Fingering G chord in verse of 'Just Breathe'

[sws626]

This is really a question for anyone who is working on Eddie Vedder's 'Let's Breathe.'

In Neil's lesson, he shows the partial G chord in the verse fingered with the second and third fingers (second finger on 6th string, 3rd fret; third finger on 2nd string, 3rd fret). The fingering is important as you have to reach up with the pinky for a E on the 5th fret of the 2nd string.

My questions are:

Is there any reason why one should not play this G with the first and second fingers instead of the second and third. This is for me a much easier transition to and from the C chord and makes the pinky reach a bit easier.

While the pinky reach is coming along for me, isn't it the equivalent of playing that note on the 1st string, which is already open? Why wouldn't one do this instead?

Thanks,
Stuart

[willem]

Hey Stuart,what is easy for you you should do,,i think..and for the E note,, i read ones that a fretted note has a diffrent(don't no more what it was),,also when you play it open it can ring to long maybe..

[sws626]

Here's a quick little video to illustrate what I'm driving at in my fingering question. I know it is sometimes difficult to visualize these things. Don't pay too much attention to any other aspects of the playing. I only started looking at this song last night and haven't got the picking pattern down yet.

[video][/video]

In the mean time, I've also gone back to listen to Al's initial cool post and Neil's great review of that. Neil seems to have changed his mind when he later came to do the lesson on how to reach the high A with the pinky and I'm following what I understood from the lesson here. That is, letting a C on the 2d string ring in the "bass" after the pinch with the G on the 1st string, then sliding up to the high A on the 1st string (you can hear Eddie slide in the recorded version) and shifting the first finger to the C on the 5th string for the pinch followed by an open G that rings while you get into position for the G chord. Neil suggests this as "work around number 3" at 4:30 in the review.

And to get back to my initial question, it seems to me that although playing the bass of the G chord with the 1st finger requires more hand movement when you return to the C chord, it requires less movement when transitioning into the G if you have just played the low C and high A as described above. But it might feel different in the chorus where the high A is omitted.

Thanks Willem. I agree with what you've said about playing the high E on the 2nd string, but I think the best reason for playing it there is that it allows you to maintain the same right hand finger position.

-Stuart

EDIT: Just watched a few videos from the Fall 2009 tour where Eddie plays the high A in the into with a pinky stretch, keeping his hand in the C position, as originally suggested by Neil. I still prefer "workaround number 3."

[AcousticAl]

Hi Stuart,

Good work in progress.

One reason you might want to play the partial G-chord with your 2nd and 3rd fingers is for the change to the Dm chord in the chorus(not played in your video). I use my 3rd finger as a pivot point and keep it planted on the B-string on that change from G to Dm.

Your other question about playing the high E on the actual E-string-- I've tried that way and it gives a different sound/vibe to me. It rings out and isn't controlled like the rest of the song.

Looking forward to your updates!

[sws626]

Thanks Al. I appreciate your suggestion and the chance to learn from your example. I haven't gotten to the chorus yet, but will bear this in mind when I get there.

-Stuart

[jayswett]

I tend to play that high E note with the open E string. It does sound slightly different than the original, but not enough for my amateur ear to take offense. Great song.

[sws626]

Thanks Jay. Right now the limiting factor is working my right hand muscles up to moving at this tempo.