[boroboy41]

So I'm reasonably comfortable with A, D and E major chords (open) and can switch between them fairly accurately playing straight 4's at about 120bpm.

I'm going to start practicing C and G to add them to my repertoire but would like a bit of advice as to what would be the most beneficial finger formation to use for G Major. Should I go with 1-2-3 or 2-3-4?

1-2-3 will be easier for me to hit accurately sooner but it looks awkward to switch to and from that formation.

2-3-4 is harder for me to hit (little finger trouble) but may result in easier, smoother changes to and from once I've got it nailed???

Which way do you play G? What should I do for the best???

Thanks
Ali

[Tekker]

I personally like the one on the right, which uses all four fingers.



IMO it sounds better in most cases and it also works your pinky finger, which hardly any of the basic major/minor open chords do.

-tkr

[cshude]

I'll play the open G chord a few different ways depending on the sound I'm looking for. It's a good idea to get accustomed to playing it with several different fingerings. That way, if you have a tricky chord change, you may find that one way is easier than another and you won't get tripped up. I'll usually use the index, middle, and pinky fingers to make the basic chord.

[cshude]

I play the one on the right a lot, too. Sometimes, I'll also mute the 5th string for a little different sound as well.

[carol m]

About which fingers to use:

if you use index and middle on the strings 5 and 6 and the pinky on the high e string to get the high G note you can add the D on the B string with your ring finger if you want to.

If you use the middle and ring finger to play the A and low E string and the pinky on the high E string to play the high G note, you have your index finger free to play other notes to bring out the melody notes and runs between chords or when using finger picking style.

I think it's useful to be able to play both ways and also both versions of the chord (with or without the added D on the B string) as Tekker illustrated above.

[Stratrat]

I play it both ways as indicated by Tekker in the above diagrams. It sounds better one way for certain songs, better the other way for others. Even playing it as in the first figure, I've always used the index finger on the 'A' string, middle on the low 'E'. I don't think there's a "right" or "wrong", per se - it's whatever works best for you.

[blackcat]

depends which chord i'm playing next, it's good advice to learn to play , not just the g chord, but most chords using different fingerings , takes a bit longer, but it's worth it, when you start fingerpicking, as i'm sure you will, it helps a lot.

[jdpaz]

The tunes that the G and G7 chord appear in very often also have C, F, Amin & Emin. In my opinion, for a beginner, it's much easier to make the transitions to and from these other chords using the middle, ring, pinkie arrangement. It is a little tricky to make that pinkie obey, but it'll come all of a sudden. Keep at it.

As you gain more experience/dexterity, you'll come across situations where it makes sense to form the G chord some other way. That's progress!!!

[boroboy41]

Thanks jdpaz, I'll go with that.

[LeeB]

Originally Posted by jdpaz

The tunes that the G and G7 chord appear in very often also have C, F, Amin & Emin. In my opinion, for a beginner, it's much easier to make the transitions to and from these other chords using the middle, ring, pinkie arrangement. It is a little tricky to make that pinkie obey, but it'll come all of a sudden. Keep at it.

As you gain more experience/dexterity, you'll come across situations where it makes sense to form the G chord some other way. That's progress!!!

I agree with this... I play the open G chord 4 different ways depending on the song and where I am coming from or going to. I do believe that getting used to the pinky is a really good idea. It takes time but is well worth the frustration. It is the fingering I use most often for the reasons mentioned above. Having that Index finger available for the next chord or to do chord embelishments is invaluable imho