Tony’s Acoustic Challenge – The New Way to Learn Guitar › Family Forums › Community Support › Help with G-chord
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Help with G-chord
Posted by MJV on July 1, 2021 at 6:10 pmI am having a tough time with the G-chord. I can’t seem to find a good hand position where I am not muting most of the strings. I have tried to keep my palm close to the neck like Tony says in order to get my fingers bent, but I just can’t seem to make it work. I am also left handed so if any one has some pointers I would greatly appreciate it.
Ddtediejm replied 3 years, 7 months ago 6 Members · 6 Replies -
6 Replies
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I’ve been playing on and off for 35 years and my index finger still muted the “a” string. But that note does not add a whole lot of flavor yo the open g chord tone. So, try to keep your palm away from the back of the neck. Your thumb should be just hanging on to the top of the finger board your just touching the edge of it. You can even move your thumb closer to the middle of the back of the neck to help rotate your hand forward. Keeping just a little space between your hand and the bottom edge of the neck will help your fingers arch and allow them to better land on individual strings without muting others. Here are some right handed pictures but you’ll see what I’m talking about.
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Thanks for the tips and pictures, I am going to keep working on it and will definitely use your suggestions.
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Hello @MJV ,
@JohnV has already covered the most important points. Let me reiterate: your fingers must be arched. Hand and wrist position can help you do that by bringing the thumb farther down the back of the neck so your hand rolls up around the neck giving you greater reach. Now, one other thing of utmost importance, fret the string with the very tip of your finger, not the pad, but just shy of the nail.
One other thing, after years of playing, I can now play different finger positions when I play the G major chord, but when I started, I could only manage one. And that one is with the little finger on the 3rd fret of the high E, the ring finger on the 3rd fret of the low E, and the middle finger on the 2nd fret of the A string. The middle finger being the longest it has the most arch. Besides which, there are several other very good reasons for learning this as your basic, go to G chord, like G dominant 7 and G major 7, played with the index finger on the high E string.
Hope this helps.
MG 😀
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MJV, I came to the forum with the same frustration. My middle finger mutes out the D string no matter how I orient my hand. The down side to an online course is that there isn’t someone in person to help with the little things.
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I struggle with this chord also. I like in the lesson Tony says it’s wonderful sounding.
He certainly has hasn’t heard mine version.
What is the difference between the
3fret E-B-e 2fret A
And
3fret E-e 2fret A
I find the later easier
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For me, Borfaux, that is just a tonal difference. I think the 3rd Fret E, B e and the 2Fret A sound a bit richer than the E-e version. But I first learned the E-e version, and thought that was fine as well. Then you have a Malcom Young type version where you don’t fret the 2 Fret A at all and just use the others-it sounds good too. I would say use whichever you prefer. Lots of ways to skin this guitar cat and make them sound good.
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