont]

The "best" fingering is the one that allows you to add any other notes needed and move to the next chord most easily.

There's easily half a dozen "best" ways to play a G.

[The Bard Rocks]

Originally Posted by Mandobart

I pretty much always use the pinky to cover the 3rd fret on the high E and B strings on a first position G chord. That index finger has to do some hammer-ons and be ready to go to a G7 and then C. I can't think of any application where it was better to cover that fret with the ring finer.

Take up mandolin - the 4-finger chop chords will whip your pinky into shape!

Same here..... except on mando where I have trouble with the standard 4 finger movable chords. So, the pinky must not be in the shape I thought it was. As an aside - when I decided to use the pinky more on guitar, my playing went to another level. I do use it to create a second F# note on a D chord, not so much for chords as for notes within the chord