Hi Susan,

there are a few ways to play the A and am not sure what lesson you are referencing but I am going to guess that what Christopher is showing is good starter position, but I also think I am safe in saying that once you progress, you may find different ways to play the A chord and it will most likely be song specific.

The chord progression you have is the chord progression for "Wild Thing" and when I learned to play it, I learned a method that kept my index finger on the 3rd string - 2cnd fret the whole time as I transitioned between the chords. I also wrap my thumb around the neck to mute the low E string - but you may not be at that stage yet and this may not be possible if you have a small hand and fat neck guitar.

On some songs like "Breaking the Law" all that is required is a simple bar across the 2cnd fret to make the A chord and this works well because it is a fast tempo high gain song so you don't need to be all that clean to play the song.

In terms of pressure, this is definately a time in thing. The more you play the more accustomed you will become at using less pressure. It just happens on its own, so I wouldn't try to force it, just keep practicing.

Good luck

See edit below...