I see what you mean.
What is the convention for a text representation that isn’t too verbose?
x02220 Fret
112 Finger
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@agitated_pear Your numbering for fingers is fine.
I’m not familiar with finger representations via text to be honest. It’s usually represented via chord boxes 
That’s what I was getting at. In the absence of additional information, given the following numerical chord description, how do I know whether the numbers represent fingers or frets?
x32111
And even if I’m advised the numbers are fingers, how do I know which frets to place those fingers on?
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That format is used for specifying fret numbers. It doesn’t tell you what fingers to use.
It should not be used to indicate fingers.
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We only need the finger numbers because we are discussing it specifically. Best not to confuse the notation.
What fingers to use is only a suggestion. A chord is a collection of notes played by pressing strings. As long as you press the strings you need to, it is fine. What will matter is the context of the song. What chords come before and after make specific choices easier or harder, also what notes ring out, need muting and so on.
When I play Canon in D, I need a very odd fingering of an F chord to allow strings to ring between chords. I end up with my 1st finger at 1st fret 2nd string and 2nd finger at 1st fret 6th string (instead of the barre). Different than even the teacher does which reverses the two fingers. His makes sense, but I just physically can’t do it, so I found a way I can. The reason is that the C note needs to ring while I lift the F on the 6th. Hard to do with a barre.
I think it’s always frets when viewed like this
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This is correct … if using only numbers to describe a chord it is always fret numbers (and the letter X used if a string is not played / included in the chord).
Okay, maybe a super dumb question, but I’m so confused right now, following the video. The thinnest string is not muted when we play the regular A chord we learn in the very beginning. So why is it muted in this one, if this is just another grip of the same A chord? Wouldn’t Justin also think the thinnest string sounds bad in the first A grip he teaches us? It’s the exact same strings, just a different way of pressing them, so… Huh?? 
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Not at all a dumb question, as I asked the same one some time ago!
Have a look at it and the following reply:
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Hi Jeff,
Good question. An A major chord can be played many different ways on the guitar. As long as it has the notes A, C# and E (in any order and in any octave), it’s an A major chord. We often double up on some of the notes to achieve a bigger sound, but that doesn’t change the type of chord.
An open A major chord can be played with or without the open high E string. A lower E note is played on fret two of the 4th string, so the high E on the 1st string is not necessary. It’s only optional.
Justin’s suggestion to mute the high E sting when barring with his first finger is just his preference. Feel free to include the open E if you want to. It’s not common though. Most guitarists would mute the high E sting in this case.
However, I think the main reason for muting the high E is because it’s really difficult not to. Not many people can barre strings 2, 3 and 4 without muting the 1st string with the underside of the first finger.
Hope that helps.
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Hey guys. The mini-barre open A was way easier for me. I’m still working on the non-barre version that Justin teaches first. I have a hard time getting my finger far enough forward on the B string to get a clear note. And pressing hard enough on the B string is tough too. I developed some pretty good blisters doing it. Maybe when I have better calluses, it’ll go easier. I’m just going to keep working at it. But the mini-barre: I was making pretty smooth chord changes with it right away.
Hi Jason,
Keep at that 3-finger A chord. You’ll have plenty of occasion to go from A to A7 - a bit easier to do starting out with this grip.
I’ll throw out some (standard?) questions asked when folks are having trouble getting a chord to ring properly. Apologies if you’ve already considered these! Is your guitar set up properly? What gauge strings are you using? Both high action high (setup), and heavier strings (many guitars are shipped with 12-gauge strings; many folks drop to 10s when starting out or coming back after years) contribute to these issues.
Thank you, Judi! I’ll definitely stick with it. I can get all the notes to ring out in an exercise setting, like the chord perfect exercise, and even in the 1-minute change context. It’s just when I actually try to play a song that I have trouble getting the B-string to ring out. Practice I’m sure will help.
I’m just getting back to the guitar after a 3-year hiatus due a terrible back injury, and I’ve forgotten exactly what I had done to set my guitar up. I think I’ve got Elixer 11/52 phosphor bronze strings on it. And it seems like I did have the action lowered a little at the suggestion of my guitar teacher at the time. We’ll see. If practice doesn’t cut it, I may have to look in the adjusting the setup.
That does remind me of another issue that I might should ask about elsewhere. Since I’ve had the action lowered, I’ve had trouble with the thickest two strings being buzzy in the upper frets. At this stage, I’m not playing up there much at all. We’ll see what happens when I get to that point.
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Yeah, it sounds like that buzzing isn’t urgent. It could even be weather-related, depending on where you live. I definitely feel my (acoustic) guitars are different between summer and winter. You’ll probably get the itch to take your guitar in for some TLC at some point anyway, if the buzzing is still an issue you can have it addressed then.
I just realized that I have been seeing an acoustic guitar in my mind as we’ve been talking. Given that you have 11s on the guitar I’m guessing that’s correct!
Yes, that’s correct! It’s an acoustic. It dawned on me too that I never said. lol. Thank you so much for your help!
For those that find it really hard and that it doesn’t make sense after the way Justin tought in Grade 1.
It was the same for me, now I love it. Totally doable, just stick with it like with everything else. Rolling the finger towards the bridge made it click for me initially. Everyone’s fingers are different, but hope it helps anyone
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The A chord I still struggle with and been practicing for quite a while. Having all three fingers scrunched together on the same fret always seemed really difficult. Tried doing a mini-barre A chord what sounds okay but end up muting the B string so have trouble making that sound good.
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