G chord - question from the old forum

[cyberfret]

blackbird wrote:

I learned the G chord with the wrong fingering (read: red fingering in the lessons) and now I'm trying to relearn it the right way... Problem is, my 3rd finger is either too short or too weak. When I position my 2nd and third fingers, things are fine, but when I rotate my hand to place the 4th finger, my third finger always lies across the 5th string, muting it. ARRRGH! Any way I can overcome or circumvent this?
Thanks!

[cyberfret]

ESP_Viper replied:

I know how you feel, your fingers aren't really used to playing and chords can be difficult. Everyone's been there! Just don't give up!

It's very critical how you have your hand on the neck. For chords you really want your thumb on the back of the neck. I'm not very good at explaining how to do chords... but if you have your hand positioned correctly: just keep working at it. Do exercises with playing where you have to Extend your fingers farther than you probably feel is comfortable. I'll admit, my pinky is weaker than it probably should be.

[cyberfret]

Cyberfret replied:

Well the other fingering is not "wrong". But I feel very strongly about fingering a G chord with your 2, 3, and 4 fingers.
For one, It is much easier to switch between some other common chords, like G7 or C. I believe that in the end it is well worth the effort.

Try this...

Bring your hand a little closer to the bottom of the neck of the guitar. This will let your fingers come in at a little steeper of an angle so that your fingers will not touch mute any other strings unintentionally. Put your 2nd, and 3rd fingers down first. If you try and put your 4th finger down first it will be much more difficult to get the correct position for this chord. Once you have 2 and 3 down, bend your finger much more than your other 2 fingers. That is another common problem....not bending your 4th finger over far enough. Also, don't try and press down with your 4th finger right to the left of the fret bar. Move more towards the middle of the fret bar. This will put your fingers at a more natural angle.

Experiment with your hand position. Everyone's hand is a little different. Check out the link below for some other suggestions on adjusting your hand position for playing chords.

http://www.cyberfret.com/chords/primer/page2.htm

Good Luck
--Shawn

[cyberfret]

blackbird replied:

Hi Shawn;
Thanks for your reply to my message! I'm trying to do what you told me, and what's still happening is that the knuckle on my third finger is popping down whenever I put pressure on that string to strum the chord. That causes the the finger to lie flat rather than arched above the rest of the strings, resulting in the muted 5th string I was telling you about. I'm arching the 4th finger as far as it will go too. I haven't had this problem with other chords I've learnt, just this one. Are there any excercises I could do to strengthen those joints on the 3rd finger?
Thanks

[cyberfret]

Cyberfret replied:

Yes, it sound like a weak joint. Have no fear

Now the first thing I want to do is re-emphasis that you need to have the palm of your hand (the part right where your fingers attach to your hand) very close to the bottom of the guitar. This is not the same as putting your palm on the back of the guitar....which you do not want to do. Keeping the part where your fingers attach close to the bottom will help your fingers come in at a little steeper angle. You will need to have your 3rd finger curved. If your have your hand too low....down below the neck....then your fingers will be more straight. And if your fingers are straight and not curved....that 3rd finger is going to bend back.....especially if you have a weak joint.

Now for strengthening up your 3rd finger joint.

1) Without your guitar, hold your left hand in front of you with your fingers facing your chest.
2) Curve your fingers....especially the 3rd, since that is the one your are going to work on.
3) Take the pad of your left hand thumb and touch it to the tip of your 3rd finger
4) LIGHTLY... pull your left hand toward your body, and your right hand away from your body (these are small muscles that you are exercising....so be very careful to pull very lightly.
5) Slowly start to extend your 3rd finger while applying that light pressure with your right hand thumb.
6) Extend right to the point before your 3rd finger collapses backwards (like what is happening in your G chord)
7) Then slowly bend your 3rd finger again.....then let it out to that point again. Really try not to let your 3rd finger joint collapse. Extend your 3rd finger only to the point before it bends backward.

This exercise will help with your third finger problem....in conjunction with bringing your hand closer to the bottom of the guitar. I would also bring your thumb up so that it is sitting about on top of the neck......not wrapping around the neck, just sitting on top. This will help balance out your hand and help with the 3rd finger as well.

--Shawn

[cyberfret]

blackbird replied:

Thanks again!
Will try what you suggested, although bringing the palm closer to the neck makes it difficult to maneuver the 4th finger... But I guess I just need to work out a balance between the two. We'll see how it pans out!

[cyberfret]

Andrew replied:

I've always played a G like this -

3
3
0
0
2
3

I cant remember who taught me to play it that way, but I think it sounds better.

[cyberfret]

robbied replied:

yeah, i had the same problem, drove me nuts. just practice tons and don't give up !

- Rob

[GoWaldo]

<<

I've always played a G like this -

3
3
0
0
2
3

>>

I'm real new to playing the guitar, and i'm just learning to read tabs. Is this considered a "tab" for one version of the "G" chord? Sometimes in tabs i see a capital "B" with an arrow pointing either up or down. Does that mean brush stroke up or down? And what is a brush stroke?!

Thanks for the help! I love this site, thanks so much for posting all these great instructions...I did already read the "How to read Internet tablature" article.
-Andrew(A different one)

[cyberfret]

You may be seeing a bend notated in published tablaure. While the basic idea of Internet tablature and published tab is the same, there are some differences. So the how to read tablature lesson here on the site is really geared toward Internet tab. If it is a tab from a printed book or magazine, there is usually a legend that will tell you what the different symbols mean.

Here is a lesson on bends that you might want to check out.
http://www.cyberfret.com/techniques/bends/index.htm

--Shawn