Tips for an old guy trying to learn guitar

[liquiditynerd]

missed this thread but if its not too late.

Are you learning tab? like string 1 finger 1 string 2 finger 2? I used to just go up and down the fingerboard on every string 1234, 4321, etc.. all the way around the board. The longer I did it the better I got and didn't get frustrated with misses. Builds callouses and dexterity.

If your standing around somewhere you can use your forearm as a fingerboard to practice and not look super crazy.

Then A pentatonic scale is a fun blues riff

 

[estricklin]

I took everyone's advice and decided to play the chords the way they are supposed to be played when I practiced last night. But I decided to something else...analyze everything I was doing that did not involve my fret hand to see if I am contributing to my own problem with weird mechanics. So, I decided the guitar is too low, so I put a small box under my right foot. I decided that I am angling the guitar so as to be able to see the frets and strings, causing my wrist to have to bend further than it has to, so I pulled that sucker right in to my body and held it with the fret board at a 90 degree angle to the floor, etc.

These things made a world of difference. The D chord seemed impossible to me on Wednesday when I was first introduced to it. I pretty much nailed it now. Amazing what posture and proper mechanics can do to take tension out of your fingers while trying to hold the chords.

EDIT: I'm also considering taking a short lesson once a week where my boy goes. That way someone who knows what they are doing can nit-pick these little things for me. Justinguitar.com is great, but Justin can't look at what I'm doing and say, "hey, *******, you need hold the guitar differently and your problems will go away". A face to face instructor can do that, and maybe shave a lot of time off the learning process.

It can make a difference that's for sure. Make sure you aren't tucking your thumb behind the neck of the guitar, I've seen some beginners doing this, open chords are next to impossible unless your thumb is wrapped around as if your going to fret the low E string with it.

I can't give you any advice on lessons. My guitar lessons, (back when I was about 10 or 11), led me to complete frustration and eventually giving up and selling a really nice 3/4 Martin that my parents had bought me. If I were you I probably would try them though, it certainly can't hurt.

 

[chawn]

Sorry, man, but you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

 

[liquiditynerd]

Also, I have been taking free courses on Coursera.org. I saw a course just started Feb 2nd. at Berklee College of Music with Thadeus Hogarth titled Introduction to Guitar. Hey, it's free, it's on your own time, AND you get a Berklee College of Music certificate that you can frame and hang as a little "gold star"! Might be a way to learn with your son or at night/morning and have a nice statement of accomplishment. That and a pizza and I'd bet your son will be hooked!

 

[Ridire]

Hopefully the enthusiasm holds up. I'm doing more than an hour per day with the guitar right now, and would do more if it didn't feel like I were neglecting family and other priorities. Finger pain isn't too bad, either. I have a little soreness but nothing that makes me want to take a day off from it. Less than a week in, and I can tell a huge difference in my skill set, as horrible as it still is.

I'm starting to do work on chord changes now. I'm going between D, E and A chords. I still have a ***** of a time playing the D chord without muting the high E string with my ring finger.

 

[unionrdr]

That first position D chord always made me turn my hand sideways a bit. Like the D chord progression in the Scorpions Alien Nation. Just gotta figure out what works for you. The guitar lesson blues...to the tune of house rent blues, John Lee Hooker.

 

[Homercidal]

Hopefully the enthusiasm holds up. I'm doing more than an hour per day with the guitar right now, and would do more if it didn't feel like I were neglecting family and other priorities. Finger pain isn't too bad, either. I have a little soreness but nothing that makes me want to take a day off from it. Less than a week in, and I can tell a huge difference in my skill set, as horrible as it still is.

I'm starting to do work on chord changes now. I'm going between D, E and A chords. I still have a ***** of a time playing the D chord without muting the high E string with my ring finger.

I feel the same way when I get back into the guitar after a break. I'd like to get a Les Paul since I don't have a nice fixed bridge guitar, but I can't justify the cost, even for an Epiphone version, as much as I play these days.

Keep plugging away. When you get 1 song good enough to play all the way through and not sound too bad you will not feel so bad about the time spent to get there.

 

[Ridire]

I feel the same way when I get back into the guitar after a break. I'd like to get a Les Paul since I don't have a nice fixed bridge guitar, but I can't justify the cost, even for an Epiphone version, as much as I play these days.

Keep plugging away. When you get 1 song good enough to play all the way through and not sound too bad you will not feel so bad about the time spent to get there.

Thanks. Due to the method I am using to learn the chords, I have decided to abandon the idea of learning House of the Rising Sun first. If you go through Justinguitar.com's beginner course, he starts with the D, A and E chord (which I now see are pretty easy to change to and from chord to chord). So, I am choosing one of the songs that Justin has on his site that require only the ability to play those 3 chords to start with.

These are his songs (some in the wrong key to facilitate the use of these 3 chords):

Three Little Birds (Bob Marley & The Wailers)
Feelin' Alright (Traffic)
Hound Dog (Elvis Presley)
Walk Of Life (Dire Straits)
I Walk The Line (Johnny Cash)
The Gambler (Kenny Rogers)
Blowin' In The Wind (Bob Dylan)
Love Me Do (The Beatles)
How Bizarre (OMC)
Common People (Pulp)

I'm not sure where I'm leaning at this time. I am torn between Walk of Life, I Walk the Line and Blowin' in the Wind. I think Blowin' in the Wind might be the way to go, but does that require me to smoke pot and grow a pony-tail? No offense to anyone with a pony-tail, it is just very much not me.

EDIT: he took Blowin' in the Wind off the site because Dylan was getting litigious. Oh well, I guess that narrows the choices.

 

[GrogNerd]

learning the A-D-E progression will get you thru 78% of rock and roll* and 99.9% of blues or country

a little music theory here; that progression is what's called I-IV-V and it will let you play any of those songs in any other key

think of the major scale as the notes from the song "Doe Ray Me" only with roman numerals. Doe = I, Ray = II, Me = III, etc, numbering each note I thru VII, with VIII coming back around to the root of the scale, Doe = VIII one octave higher than Doe = I

the I-IV-V progression is Doe-Fa'-Sew and in the key of A, the scale goes A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#-A, so I/Doe is A, IV/Fa' is D and V/Sew is E.

learn the notes in the other major scales, know what I-IV-V is in each and when someone asks you to play any of those songs, you can ask, "what key?" and know how to play it.

*learn I-VIm-IV-V and you've learned another 10% of rock and roll, in particular 50s music. I call that the "Heart and Soul" riff.

(EDIT: Key of A has 3 sharps)

 

[Ridire]

learning the A-D-E progression will get you thru 78% of rock and roll* and 99.9% of blues or country

a little music theory here; that progression is what's called I-IV-V and it will let you play any of those songs in any other key

think of the major scale as the notes from the song "Doe Ray Me" only with roman numerals. Doe = I, Ray = II, Me = III, etc, numbering each note I thru VII, with VIII coming back around to the root of the scale, Doe = VIII one octave higher than Doe = I

the I-IV-V progression is Doe-Fa'-Sew and in the key of A, the scale goes A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G-A, so I/Doe is A, IV/Fa' is D and V/Sew is E.

learn the notes in the other major scales, know what I-IV-V is in each and when someone asks you to play any of those songs, you can ask, "what key?" and know how to play it.

*learn I-VIm-IV-V and you've learned another 10% of rock and roll, in particular 50s music. I call that the "Heart and Soul" riff.

Thanks. I will probably print this out and make reference to it as I get a little more advanced. Right now, I'm just practicing changing from D to E without a long pause...and trying to work out the clunker on the high E string when I play an open D chord.

 

[Oginme]

If you wanted to start out with even a little simpler tune, try 'Feelin' Alright', the Joe Cocker version. A & D chords alternating. (OK, technically, the song is A7 and D7, but for beginner purposes the major chords work fine). It also gives you a chance to work on varying your strumming rhythms so you can hear what a difference that makes to the sound of a song.

 

[Homercidal]

*learn I-VIm-IV-V and you've learned another 10% of rock and roll, in particular 50s music. I call that the "Heart and Soul" riff.

(EDIT: Key of A has 3 sharps)

Is that the Huey Lewis or T'Pau "Heart and Soul"?

Absolutely good information here. I highly recommend learning the basics of keys and chords. At LEAST learn a few of the really popular ones.

 

[GrogNerd]

Is that the Huey Lewis or T'Pau "Heart and Soul"?

Absolutely good information here. I highly recommend learning the basics of keys and chords. At LEAST learn a few of the really popular ones.

Hoagy Carmichael wrote it in 1938

most famous version:

 

[Ridire]

If you wanted to start out with even a little simpler tune, try 'Feelin' Alright', the Joe Cocker version. A & D chords alternating. (OK, technically, the song is A7 and D7, but for beginner purposes the major chords work fine). It also gives you a chance to work on varying your strumming rhythms so you can hear what a difference that makes to the sound of a song.

Stupid question, as I have only worked on 4-5 chords to date...what is A7 and D7?

 

[GrogNerd]

Stupid question, as I have only worked on 4-5 chords to date...what is A7 and D7?

more theory:

major chords, like A, D & E are the I-III-V-VIII notes of the scale played together

remember the A scale is A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#-A, so the notes of the A chord are A-C#-E-A.

if you play the 7th note of the scale instead of the 8th, that's a maj7th chord and written in the key of A, it's A-C#-E-G#

flat that 7th note, write it like 7♭ and it becomes a 7th chord, A7 is A-C#-E-G (G#♭ = G)

fun stuff when you get into all the variations

 

[Homercidal]

more theory:

major chords, like A, D & E are the I-III-V-VIII notes of the scale played together

remember the A scale is A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#-A, so the notes of the A chord are A-C#-E-A.

if you play the 7th note of the scale instead of the 8th, that's a maj7th chord and written in the key of A, it's A-C#-E-G#

flat that 7th note, write it like 7♭ and it becomes a 7th chord, A7 is A-C#-E-G (G#♭ = G)

fun stuff when you get into all the variations

Would you be my online music teacher!??

With practice, you can actually hear the different chord types by the way they feel to you. If you are well practiced, anyway. So they say...

I actually have a nice book on guitar chords that includes a nice bit of music theory including the wheel of fifths, but do you think I've ever sat down to study it? No.

And all I really want at this point is to be able to pick a key and find which scales are good for soloing with.

 

[Oginme]

Stupid question, as I have only worked on 4-5 chords to date...what is A7 and D7?

GrogNerd explained it vary well. Simple variations on the major chords can add a lot of 'flavor' to the sound. The nice thing is that once you have mastered the Major chords, some of the variations come pretty easy. The beauty of "Feelin' Alright" is that it is simple enough to help with learning the movement between two open chords and later you can do the same song with the 7th chord variation to get the fingering down again, already having the feel for the rhythm of the song.

 

[GrogNerd]

Would you be my online music teacher!??

With practice, you can actually hear the different chord types by the way they feel to you. If you are well practiced, anyway. So they say...

I actually have a nice book on guitar chords that includes a nice bit of music theory including the wheel of fifths, but do you think I've ever sat down to study it? No.

And all I really want at this point is to be able to pick a key and find which scales are good for soloing with.

I have taught 3 people how to play guitar and all 3 are now better than me. the first one even became a professional

you CAN hear the different chord types. they do give a different feel to songs.

HUGE example: Johnny Nash, "I Can See Clearly Now". lyrics are uplifting and the music has that same upbeat feel to them. major chords with a reggae tempo.

until you get to the breakdown. the bridge has a key and tempo change, so it feels different, but then the breakdown (1:35 in the video) has these minor chords in it that really don't fit the rest of the song. makes it sound dark (haha! like beer tasting dark!)

 

[Ridire]

And all I really want at this point is to be able to pick a key and find which scales are good for soloing with.

I'd love to be at that level. Right now, all I want is to be able to play two chords without a 30 second pause between strums while I figure out what in the hell my ring finger thinks it's doing.

 

[GrogNerd]

I'd love to be at that level. Right now, all I want is to be able to play two chords without a 30 second pause between strums while I figure out what in the hell my ring finger thinks it's doing.

just give it time, you'll get there.

pretty soon you won't even have to watch where you're putting your fingers, you'll just know what to do by feel

 

[Ridire]

So, what 3-4 chords is this? Should this be my first song?


[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbfgBlkSoqc[/ame]


Have I already made this joke?

 

[GrogNerd]

So, what 3-4 chords is this? Should this be my first song?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbfgBlkSoqc


Have I already made this joke?

8-bar intro, into basic 12-bar blues with some flourishes on the chords

can't tell what key it's in, but it follows the I-IV-V pattern.

 

[Homercidal]

I'd love to be at that level. Right now, all I want is to be able to play two chords without a 30 second pause between strums while I figure out what in the hell my ring finger thinks it's doing.

Patience! I've been playing since I was about 18. I used to play several hours a day when I was young. Now I do that but only like once a month!

Just keep practicing. Your fingers will learn to do their thing.

I do admit it's easier when you are younger, but with practice you will be playing the chords to several awesome tunes in no time.

 

[Ridire]

Getting way ahead of myself. Let's say in about a year, after I get to the point where I can play a little (no, I don't expect to be Eddie Van Halen after a year), I decide maybe I'd like to play around with a bass. Will my guitar practicing help shorten the curve on learning the bass?

 

[GrogNerd]

Getting way ahead of myself. Let's say in about a year, after I get to the point where I can play a little (no, I don't expect to be Eddie Van Halen after a year), I decide maybe I'd like to play around with a bass. Will my guitar practicing help shorten the curve on learning the bass?

little kid wants to learn to play bass, so his dad buys him one, pays for a lessons.

after the first week of lessons, the kid shows his dad what he's learned.

"look, Dad! I learned the notes on the first string!" he says, plucking a couple notes.

another week goes by, the kid shows his dad more things he's learned.

"look, Dad! I learned notes on the second string!" and plucks some notes

Dad doesn't see the kid for another month, when he does, he says, "why haven't you shown me more of what you've learned? there's two more strings on that bass guitar"

kid looks up at dad and says, "golly, Dad... I've been so busy, I've got all these gigs!"

absolutely, the things you learn on a 6-string will carry over quite well to the 4-string

 

[Ridire]

little kid wants to learn to play bass, so his dad buys him one, pays for a lessons.

after the first week of lessons, the kid shows his dad what he's learned.

"look, Dad! I learned the notes on the first string!" he says, plucking a couple notes.

another week goes by, the kid shows his dad more things he's learned.

"look, Dad! I learned notes on the second string!" and plucks some notes

Dad doesn't see the kid for another month, when he does, he says, "why haven't you shown me more of what you've learned? there's two more strings on that bass guitar"

kid looks up at dad and says, "golly, Dad... I've been so busy, I've got all these gigs!"

absolutely, the things you learn on a 6-string will carry over quite well to the 4-string

That joke is half way in line with my thinking. I am a middle aged nerdy guy; I don't plan on playing gigs or forming the next platinum album rock band. But, with all the guys I know who play guitar, it might be cool to play some bass to mess around in the garage with a few beers.

But I'm not even going to give that any real thought until I've been a year with the guitar to get an idea of how to play a little.

 

[estricklin]

That joke is half way in line with my thinking. I am a middle aged nerdy guy; I don't plan on playing gigs or forming the next platinum album rock band. But, with all the guys I know who play guitar, it might be cool to play some bass to mess around in the garage with a few beers.

But I'm not even going to give that any real thought until I've been a year with the guitar to get an idea of how to play a little.

Nothing wrong with settings goals. Quit worrying about your age, it's not important when it comes to playing the guitar. There are loads of guys that didn't start playing til they got older, and you can see them playing gigs every weekend.

Learning some guitar first will make you a much better bass player, in fact those who don't play the guitar first will have a terrible time learning the bass.

 

[Ridire]

Nothing wrong with settings goals. Quit worrying about your age, it's not important when it comes to playing the guitar. There are loads of guys that didn't start playing til they got older, and you can see them playing gigs every weekend.

Learning some guitar first will make you a much better bass player, in fact those who don't play the guitar first will have a terrible time learning the bass.

I'm not caught up on age. I'm just pointing out that I'm not some 20 year old guy who wants to make a living with the guitar and has aspirations of doing so. I don't ever even want to be in a proper band, for that matter.

 

[Homercidal]

I'm not caught up on age. I'm just pointing out that I'm not some 20 year old guy who wants to make a living with the guitar and has aspirations of doing so. I don't ever even want to be in a proper band, for that matter.

I never did either. I play for the fun of it. I have friends who aspired to do something, but they didn't practice like I did, (at least when they were young and had girlfriends and jobs) and so it was tough for them to really get out there.

There isn't any rule that a musician has to play for a crowd, for money, or for fame.

Although I do wish I had some guys to jam with on a regular basis. I think when you reach a certain point in your playing it can help to play with others and get some insight from their minds. Try things you didn't think of before.

I wouldn't worry about that for a WHILE yet.

Also, not now, but at some point, you can find DRUM and/or BASS tracks to play along with online. Some pre-recorded, or programmed play-along tracks. Makes your playing sound and feel more better AND improves your rhythm playing.

 

[nutty_gnome]

So how's it going with the guitar? Its been a month... still working on it?

 

[Ridire]

So how's it going with the guitar? Its been a month... still working on it?

30-90 minutes every day.

Chords are coming easier and I can play (at slowed tempo) a couple of simplified songs that only contain A, D, E, Am, Dm and Em chords.

Chords in my repertoire right now:

A
D
E
Am
Dm
Em
C
G (but it's clunky)
B7 (and it's really clunky)


I am continuing on the justinguitar.com route but have also purchased Rocksmith 2014. I think I get a lot more out of Justin than I do out of Rocksmith2014, but the game keeps it more interesting after I've finished 20-30 minutes of Justin's practices.

The reason the B7 chord is listed above is because I am focusing a lot of my Rocksmith time on Paint it Black, which has brutal chord progression for someone of my skills, going from Em to B7 to G. Moving quickly between B7 and G and any other chord is very tough for me right now.

EDIT: oh, the songs I am "playing" right now are (1) a version of I Walk the Line that has been simplified by Justin - I can do that at around 85-90 bpm; and (2) Girl Like You (Edwin Collins) - I can do that at around 70 bpm, and still struggle a little transitioning into the Dm chord.

 

[doug293cz]

30-90 minutes every day.

Chords are coming easier and I can play (at slowed tempo) a couple of simplified songs that only contain A, D, E, Am, Dm and Em chords.

Chords in my repertoire right now:

A
D
E
Am
Dm
Em
C
G (but it's clunky)
B7 (and it's really clunky)


I am continuing on the justinguitar.com route but have also purchased Rocksmith 2014. I think I get a lot more out of Justin than I do out of Rocksmith2014, but the game keeps it more interesting after I've finished 20-30 minutes of Justin's practices.

The reason the B7 chord is listed above is because I am focusing a lot of my Rocksmith time on Paint it Black, which has brutal chord progression for someone of my skills, going from Em to B7 to G. Moving quickly between B7 and G and any other chord is very tough for me right now.

EDIT: oh, the songs I am "playing" right now are (1) a version of I Walk the Line that has been simplified by Justin - I can do that at around 85-90 bpm; and (2) Girl Like You (Edwin Collins) - I can do that at around 70 bpm, and still struggle a little transitioning into the Dm chord.

Keep up the diligence. Sounds like you are making good progress. Dm is one I have trouble with as well (I think because it's one I almost never used when I played a little 35 yrs ago.)

Brew on

 

[Ridire]

Keep up the diligence. Sounds like you are making good progress. Dm is one I have trouble with as well (I think because it's one I almost never used when I played a little 35 yrs ago.)

Brew on

Whenever it seems like I'm making no progress, I think back to the first few times I practiced at playing a D major chord. It seemed impossible, for some reason, to play that chord without my ring finger inadvertently muting the high e string. Now, playing that chord is as natural for me as typing this sentence. I just keep telling myself "hey, in another two weeks this stupid G chord is going to be as easy as the D chord now is...".

 

[doug293cz]

Whenever it seems like I'm making no progress, I think back to the first few times I practiced at playing a D major chord. It seemed impossible, for some reason, to play that chord without my ring finger inadvertently muting the high e string. Now, playing that chord is as natural for me as typing this sentence. I just keep telling myself "hey, in another two weeks this stupid G chord is going to be as easy as the D chord now is...".

How are you fingering the G? Some people use the 1-2-3 fingers, and others the 2-3-4 fingers. I learned the 1-2-3, and it is one of the easiest chords for me to play, as I'm not that good with my pinkie. I think someone earlier in this thread dissed on that fingering tho.

Brew on

 

[Ridire]

How are you fingering the G? Some people use the 1-2-3 fingers, and others the 2-3-4 fingers. I learned the 1-2-3, and it is one of the easiest chords for me to play, as I'm not that good with my pinkie. I think someone earlier in this thread dissed on that fingering tho.

Brew on

1 2 3 is how I do it. It's tough for my ring finger to get any sort of pressure on the high e. It's a matter of flexibility, but it's getting there.

EDIT: My pinkie is near useless, too, which is why B7 is a total dumpster fire right now.

 

[estricklin]

1 2 3 is how I do it. It's tough for my ring finger to get any sort of pressure on the high e. It's a matter of flexibility, but it's getting there.

EDIT: My pinkie is near useless, too, which is why B7 is a total dumpster fire right now.

Try a 4 fingered G, not only is it more common and better sounding, but it's easier to play as well. You will need to learn to play it with 3 fingers eventually, but that's much later. Either way; playing it without your pinky isn't very practical at all, there are many reasons for this. To explain a little, playing an open G without the pinky works great, until you want to embellish the chord or start playing the bar chord shape. Learning to use your pinky is an important part of playing guitar, even for a beginner. You've got one, you might as well use it!

I'm glad to see your progressing. I often have to go back to the basics, and remember how far I've come too. I've still been trying to learn a Dire Straits song here lately that is proving to be every bit as difficult as I always thought it would be. As I may have stated before, the hardest part of playing guitar is staying motivated. We reach plateaus, and we get comfortable with our skill level. And sometimes, we hear the struggles of a beginner and it makes us want to buy some new strings and keep on keepin on!

 

[Ridire]

Try a 4 fingered G, not only is it more common and better sounding, but it's easier to play as well. You will need to learn to play it with 3 fingers eventually, but that's much later. Either way; playing it without your pinky isn't very practical at all, there are many reasons for this. To explain a little, playing an open G without the pinky works great, until you want to embellish the chord or start playing the bar chord shape. Learning to use your pinky is an important part of playing guitar, even for a beginner. You've got one, you might as well use it!

I'm glad to see your progressing. I often have to go back to the basics, and remember how far I've come too. I've still been trying to learn a Dire Straits song here lately that is proving to be every bit as difficult as I always thought it would be. As I may have stated before, the hardest part of playing guitar is staying motivated. We reach plateaus, and we get comfortable with our skill level. And sometimes, we hear the struggles of a beginner and it makes us want to buy some new strings and keep on keepin on!

This is how I've been taught to play it:

How does 4 finger work? 3rd finger on the second string, 3rd fret, and pinkie on the 1st string, 3rd fret? If so, that sounds easier to play because there is less distance between the middle and ring finger. Maybe I'll check that out.

 

[brettwasbtd]

This is how I've been taught to play it:

How does 4 finger work? 3rd finger on the second string, 3rd fret, and pinkie on the 1st string, 3rd fret? If so, that sounds easier to play because there is less distance between the middle and ring finger. Maybe I'll check that out.

Yup, pinky on the high e third fret (that note is a "g") and ring finger on the third fret of the b (noir is a " d)

So playing this way adds the fifth of the scale as the notes being played are g, b, d,g, d, g

 

[estricklin]

Playing a 4 fingered G is also nice because you can get to Cadd9 quickly, a very common transition too. Look at "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" as an example. The open B string with the 3 fingered G just doesn't sound as good, at least not to me and about 3/4 of anyone who plays guitar. It amounts to changing the note on the B string to an open B, or a fretted D. Either of those notes are repeated on another string in the chord anyway, so it doesn't matter which way you play it, it's still G. The open B string doesn't have much tension which may be one reason why many people prefer the sound of the 4 fingered G.

Really all the open chords have more than one fingering, and it's wise to try and learn them all, but at this point I wouldn't loose any sleep over it if I were you.

 

[Ridire]

Playing a 4 fingered G is also nice because you can get to Cadd9 quickly, a very common transition too. Look at "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" as an example. The open B string with the 3 fingered G just doesn't sound as good, at least not to me and about 3/4 of anyone who plays guitar. It amounts to changing the note on the B string to an open B, or a fretted D. Either of those notes are repeated on another string in the chord anyway, so it doesn't matter which way you play it, it's still G. The open B string doesn't have much tension which may be one reason why many people prefer the sound of the 4 fingered G.

Really all the open chords have more than one fingering, and it's wise to try and learn them all, but at this point I wouldn't loose any sleep over it if I were you.

Funny, I feel like I'm cheating when I finger the Em differently depending upon what I'm moving to or from. Should I continue to "cheat"? or decide on one way and be consistent?