How To Play A11 Chord Guitar

[Bertha Simmons]

Just recently started playing acoustic guitar. I'm having some difficulty mastering the 'A' chord. My fingers seem to be squished together which makes me struggle to hold the strings in place and as close to the fret as i can, most of the time im obstructing the bottom string and not getting a clear note. Is there an easier way to do an A chord? Or is there any tips to striking the perfect chord without crippling my fingers?

If you use 3 fingers, and they're squashed, use middle, ring and pinky, as together the are slightly smaller than index, middle and ring. I tend to teach it with index on 3rd string 1st fret, for an easy change to E. However, the chord works with two fingers, liberally spread over the three strings on that second fret. In this case, you have choice. Middle and ring work well. Some players actually prefer playing this with just one finger, but it's an acquired art, and not for beginners.

The answer is contained in the first words of your question "Just recently started..." Yes, chord fingering can seem very clumsy and unnatural. Check with a teacher or experienced player that you are positioning your hand correctly, then keep practicing. If you have unusually big fingers, guitars with a wider neck are available. But don't jump to this solution too quickly.

I've been playing for 20 years. Whenever anyone asks me why they're having problems holding a chord, EVERY TIME WITHOUT EXCEPTION it's been because their wrist and elbow position sucks.

All beginners tend to start playing with the neck supported by the pad of their palm, because it feels natural to hold the neck like that. The problem is that this completely prevents you getting your fingers round the fretboard properly. This is the number one beginner's fault - and because most people learning guitar teach themselves, it's also the number one fault you see in folk clubs and elsewhere.

If you need to support the neck with your left hand, by definition you're not holding the instrument properly. You should be able to take that left hand away and the guitar goes nowhere. If it doesn't, adjust how you're holding it with your right arm, look into "classical" position, and/or get a strap (playing standing up with a strap can be much easier).

Finally, your elbow should usually be fairly close into your side, because that rotates your hand so that the fingers naturally align parallel to the fretboard. - this is usually what you want for decent reach along the frets. But for the A chord you can push your elbow out slightly, and that rotates your hand so that the fingers run more across the fretboard, which lets you more easily get those three fingers next to each other.

You shouldn't have to hold your fingers very close to the fret to sound a note. Typically notes (including the notes within a chord) are fretted roughly half-way between two frets. So your mistake might be trying to press all three fingers directly against the fret wire.

If you hear some noise (known as 'fret farts') while doing this, you might want to take your guitar to a music shop and ask them to set it up for you. It might be that the action on the instrument is too high (meaning the strings are too far from the fret board), making it more difficult for you to produce a clear note.

Of course, a simpler way to diagnose that kind of issue would be to ask someone who plays the guitar (a teacher or friend) to play that a chord, and see if they can sound a clear note on each string while holding the chord.

Since an E Major chord is often used with an A Major chord, the relationship between your middle and ring finger should stay the same, using your pinky finger for the A chord on the second string and using your index finger for the E chord on the third string.

Try to use "classical guitar" hand position where thumb rests in the middle of the back of the neck and the thumb and the fingering fingers are the only places where your hand touches the neck and the whole hand 'hangs' almost perfectly perpendicular to the neck

There's actually another good reason not the play the top E. The first postition open A chord on properly tuned guitar (I'm not using word perfect for a reason as guitar cannot be tuned perfectly - it is all only approximation and compromise - many beginner don't realize that) is typically the most out of tune chord out of the basic open chords. And the worst interval is precisely the top C# and E. On some guitars it sounds better then on anothers but in general it is problematic in studio ect.

This article was co-authored by Aaron Asghari. Aaron Asghari is a Professional Guitarist and the lead guitarist of The Ghost Next Door. He received his degree in Guitar Performance from the Guitar Institute of Technology program in Los Angeles. In addition to writing and performing with The Ghost Next Door, he founded Asghari Guitar Lessons, where he was the primary guitar instructor for many years.

This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.

This article has been viewed 2,130,875 times.

Learning to play guitar is loads of fun, though playing chords may seem a little intimidating at first. Fear not, it is not much different than playing single notes: you're just playing them all at once! This article will walk you through the process of working out the fingering, and show you how to play some common chords. Pull out your axe, and rock on!

Create backing tracks with the piano, guitar, bass, and drums. Select a tempo and style at the top and enter chords by clicking the chord boxes or the "+" icon. Play your track by clicking the "Play" button or by pressing the spacebar on your keyboard.

Click the "Generate chords" button to randomly produce a chord progression from a list of common progressions in the chosen style. To add a new section of chords, click the "Add section" button. To switch instruments, click the "Instruments" button.

Drag and drop chords to change their order. To remove a chord, drag the chord outside of the gray box. To change the length of the chord, drag the right side of a chord box to the left or right. You can also change the length by clicking the chord.

List of common chord progressions in different genres you can use as inspiration to create your own progressions. A chord progression may be repeated or expanded with more chords to create a longer and more varied progression.

List of popular songs where the same four chords are repeated throughout the song. Each chord on the list is 4 beats long. Pop and rock songs often use simple chord progressions with a few different major and minor chords.

In the video at 14:49, I demonstrate how you get the arrangement to swing more by increasing the tempo, playing with chord placement, including chromatic approaches and jazzing up the melody line.

Muy agradecido Greg . primero por tu didctica, tu solidaridad por compartir, tu extrema dedicacin y la clara y motivadora leccin sobre los principios fundamentales del chord melody. Te envio un doble abrazo cordial y mi sincero deseo de bienestar para ti los tuyos. Afectuosamente Salvador Gracian.

Thanks Andras, to get these tricks under your fingers, especially those 3-7 voicings, just take them at a super slow tempo to start, once you get the 251 patterns clear in your mind that will create a good foundation for developing these techniques.

I am a beginner, my problem is that I have quite fat and meaty fingers.

When I play chords I tend to block the down strings and buzz up the bass strings.

Many experts say that it is good to buy a 12 string and string it as a six string.

Do you think that it will help for smooth chord changes and smooth guitar playing?

How to Make Playing Guitar Easier with Large/Wide FingersHi Sambit. Fingers come in many different widths and lengths and as guitarists we have to learn to adapt to whatever nature/God has given us.

The main issue with stringing a 12 string with 6 strings is that 12 string guitars are set up to handle the extra tension from the 6 extra strings. So by only using 6, you may cause neck problems or even damage the neck if it doesn't get set up properly.

If you are to go down that route, take it to a guitar tech so it can be set up to accommodate the right amount of tension, otherwise there may be other playability issues down the road.

I would personally recommend getting used to playing a regular 6 string. Here are some tips to help make the most of your situation...
Buy a wide neck, flat radius guitarWhile classical and 12 string guitars naturally have wider necks, there are also wider neck electric and steel string acoustics available.

Look at the nut width to determine the width of the fretboard. The wider the nut, the more space between each string and the less obstruction for your fingers.

Also, you'll benefit from a relatively flat fretboard radius as opposed to a curved radius.

For example, Ibanez' Wizard necks tend to be flatter and wider than, say, most Strat necks. PRS style guitars are also known for their wide necks, as are most hollow body guitars (e.g. ES-335).

Be conscious of these specs (nut width, fretboard radius) when shopping for a new guitar. The manufacturers website usually has the most details spec and ideally try out gear in person at a store if you can.
Keep your fret hand fingers verticalWhen fingering chords, many players get into the habit of collapsing back their finger tips.

If you have larger fingers, you need to be more conscious of keeping your fingers vertical against the strings, using more of the actual tip, closer to the finger nail, to fret the string.

To help with this, position your thumb more towards the center of the back of the neck so you have more leverage to curl your fingers over and come down vertically on the strings.

Eventually, you'll develop calluses (tough skin) on your finger tips and muscle memory for whatever positioning you persistently practice so you won't have to think about it as much.
Use one finger to fret adjacent stringsIf the chord you're playing requires two adjacent strings to be pressed at the same fret, you can use one finger to fret them both.

For example, open E minor requires the A and D strings to be pressed at the 2nd fret. If your fingers are wide enough, you might be able to press down both strings with your index or middle finger.

This is how 12 string guitars are played - two adjacent strings fretted under one finger, but 12 strings produce a very specific type of sound (a chorus effect) which you might not always want.

Watch this video for examples of this adjacent-string fretting technique...


Use lighter gauge stringsThe thinner the strings, the more space there is between them. However, thinner strings will generally produce a thinner tone, so there's a trade off to consider here - tone vs playability.

With acoustic guitar, you might want to try a relative light gauge such as 11's or even 10's.

With electric, 9's can still produce a decent tone and help with reducing finger obstruction.

Embrace and keep practicing with what you have
It sounds trite, but practice makes perfect. No matter how you're built, you will eventually adapt and grow into your own style of playing.

As a beginner, any disadvantages can be amplified in the mind, but be reassured that having larger fingers will not bother you for very long. The more you play, the more you will find subtle ways of compensating for any perceived disadvantages.

People often overlook the fact that playing style is heavily influenced by our physical qualities, and it actually helps us to shape our unique sound. For example, people with short fingers tend to use techniques such as sliding and box pattern runs typically more than people with long, spidery fingers.

Embrace your physicality and your brain will do a lot of the adaptation work in the background.