Originally Posted by: kvsealegsThere must be a name for it. A name that the music theory purists would approve. I have tried to find it on the internet, and the best I came up with was an alternate G. But it is more than an alternate. It's kinda pretty. I would likely use it when playing a C add 9 or a D sus 4 with a pull off to D. But it just isn't a true G. The ring finger plays the D on the third fret of the second string to convert the natural B in the G chord.

As a "seasoned" beginner with a whole year and a half of guitar and music theory under my belt, this frustrates me.... Everyone seems to pass this G off as just a regular G, while creating fancy sus and add names for every other embellishment.

Can you answer this conundrum?

It is just a different voicing of a G chord. It kind of combines the voicing of the "regular" 3 fingered open G chord and the barre chord form you would play on the 3rd fret.

By adding the note on the B string on the 3rd fret, you are just adding another D note to the open G voicing. G major is made up of G, B, and D notes. Guitar chords often have redundant notes from different octaves in the chord.