The Steel Guitar Forum

Well it's been quite a while since I've posted anyything on here..but there's been something on my mind for a long time..and thought there'd be someone on here that can answer this question: I've noticed for several years now..that whenever I hear a guitarist play an "open G" chord, they're not doing it as I learned to do it! Instead of leaving the "B" string open, as most of the pickers I've heard from the 50s and 60s, they're covering th "B" string (or second string, if you will)..at the third fret! I may be considered "old-fashioned"..but this way of making the "G" chord to me just doesn't sound right! It sounds as if there's a note missing, although, in actuality, I know this is not true! Still, I notice that, whenever I hear one of the newer acts in country or bluegrass music make that "open G", (I was able to hear the Grand Ole Opry last weekend) Ricky Skaggs was on...I know that one of his heroes is Lester Flatt (and I know that Lester did not make his "G" that way 9(I have a good friend that refers to this new way (maybe not so new anymore)..of making the open "G" as "that funky "g" chord! But my question is: why? It (to me) doesn't really sound that good, yet all the well-known guitarists are making it this way (Hank didn't do it that way)..neither did Lester Flatt, Jimmy Martin or Red Smiley! So what gives? Does anybody know?
Tom Kaufman

It's just a different voicing, which I think can mostly be blamed on the folk-music players of the late '50s and early '60s.

Why it may be gettin' popular again is anybody's guess.

My belief on this is that playing the G with the 2nd string covered at the 3rd fret makes for a more percussive rhythm sound and having the B string open has it's own tuning problem. Like on steel or any open tuned instrument, the third of a chord is flattened a few cents to sound in tune. If you flatten the open B string it will sound fine on the G chord but will sound flat when you play an E chord. When you have an ensemble it's not so necessary for the guitar to have that high register third in the chord as other instruments will cover it. I know Clarence White used this fingering quite a lot so it's been around for some time. Just my opinion FWIW.

The open G chord with the 2nd string fretted at fret 3 is most effective when the 5th string is muted. In this way all B's are omitted, B being the 3rd note of the scale.

Now the chord consists of just G's (the root)and D's (the fifth).

A local bluegrasser showed me that chord a couple of years ago. He uses it all of the time, and it has a very distinctive sound with the thirds missing.

I now play it with my thumb on the 6th string at the 3rd fret, with the tip of my thumb muting the 5th string. I then bar strings one and two at the third fret with any available finger.

I like the sound of the G chord without the higher 3rd in the chord for some folk and bluegrass tunes. When fingering it this way, you also have the option of changing to a C chord with a suspended 2nd, just by moving your 1st & 2nd fingers from the 5th and 6th strings, over to the 5th and 4th strings.
Larry J.

It sounds more "chimey." If somebody likes the sound, and it fits, I don't see any reason not to do it that way just because Hank and Lester didn't.

In my case, I use the "old G"..not because that's the way Lester and Hank done it; I just happen to feel that the old way sounds better to my ear! I have a hard time listening to a lot of the bluegrass of today (you can hear the rhythm guitar more predominately there)..so I find I hear this "covering the second string"..it just don't sound like a good "G" chord out to sound! Not that it'll ever happen (it probably won't in my lifetime)..but wonder if..let's say I was to be lucky enough (or good enough)..to jam with those cats like Marty Stuart or Ricky Skages..if they'd get mad at me if I wanted to play that good, old-fashioned "G" chord as I learned it?
Tom Kaufman

I use both versions depending on the song. I can't speak for Marty or Ricky, but I've got a hunch they wouldn't get upset over it. I know what you mean about the sound of the chord. With fewer instruments I tend to use the "old" fingering for a fuller sound, but if there's banjo, mando, and fiddle use the closed 2nd string more.

Having that 'D' note predominating instead of the 3rd, or B note, is very suitable in certain bluegrass tunes, especially those that have a bluesy feel to them.

When the melody is loaded with flat 3rds, flat 7ths and even flat 5ths (a good example would be Ricky Skaggs' version of Bill Monroe's 'Can't You Hear Me Calling'), that open B note on the second would actually detract from the harmonically dramatic effect of the 1,5,1,5 on the guitar's top four strings. The chord does have a 3rd in it, but it's way down in the bass end on the 5th string, so therefore doesn't clash with the melody being delivered an octave higher.

A lot of bluegrass harmonies have the root and the fifth notes dominating the sound, just as fiddlers will double-stop those same two notes for effect. I believe that this is the reason some players adopt this interesting inversion.

You can't actually put a flat 3rd in the chord - that would make it a G minor; much better to have the the 3rd 'open to interpretation' by not overstating it.

I first became aware of this 'G' inversion when Lonnie Donegan had his first hits in the 1950s; I'd only been playing guitar for about five minutes at the time, but I could hear something 'different' in his voicing. Then he came on TV, and the mystery was solved! This 'trick' was eminently suitable for his choice of material - 'Dead Or Alive', 'Gamblin' Man', 'Betty, Betty, Betty', 'Muleskinner Blues', and many more. It heightened the dramatic tension. The same effect can be achieved with an open D major by fretting the first string at the fifth, and leaving the 3rd (F#) on the sixth string, second fret.

It's a question of almost - but not quite - removing that major 3rd from the equation....

Well I guess that's the thing that bothers me about the "closed second string": it doesn't sound quite as full to me! However I can sort of understand the idea of a more "bluzy" sound..with the second string closed, it almost has the affect of an open "e" chord. I do seem to recall possibly hearing this inversion of the "G" chord in some Marle Haggard recordings. But where I really started noticing it was probably in the late 70s/early 8-s; possibly Tony Rice and Ricky Skaggs were using this chord formation. I guess it would be safe to say: it really depends upon one's preference as to which one works. Insidently, I've heard some interesting inversions of the open "A"..and now that I've gotten started, another thing I've noticed in recent years is how a lot of folks will..let's say..they're playing a "D" chord; they'll roll that big "E" string down!
Tom

It's not that new. I've been playing it that way since the 70's. It just sounds fuller to me; also is more forgiving if the tuning slips a bit.

One thing I think it has spawned, however, is that it seems like everything written from the late 80's on is some variation of G (with D on B string), Cadd9, Em7 and Dsus to D. You can move between all those chords without moving your pinky and ring finger from the 3rd fret on the high E and the B string.

We used to call it the "folksinger chord." Read Webb's explanation.

My dad and grandmother must have been way ahead of their time, because I have pictures of both of them using that chord back in the '40s.
They would fret the 6th string with their thumb on the 3rd fret(while muting out the 5th string) and the index finger on the third fret of the first and second strings. You can use that fingering on a G Major or G minor chord. They also use it on modal songs to not define the dominate third.

Now if you don't think that Lester(or Jimmy or Red) ever used that chord, then you've never listened to much of his playing. Check out some video of the Foggy Mountain Boys and you'll see it.
Lester doing the chord(only capoed up) with Monroe in '46.


another close up with ring finger on second string and pinkey on first string

Also watch some old clips of Merle Travis, he used that same chord all the time.
Hank probably didn't use it much because about 90% of his songs where in the key of E.
Here is a clip of him doing "Love Sick Blues" in the key of D. It looks like when he goes to the 4 chord he uses his ring finger on the second string and his pinkey on the first string.


If you want to see someone who used it on most of his playing (on both acoustic and electric) then check out some of Clarence Whites playing. He did it more to get the G(3rd string), D(2nd string 3rd fret) and G(1st string 3rd fret) notes together like a banjos 3rd, 1st, and 5th string roll.

Cause Tony Rice does it that way!

Here`s my theory :

In the open chord positions:
E B string is the 5th
D B string is the root
C B string is the root
G B string is the 3rd (the ear wants it to be lower)
so, it is easier to get an approximation of all the chord shapes being in tune if you fret the B string to D in G.

That video of Hank Williams was interesting! Since I am visually impaired, it is difficult for me to really see the positioning of chords! However I hear pretty well..and my ear tells me that Hank did "Lovesick Blues" in the key of "F"..therefore, when he went to the "4" chord (b-flat), he probably did cover the first ttwo strings at the third fret. As for Lester Flatt: I must admit..he seemed to not let his strings ring out that much..but I don't recall ever hearing him cover that second string at the third fret when making an open "G" chord..and yes..I've listening to plenty of "Flatt & Scruggs" tunes

When I was first learning how to play the guitar, an older friend of mine showed me what he called a "scissor G". He would hold down the 1st string with his middle finger and the 6th string with his index finger (which also muted the 5th string), so his hand sort of looked like a pair of scissors. According to him, this is what the chord was called by the person who taught him. That was the only time I heard anyone refer to a Scissor G, but it's cool how that information gets passed along.

While we're discussing chords, dare I ask why so many bluegrassers play a D instead of a D7 in the key of G?

I think a D major is punchier than a D7. The C note is an option for the singer or the lead players, (banjo, mandolin dobro or fiddle.) Also the banjo player will be playing a G note (sus4), so a 7th in the five Chord would mush things up a tad.
There's probably a better explanation but that's how I hear it.

All the different chord voicings are tools for you to use.
None are right or wrong.

Learn how they are sound and use the best one for the context, or song, you are playing.

You're right, Joey.
As of late, I have been playing "Speed of the Sound of Lonliness" in A, but using a capo on the 2nd fret, finger style. For the 5 chord, I use a D7 with a 3 bass (with my thumb) and it works for that song.

If you mean muting the B string with one finger, I never do that. But sometimes I will bar the E and B strings at the third fret with my little finger to make the G chord 'ring'.

Good Lord, there are a bunch of ways to play that open G, and I think there are uses for them all in bluegrass. One can use the full open-string voicing, playing all 6 strings; one can add the second string D with or without the first string; one can mute the second string and play the first; one can mute the 5[sup]th[/sup] string with or without the open 2nd string, or perhaps other combinations.

The major 3[sup]rd[/sup] tone implies a very strong major feel to the chord - sometimes this is what I want, other times it isn't. Root-five is what is called a power chord in rock and blues, and sometimes less is more, especially when playing strong rhythm guitar. But I don't think one needs to be playing rock or blues to use root-five voicings.

To me, the two biggest influences in bluegrass are Celtic-influenced Appalachian music and blues. Bill Monroe talked about the blues influence a lot, and the blue third isn't either major or minor, and sometimes it's better to just leave it alone. I agree with Roger - the root-five harmony is very powerful with this approach, and opens up a wide highway for solo instruments or singers to drive down - it lays the foundation without forcing the melody to follow the major tonality everywhere. One can play a major feel, or one can drive down the pentatonic path, go somewhere completely different, or mix them up at will, while still covering all the basic harmonic and rhythmic bases. Certainly a lot of bluegrass harmonies feature triad harmony, but again I agree with Roger that root-five is also heavily used, instrumentally and vocally. I don't think this is anything new.

The 7th note came up - the sound of the b7 tone is far different with the 3[sup]rd[/sup] than without it. Both sound fine in the right situation, but I think I probably prefer without in bluegrass more often - leaner and meaner, and without the tritone that can sometimes get in the way in bluegrass, to me.

Guitars are generally tuned close to Equal Tempered, so that major triads aren't as pure as a lot of steel players use - this sometimes drives me nuts when playing guitar, though more often with electric than acoustic. I remember playing with a band that insisted that everything be articulated as a major or minor, when very often it wasn't either. I didn't hang around long.

Anyway, that's the way I look at this.

Gary C. Dygert wrote:While we're discussing chords, dare I ask why so many bluegrassers play a D instead of a D7 in the key of G?

A lot of 'grassers will play a D7add4, and then resolve that back to the G chord. Nowadays, seems like the thing to do is play the D string open, and fret the A note on the G string, and mute everything else. Bluegrass rhythm guitar is a dying art. I tell my students that I'll teach 'em Tony Rice---AFTER they've mastered Jimmy Martin.

I am so glad that I am not bothered at all by how someone plays a G chord.