some guitar questions

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m trying to teach myself guitar. So far, I know a few chords and stuff (playing them acceptably is another matter), but I’m having a hell of a time with the G major chord. Most of the sources I’ve seen say that the fingering should go like this -


e|-3 (4th finger)
B|-0
G|-0
D|-0
A|-2 (2nd finger)
E|-3 (3rd finger)
  • but I find it nearly impossible to contort my hand into such a position, much less attempt to generate notes. I found an alternate fingering that’s much easier, which looks like this:

e|-3 (3rd finger)
B|-0
G|-0
D|-0
A|-2 (1st finger)
E|-3 (2nd finger)

Is there any particular reason I should try to learn the first fingering, which I find orders of magnitude more difficult?

I need to buy some new strings (steel string acoustic). The set that came with the guitar did not fare so well under my sweaty-handed assault. What are some good, corrosion resistant brands?

Why do electric guitars have more frets?

If there’s some song (by Nirvana, say) where all the strings are tuned down a half step, could I just put a capo on the 1st fret instead? How much do capos cost, anyway?

2

If you put a capo on the first fret (actually, you put a capo on just behind the fret), you’re actually making the open string notes HIGHER, not lower. If you want to tune down a half step, you have to tune your strings down a half step.

You can get a capo for anything from $5 to, well, I don’t want to know what some gearheads spent on them. Go for the $10-20 range and you be OK.
I play kind of a bastardized G similar to what you do. It’s not a big deal if that’s what you’re more comfortable with, but as long as you’re learning, I would say you should maybe keep trying to do it the “right” way. I taught myself to play guitar and I have a lot of bad habits which likely kept me from progressing to a really good guitar player.

3

I finger Open-G both ways, and choose the most appropriate shape depending on the leading and following chords.

You see, I was taught to be lazy when playing the guitar. And the lazy mans way of playing the guitar involves moving as few fingers as possible when changing chords.

So, the G chord usually occurs when you are playing in the keys of G (duh), C, and D.

Thus to transition from C to G and back again is a fairly simple rotation about the 3rd finger which does not move.

C…G
e|-0…e|-3 (4th finger)
B|-1 (1st finger)…B|-0
G|-0…G|-0
D|-2 (2nd finger)…D|-0
A|-3 (4rd finger)…A|-2 (2nd finger)
E|-3 (3rd finger)…E|-3 (3rd finger)

but D to G is easier if you move like this

D…G
e|-2 (2nd finger)…e|-3 (3rd finger) drops down
B|-3 (3rd finger)…B|-0
G|-2 (1st finger)…G|-0
D|-0…D|-0
A|-0…A|-2 (1st finger) lift up
E|-0…E|-3 (2nd finger) lift up

you more often play D7 to G like this

D7…G
e|-2 (3rd finger)…e|-3 (3rd finger) slide up
B|-1 (1st finger)…B|-0
G|-2 (2nd finger)…G|-0
D|-0…D|-0
A|-0…A|-2 (1st finger) lift up
E|-0…E|-3 (2nd finger) lift up

and you can play a D to GMajor6 with

C…Gmaj6
e|-2 (2nd finger)…e|-0 (3rd finger)
B|-3 (3rd finger)…B|-3 (3rd finger)
G|-2 (1st finger)…G|-0
D|-0…D|-0
A|-0…A|-2 (1st finger) lift up
E|-0…E|-3 (2nd finger) lift up

Of course, sometimes you get stuck and have to completely change position for the G, but faster, smoother changes will always help.

Once you start seeing these sorts of shortcuts and use sliding fingers and rotating hands, your chord changes will get faster - the trick is to not take all your fingers off during the change if you can help it.

Si

4

Play G whatever way works. I sometimes play
e - 3 (4th finger)
B - 3 (3rd finger)
G - 0
D - 0
A - 2 (1st)
E - 3 (2nd)

for two reasons - 1) because putting my ring and pinky right next to each other is easier that isolating either of them; and 2) that fingering is more of an “open power chord” - you are playing another 5th (the D note on the B string) instead of a 3rd (if you kept the B string open) so the G chord is simpler but cuts through nicely. I also just play G with only the eBGD top strings, barre-ing the eB strings with either my index or ring finger and avoiding the bass string when strumming. Sure you lose low end, but when doing faster chord changes it works in a pinch.

I sweat like a pig - but I also break strings, so I change them a lot - every two weeks or so. So brand doesn’t matter since they will be coming off soon anyway. I have heard that the coated strings - like Elixirs - are pretty good, but can’t vouch.

Umm - the same reason a dog licks its balls - because they can? :smiley: Seriously - electric guitars started off with the same number of frets as acoustics - roughly 20 or 21. Most older designs - including Fender Strats and Gibson Les Pauls - have only 21 frets. Ah - but they also have cutaways which allow for greater fret access so you can play noodly leads up there. Over time, and with shredding metal lead playing emerging - solidbody electric guitars with up to 24 frets (two full octaves, if it matters) or even more became cool. They aren’t as common these days - aficionados tend to think that more frets can affect the tone of the guitar for a variety of reasons not worth geeking out on here - but the bottom line is that solidbody electrics CAN have more frets, but more likely what you are noticing is that they have better ACCESS to the frets they have - and it is all in the name of playing leads higher up the neck…

What **An Arky **said. If a song is either fully detuned (i.e., the guitar is tuned down a half step to Eb instead of E, or even a full step, down to D) or the song is in Dropped D tuning (you detune the low E to D but keep everything else standard) then you would need to detune the affected strings on your guitar. At that point, if the whole string set is detuned, you would use a capo to get your guitar back UP to standard tuning - a guitar detuned down a 1/2 step would need a capo on the first fret to be in standard tuning, etc.

I recommend getting a one-hand, spring-loaded clamp capo. I think they cost between $15 and $20. You can grab them with one hand, squeeze the handle parts to open it and then fit it onto your guitar’s neck all in one motion and without having to reach over and use both hands, which is a real pain. Remember to check your guitar’s tuning after fitting a capo - capos are imperfect beasts and affect the tuning of your guitar. And yes, you can just tweak the tuning pegs with a capo on - the strings slide under the capo and the tuning is adjusted just like it normally is…

Hope this helps…

5

As far as the strings are concerned, try Elixir. They are coated with something that resists corrosion and the strings last much longer (they are also more expensive). Some people don’t like the feel of them (or the sound), but I like them fine. Your strings will also last longer if you wipe them down after playing.

6

I would have said that the OP’s preferred fingering is the usual one for an open G, although the other fingering is useful too. I sometimes change the voicing slightly by adding the D on the B string’s third fret, by fretting that with my third finger and the high G with my fourth finger [edit]or what Wordman said[/edit].

7

For what it is worth, new strings are highly overrated. They hardly matter on electrics - it is not like you can get that “new string sound” to really ring out through pickups and an amp - and if you do, it sounds more ice-picky than anything. Players like Eddie Van Halen and Stevie Ray were known for preferring old strings in the studio for the tone they get (for Eddie, he also liked the fact that older strings where less likely to go out of tune when dive-bombing with a locking whammy bar).

With acoustics - what do you want to hear more - the guitar or the strings? I hate new strings on an acoustic - all I hear is whiny metal sounds. After playing for a bit, the new string sound wears off and there is just the warm, rich tone of the guitar itself - NOW we’re talking. With my sweaty hands, I only have a few hours of playing time in that “tone window” before the strings get so gunky that they sound dead, but I prefer that sweet spot much more than new strings…

8

Err, just what model of Les Paul do you have?*

sturmhaukeTo fight corrosion, when you put on a new set cover the fretboard and body (under the strings) with something waterproof (old Guitar World covers will do) and spray the strings with WD40. Wipe down before removing the covers so you don’t smother the guitar with the stuff. Should keep the rust off a bit longer. Frank Zappa used Gold plated strings, but that’s probably going a bit far.

I think the question should be Why do accoustic guitars have so many frets? I can’t use the ones over the body anyway. Can anyone?**

  • yes, I know really, and I’ve seen the pictures. IIRC there may be Les Paul Recording model that only has half of the 22nd fret because of a slanted pickup using the normal fretboard end space.

**Michael Hedges maybe, but not a normal human.

9

As my old saxophone teacher, who was a like a zen master, used to say, “Practice make Permanent”.

10

Pretty much, chord fingerings in books are just starting points. You can vary the fingers according to the situation, mostly with regard to the changes before and after. For instance, sometimes you might play an open D fretting the three fretted notes with your middle, ring, and pinky fingers, but other times you might play it with a partial barre on the second fret, and fingering the D with your middle finger.

11

Dude - I never get above the 15th fret anyway, so I stop counting after that!! :slight_smile: