How do you play G major?

Maybe I should make this a poll, but my question is "How do you play G-major"?

1) Almost every where that I have see shows it as with the 1st finger on A string fret 2, 2nd finger E string fret 3 and 3rd finger high E Fret 3.

2) I took one "person to person" lesson from a guy who says he likes to play it with the 2nd finger on the E string 3rd fret and "dampening" the A string and 3rd finger high E Fret 3.

3) On the Gibson.com site an instructor, Arlen Roth, says that 90% of the guitar players play it as 1, above, and that is wrong. He plays it with 2nd finger on the A string fret 2, the 3rd finger on the E string fret 3 and pinky finger on the high e string fret 3. This way, according to him, you are better to move to other chords. His suggestion is to learn it right up front, his way of course.

Any thoughts on this. #3 is really hard for me. In fact, I can't do it yet. But just starting out I want to try and avoid bad habits up front.

Your thoughts on this?

Hi matonanjin,

Thanks for the question! That is the kind of thing that really depends on your comfort level.

-GT Admin

There really is no right or wrong here. It's all about what sound you're after and what chord comes next.

If you switch between a standard C chord and G, #3 will make the transition smoother.

#2 is great for electric guitar if you also fret the 3rd fret of the B string. When you have a bit of crunch/gain on this sounds less muddy since we omit all thirds. It essentially becomes a G power chord.

I personally never use #1. I always add the 3rd fret of the B string.

I sometimes play the 3rd fret on the low E string with my thumb, muting the A string, and I fret the 3rd fret of the B string with my ring finger, and the 3rd fret of the high E string with my pinky.

Practice all of them :D

I was taught form #1 and I played it that way until I dropped playing. Fast forward 35+ years when I picked up guitar again and I again made Gmaj as in #1. Then I noticed two things; something in my technique was causing my third finger to be too high above the fret and it sounded terrible and, one or more of the instructors on this and other sites were playing form #3. I tried it and my pinky natually fell where it was supposd to, i.e., just above the third fret, E string. The note was much more accurate.

I asked a friend about the two chord forms and he called #3 a "folk G." I asked if there was an advantage between the two and he thought having the index finger free (form #3) might make for easier/quicker fingering beyond just the chord itself. I decided to switch. That was in late October.

It took quite awhile to replicate the speed of the chord change I could do with form #1 but it has finally dropped into place. For *me*, #3 gives me a better sounding chord.

Thanks your three for your responses. Helpful.

Hey Matonanjin,

You might want to check out Dale Turner's "Campfire Chords With Character" Tutorial. He talks about some of these fingering ideas, applied to all of the open position chords.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1184

-Carl.