Ok, so this is just an interest thing. I’m iterested to hear how others would finger the Asus4 to A in this progression. I have tried all 3 options.
The scenario is end of a verse with progression ending G D Asus4 A before starting the next verse back on D.
Option 1: Play the Asus4 with the flat first segment of your index finger Fret 2 Strings 2, 3, 4 whilst using finger 3 on String 2 Fret 3 thus then releasing finger 3 for the A.
Option 2: Play the Asus4 with Finger 1 Fret 2 String 3, Finger 2 Fret 2 String 4, Finger 3 Fret 3 String 2 Thus sliding Finger 3 back to Fret 2 for the A.
Option 3: Play the Asus4 with Fingers 1, 2 & 3 in the standard A postion and use finger 4 to play the Sus4 in the next Fret Thus just releasing the 4th finger to get the A.
Pro’s & Con’s For Me:
Option 1 feels better however my first joint is not that flexible so a fair bit of pressure is applied to ensure correct sound. If the finger is slightly to high it mutes the 5th, slightly to low or not bent away far enough it either mutes the 1st or the 2nd doesn’t ring out fully so it needs to be just right.
Option 2 seems fairly trouble free except getting from D to Asus4 (mainly the 3rd finger) is tricky and would take some getting used to.
Option 3 is a hell of work out for my hand to ensure that the 4th finger is getting far enough over to ensure the 2nd string rings true.
Anyway, just interested to hear how anyone else goes with this and your result.
I offer up a fourth way …
Not right, not better, just another option.
A chord - fingers 2, 3, 4.
Asus4 chord - fingers 2, 3, 4 (with 4 moved to make the sus4 note).
Craig @CD02
In this sequence definitely Option 3 .
Although I do use the mini barre for A depending on the sequence especially if there is a barre chord before or after. I never use fingering 2 1 3 as taught in Grade 1; Sorry Justin, never got away with it and quickly started to use 1 2 3 but bizarrely I do use 2and 3 for A7.
Michael
I use Richard’s suggestion. I learned the A chord with fingers 2, 3, 4 & never broke the habit. So stretch finger 4 to third fret on the B string works for A sus 4 then slide it back to fret 2.
Simple!
I have always played the A chord with 2 fingers usually the index fretting the D and G strings and the driving finger (as Justin calls it) on the B string. Asus4 I fret the D note with the ring finger or pinky.
I’d go with Option 2. Tried it on my acoustic and it sounds much nicer high E ringing out instead of being muted with mini barre. And when changing from D to Asus4 you already have two fingers anchored, simply need to move the 2nd finger from the first string to the 4th one.
Option 1 would be my go-to: I play open A with the index finger barre most of the time, yes, it takes some time to get it right so that no string is muted and nothing buzzes, but that’s the case for all chord grips. A nice bonus here is given you are coming out of the D chord you can leave your ring finger on the fret3/string2 throughout the change and have some nice legato.
But when songs have a lot of chord changes between A and D and E and the changes are fast then I switch back to using the A chord grip of your Option 2. You can leave the index finger on fret2/string3 the entire time - like an anchor - and just move the other two fingers to change from D to A and back again. Is the cleanest change between the two chords. And in your case because you are first going from D to Asus4 all you have to do is move your middle finger from fret2/String1 to fret2/string4 (Artem has already pointed this out) - super efficient change. Then go to A by simply bringing the ring finger in one fret.
I don’t know how flexible your hand is yet - when I started out it was very much all or nothing - all fingers come off the fretboard and then get put down again for the next chord. I found it quite hard to only move some of my fingers in a chord change and let the others stay where they are. As everything this takes some practise and getting used to, but it’s well worth the effort - for finger flexibility and also for cleaner and more efficient changes.
I agree with Molly, @MollyT , and her reasoning. The ring finger (3) is basically your pivot point through this 5 chord progression. Who was it that said “practise makes permanent” ? … … Forming chords is as much about hand-position as it is finger-position.
Barre the Asus4 then A with your first finger. You have a few options for the G Chord (including G5)
If you’re playing Stuck 3&4 Big G then yes … that 3rd finger can stay put on the B string and move between frets 2 and 3.
If it feels good and works for you then all good.
“Big G” is only an option; although not a fan tbh, rarely sounds good imho. I prefer Open B (string 2) with 3rd finger over Fret 3 ready for D Chord, my preference). G5 and Gadd9 are options but without knowing song context here (song title ?) …
But as for the original question, I play the A chord using the index on 3 string, middle on 4 string, and ring finger on 2 string , moving the ring finger up a fret for sus4 and lifting the ring finger for sus2.
This is how do it as wel, because this way I feel like I can cycle through Asus4-A-Asus2 combinations the fastest and most accurate. (Thus similar to the Dsus4-D-Dsus2 combo’s)
… Forming chords is as much about hand-position as it is finger-position.
