You know, I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen the full 320033 called a G5. 3x0033, yes, but not 320033. Seems weird to me to call that a G5 when it has a third in it.
I’m all but certain I’ve seen this designation many times, even though, as you say, it’s not technically correct.
I think the combination of 5th-root-fifth-root right in a row on the D through high E strings tends to overshadow the 3rd on the A string.
That’s interesting. I wonder which publisher(s) use that terminology. I don’t have a lot of guitar books in the house, but the few that I do just show “G” for 320033. G5 just shows up as the usual power chord 35(5)xxx or the 3x0033 chord. Must be some oddball quirk of a certain publisher or something. (Even online, I can’t find a G5 spelled 320033.)
In all fairness, I only called it a G5 because others did. It could be called an A#Sus12/Gadd2 for all I know 
Huh. This is actually the first time I’ve ever seen an A chord with one finger - I’ve always played it with three.
Also, don’t know why, but people playing G and C chords with three fingers and not four (leaving off the pinkie) has always been a pet peeve of mine. It just seems so . . . incomplete.
Wouldn’t you be using your ring finger for the bass G, not the index finger?
I mentioned this earlier, but didn’t explain it very well. James Taylor plays his A Majors 2-3-1 on the 2nd fret. So he’s still got an index finger for a hammer-on or pull-off.
Do ya play the rock n’ roll, son? 
I’ve done that too. My fingers are stiffer now than when I learned as a teenager.
A two finger A is the easiest and that high E string comes out very clear.
Man this topic sure took off.
When I got my first guitar many (many) moons ago, it came accompanied with the old Mel Bay chord book.
The A-major, formed with three fingers gave me fits but I stuck with it and eventually got it right. I think you need that high E string to make the chord complete.
Noodling around today, I like to play the A chord (three fingers), strum that a few times, slide the whole thing up to the fifth fret -keep the same shape, strum that a for a few, slide up to seven, same strum pattern and then back to the two to finish up. I usually add the **Dear Mr. Fantasy **riff as a little cherry to top it off.
Do that with the open D shape (and go back to the fifth fret before returning to the second) and you’ve got “And You And I” by Yes. 
I think you explained it perfectly well. Whether its 2-3-1 or 3-2-1 the idea is that fingering the chord in a different way allows for the index finger to do the hammer-ons. I think you’re right that Taylor is using the 2-3-1 fingering.
To me that seemed odd, and I thought he was using 3-2-1. I’ve tried to learn to use my pinky more. Either way, my point was that any way you put you fingers down, the strings don’t know the difference.
There is a benefit to learning to play any given chord in a number of different ways.
Whoops, never mind, I was wrong about the positions. Thats 2nd fret -> 7th-> 9th -> 7th -> 2nd. :smack:
Assuming that by “open D shape” you mean xx0232, if you slide it up to the 5th, then 7th fret before going back to the open (and also play arpeggios rather than strums), you’ve got the middle of the bridge in “Do Ya” by The Move!
I’m kind of surprised that so few seem to have mentioned playing A with the 2-3-4 fingering — that is, avoiding the index finger altogether.
As mentioned, I play A differently depending on the song, but I probably use this fingering more than any other. It certainly gets around any “fat finger” problems, and allows the open E string to ring out clearly with no problems.
I’m also able to play the “Needles and Pins”/“Feel a Whole Lot Better” riff with the sus4 (D) note by simply sliding my pinky up a fret.
So, we’re up to seven different fingerings for the A. That’s impressive.
Hm. Yes, I think you’re right. To be honest, without a fretboard, I cannot for the life of me make my hands make chord shapes. I thought it seemed weird as I was “air fretting” the chord here at my desk. It just looks like I have some horrible twitchy palsy in my hand, and not like chords at all. Thanks for the correction!
Especially considering that there’s only 9 possible combinations (assuming 1 finger per string).