I have read the chat about 123 or 213 but I still don’t know what to do both feel uncomfortable which do you recommend?
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There is benefit down the road for having a feel for both. However, you will see “anchor” finger technique real soon and that will require 213 to work. It is useful early, so my recommendation is 213.
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Stick to what Justin teaches at this point - there’s a reason why he teaches 213. It feels indeed a bit cramped and uncomfortable at the beginning, but you will get used to it quicker than you think. Good luck and have fun!
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This for sure. If you can’t do something stick with it. Folk will provide quick wins and shortcuts but these will just trip you up down the line and limit options, As Els says there’s a reason why he teaches 213.
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I might be a complete madman, I started playing guitar around 2000 when I was 20 and then stopped for a very long time, 24 years later here I am mid-life crises and picking up my guitar again. I taught myself some chords as far as the A major chord I do it in a funky way that seems to work for me and I can get the A to D change to about 80 times in a minute as well as the E to A. However, it’s odd, my position is:
----0----
----2----
----3----
----1----
----0----
----0----
Essentially I squeeze the D Major chord shape in there (I have very small hands for a 44 year old man). I’m trying to learn the anchoring way, but my fingers just want to form that D shape in the A Chord and it’s really hard to get out of it now. The strings all ring fine and clear. Should I just continue doing it my way or should I make more of an effort to change it?
Any help is appreciated.
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Oh my God, I’m replying two years later because I too do the 2-3-1. I make the D chord shape for my A Major as well! It works so well for me I can do 100 changes almost between D and A and A to E. It’s just how I taught myself (I have small fingers). I tried learning the anchoring method but my hand just wants do 231. All the strings sound clear and crisp and all of them are pretty close to that fret, more than 123 or 213.
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If you can make clean chord changes now with your fingering, I wouldn’t worry about it…for now.
There are many different fingerings for the A chord. If your fingering becomes a problem as you start playing more challenging songs, it will be obvious, and you can work on it then.
Are you playing songs yet?
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Yes, simple songs. “Learning to Fly”, “Free Fallin’”, “Last Kiss”, “Wonderwall”, “Wish You Were Here”, “Ring of Fire”, things like that (honestly out of those I think only “Ring of Fire” has the A Major. Haven’t run into a problem so far. I can do the other fingering of the chord with the anchoring (kind of) just not as accurately or fast.
It’s just my way is in my muscle memory and I kind of wanna move on.
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Is there a reason my tuner keeps telling me that I’m playing an E chord when I am practicing my A chord? I can’t seem to see what I could be doing wrong. Thank you 
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Hi Clare
It could be you are catching the thick E string (top string) , with an A chord you shouldnt be playing that string at all (or muting it).
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could also be that the open string 1 is ringing loudly as well.
I usually let my fretting hand mute string 1 on the open A. I just don’t like the E ringing because it seems so chimey.
BUT… remember that string 4 is fretted to E, so it isn’t wrong for that to be picked up.
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Welcome to the forum Clara
Your tuner is designed to tune 1 string at a time and can’t pick out chords. The A chord contains the notes A C# and E so your turner is picking up the note E.
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i love vr and playing the gitar
Hi everbody!
I am Pedro and I started with Justin beginner Grade 1 just 2 weeks ago. I was lucky to have developed calluses very quickly and I am now in the beginning of Module 4. But I have an issue with the A Chord. I can it played relatively well I am around 50 changes per minute to both A->D and A->E. My issue is that I get pain in the first joint of the indicator finger due to overstretching it (that joint) to be able to put it under the middle finger.
I am 49 and I spent a lot of years knuckle cracking, so this is probably the root cause.
I wonder if there are other recommended alternative finger placements for the open A chord.
Thanks!
Pedro
Pedro @curdius
There is an alternative that Justin covers in Grade 2
Hi Pedro,
You will eventually use multiple finger positions for the A. justin teaches three that I can think of for the open A. Michael has the 1-finger form in the class above. This third is the “traditional” form that I don’t like on electric because my fingers just don’t fit as well as the one you are using now. You would trade fingers 1 and 2 for that position. I think Justin mentions it in the A chord lesson, and certainly mentions it other times throughout the course.
A couple things about your pain:
- if it is strong pain rather than an ache, then you need to stop and correct something. An ache that is mild may stop after your body has time to adjust (several weeks)
- You can try trading fingers 1 and 2. An acoustic guitar will have a wider string spacing and this may work well for you.
- Make sure you are not pressing too hard. You just need enough pressure to hold the string against the fret. More can lead to fatigue and joint stress.
- See if you can back the first finger away a little to relieve the reverse bend. It is nice to get it against the fret, but I cannot and my A still rings out fine.
While I am not a doctor, I do know that pusing on a joint to pop it is not good for it. If you feel stiffness, pull lightly and I find a light roll back and forth will help a lot to eliminate the stiff feeling. This works very well for the little joint on the fingers. Also, keep hydrated. If you enjoy caffeine or alcohol, afterward you need to make up for the loss of water.
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Some people play the A chord using middle, ring and pinky fingers on strings 4, 3 and 2. So, that’s another possibility.
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Hi Pedro, I’m a Grade 3 beginner. One thing I’ve learned is that things that seem challenging at one point in the guitar journey resolve as our skills advance. You’ve received good advice of alternate fingerings for the A chord. For now, I’d suggest finding the one that works best for you in the context of your current work. You’ll certainly encounter a situation down the road where you’ll think “This would be easier if I played A one of those other ways.” You’ll try it, and will likely find it’s not as difficult then as it is now. Keep us posted!
Hi @judi , @jjw, @sequences and @MAT1953 !
It’s amazing to see how quick you were to help me. This looks like such a great community.
I tried the 3 options, and I found that the 123 instead of 231 doesn’t hurt my finger joint. I lose the anchor finger for the D → A → E but at least I can play again without pain.
Thank you all.
Pedro
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