Question for the guitar players

[vogonity]

So I just started playing the guitar. There are a whole bunch of videos and what not out there and I have come across several that finger the G Maj chord as 3xooo3.

My beginning guitar book shows the G Maj chord as 32ooo3. Is it a typical thing to use the 3xooo3 fingering instead of the 32ooo3?

Is it just a preference to omit the A string when strumming the chord? (which I find harder to do.)

Which fingering is more common?

[ZombieNixon]

1. Do which ever is more comfortable.

3xooo3 (lowest to highest string) is GxDGBG, while 32ooo3 is GBDGBG, both of which are valid G Maj chords. You can also do 32oo33 (GBDGDG) or even 355433 (GDGBDG) if you can do a barre chord. It depends on which notes you want in your chord (more of the third - B or more of the fifth - D), and which octave you want it in. Play around with the various fingerings until you get something you feel comfortable with and sounds good.

For the record, I typically use 32oo33 or 355433 for a G chord.

[Twillig]

2. play it like your book says.

That's the most typical way to play the open G. Don't look to me for music theory, tho!

You may find that your first finger mutes the D string. Mine does. Meh. No biggee.

Here's guitargod Paul Gilbert demonstrating how to change a string. Not so trivial. Pay attention to the stretching of the string he does. Lot's of people wonder why they are always out of tune. :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohP42WAdNUw

[StrongBad]

3. I've always played it as 32ooo3

Been playing for about 13 years.

[MorningGlow]

4. 32ooo3 is more common

till you get to bar chords, that is.

[unpossibles]

5. I prefer fingering the B on the A string

why does that sound so dirty?

[pokerfan]

6. not all all

Now, if you were fingering the G string...

[Rabrrrrrr]

7. n00b. I always do mine 3-10-9-7-3-15. It takes all three hands, but it doesn't sound like shit.

Like that n00bish 320003 fingering does.

[guitar man]

8. Either way

Either, or, both or neither. There are G chords all over the neck and which one you use depends on what kind of sound you're going for. You can play 320003,3x0003,3x0033,xx000x,355433,xx0787 or even x,10,12,12,12,10 and they all add up to a g chord. There are so many ways and combinations to play any chord you can spend a lifetime playing and still find new ones. ;)

[no name no slogan]

9. The one that works best for you. I usually play it 320033

because I like getting the high D on the G string.

A lot of times, I'll drop A string and play the low G with my thumb on the E string, especially if I'm moving into something like an Fmaj7 (133210), which I play with all five fingers and six strings.

On the guitar, there's never a "right" way to play any chord. Play the one that works for you.

[old mark]

10. 320003 - One string for each finger.

Welcome to the guitar - I wish you a long and happy life together.

:hi:

mark

[Orsino]

11. Do whichever sounds good.

For fingerpicking, you may prefer as many strings ringing as possible. Muting the low B may not make a huge difference, but the "chunk" of a muted string can be effective in its own way.

[Iggo]

12. That'd mean the A string is muted.

There's a real easy way to do this, but prevailing wisdom (read: classical purists) says it'll mess you up if you wanna play classical guitar. Wrap your thumb over the top, grab the E string at the 3rd fret and with the overlapping pad of the thumb mute the A string. With your middle finger, grab the high E string (3xooo3), or both the high E and the B (3xoo33).

BTW: The book is right.

[Iggo]

13. I just picked up my guitar...

...and I don't know what the hell I was thinking.

It's the index finger, not the middle finger.