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Don't do that!

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(@fourth-musketeer)
Active Member
Joined: 11 years ago
Posts: 6
Topic starter  

I'm just getting started. I have a few chords under my fingers and have played through "A Horse With No Name". I have several good resources for looking up chord fingerings, but I bumped into an unexpected piece of "advice from the voice of experience."

I was watching one of Arlen Roth's beginner level videos over on http://gibson.com when he mentioned a very common beginner bad habit that should be avoided or broken. He was referring to the fingering on the open G Major chord.

He very strongly discouraged getting used to the standard fingering that is recommended by almost all chord charts, beginner books and most instructors (1-2-3). Instead, he said to use (2-3-4). His reasoning was that the 1-2-3 fingering sort of "boxes you into a corner" and locks up your fingers, making chord changes and embellishments much more difficult than necessary. Whereas the 2-3-4 fingering frees up your index finger and generates a chord shape that can be shifted to and from much more easily.

I had already started getting used to the 1-2-3, but I liked his reasoning and realized the benefits of relearning the chord with 2-3-4. I know this is only the recommended "common" fingering, and that as I progress I will likely use different fingerings depending up on which chords I'm coming from or going to next. However, I am planning on doing a lot of self-paced learning and I would love to avoid starting any bad chord fingering habits.

So this whole thing got me to thinking...

Are there any other chords that a beginner should consider fingering differently than most reference material recommends?


   
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(@alangreen)
Member
Joined: 22 years ago
Posts: 5342
 

I recommend doing the same exercise with the E and A chord families, keeping your index finger free to do something else. When you come to start working with movable shapes and barre chords you'll need to use your index finger for something other than just fingering the chord.

"Be good at what you can do" - Fingerbanger"
I have always felt that it is better to do what is beautiful than what is 'right'" - Eliot Fisk
Wedding music and guitar lessons in Essex. Listen at: http://www.rollmopmusic.co.uk


   
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(@rocket-dog)
Reputable Member
Joined: 13 years ago
Posts: 296
 

When I first started learning, any chord that I came across with the fingering 1-2-3, I would also learn to play by using 2-3-4. It made life easier 6 to 7 months down the road as I started to play chords further up the neck.


   
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(@noteboat)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 4921
 

It depends on context.

The key to playing smoothly is to eliminate extra motion - you don't want your fingers to work any harder than they have to. For some changes, like G-G7, using a 123 fingering means moving ALL your fingers and rotating your wrist a bit - it's pretty obvious that a 234 fingering, where you only move one finger, is far more efficient.

But in other cases, like a G-D-A7-D, you don't have any first fret notes in the chords. So moving from second position to first is a waste of motion.

The real key is to make it a CHOICE. You want to be able to comfortably land in either fingering - that way you'll be smooth in whatever fingering makes more sense at the moment.

When I teach complete beginners, I teach the 123 fingering first, because most students don't yet have much independence in finger movement, or much development in the muscles that drive the little finger. But we work with chord progressions where that fingering makes sense. As soon as they start playing songs in the key of C, with the G7 and F chords, I teach the 234 fingering, and when to make that fingering choice.

Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL


   
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(@fourth-musketeer)
Active Member
Joined: 11 years ago
Posts: 6
Topic starter  

Thanks for your comments! I really appreciate it. I don't know if it would hijack this topic too much, but I'd like to expand upon my original question.

What other bad habits should beginners avoid?

I'm not looking for the obvious ones that are listed all over the web (slouching, flat fingering, failure to tune, etc.). I'm more interested in gleaning insights from anyone that has a golden nugget to share. Something that is counter-intuitive, that could trip me up later. Something that I might start doing because it seems to be "common wisdom", but is actually a bad idea.

What say you?


   
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(@big-lar)
Estimable Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 165
 

One that helped me, but was hard to force myself to do, was to keep the guitar parallel to my body (perpendicular to the floor at all times). Beginners tend to tilt the guitar back a bit so they can see where they are fretting the strings. This makes it harder to reach the strings. I wish I had broken that bad habit sooner than I did. It held me back longer than it helped me.


   
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(@fourth-musketeer)
Active Member
Joined: 11 years ago
Posts: 6
Topic starter  

Good stuff!

Thanks for that.


   
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(@rfriday)
New Member
Joined: 11 years ago
Posts: 3
 

I'm a noob, so please correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't using your 4th to finger A and E chords eliminate the ability to pay the sus4 versinos of those chords?


   
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(@fourth-musketeer)
Active Member
Joined: 11 years ago
Posts: 6
Topic starter  

Here's more of a "DO that", instead of "DON'T do that", but I think it's valuable anyway.

GET YOUR NEW GUITAR SET UP!! Get it Plek'd ( http://plek.com ) if you can afford it ($210 for me).

I had been playing my new guitar for about a month and found it unusually uncomfortable. The action was too high, the notes buzzed on many frets. The dreaded F Major chord was all but impossible to manage.

Then I got it Plek'd. It's a completely different instrument now. It's still a 2012 Epiphone Limited Edition Les Paul Standard Quilt Top Pro, but it is MUCH easier to play.

I realize not everyone can have this done to their guitar. There are only 14 Plek machines in the US, and there is one less than 2 miles from my house. I got lucky. But even if you only have it professionally set up ($60-$70 or only half that if you bought it at Guitar Center and have them do the work) it will make a HUGE difference.

All I can say is "WOW!". What an improvement!

Gee, look at all those SHOUTY CAPITALS and !!! I must really mean it. :lol:


   
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(@fourth-musketeer)
Active Member
Joined: 11 years ago
Posts: 6
Topic starter  

I'm a noob, so please correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't using your 4th to finger A and E chords eliminate the ability to pay the sus4 versinos of those chords?

I think the general idea is that using 2-3-4 instead of 1-2-3 will help in "many" situations, but not all. The recommendation seems to be to learn both fingerings, but to make sure 2-3-4 is one of your main go-to choices since it provides some easier transitions and lends itself to marching up the neck when using various barre chords.

As stated earlier, it will depend greatly on which chords you're coming from and going to, as to which fingering makes the most sense.


   
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