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New to fretboard wizard
Good morning from the UK. New starter to FW and it’s so informative. I’ve got to the Caged system after a struggle but a good one. However, can you guys help with Caged. Where do I place my index finger on C, I get it with A as to me it’s the same as barring but others have got me foxed. Is this system an alternative to barre chords as I haven’t understood it’s purpose yet. Thanks iin anticipation.
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8 Replies
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You are going to be using your index finger to barre your chord as you move up the neck of the guitar. Tony will go into more explanations and modifications as you get deeper into the chapter.
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I’m working on the CAGED system lessons now, too. My understanding of Tony’s explanation was that forming the barred C shape chords is made a little easier by using the index finger on the open G string and only playing the 2,3,4,5, strings, or using a mini barre over the 1,2,3 strings while fingering the normal C shape with your middle, ring and pinky. Playing the full barre is way too tough for me, I’m still not able to get clean sounds out of many barre chords. But FBW and TAC have sure helped me to improve that.
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Hi @Powelly , hope you’re enjoying the FW2 course – it was full of goodies for me. The C shaped barre chord isn’t too hard to make. You’ll want to lay your index finger across the hiE, B & G strings, then place the middle finger 1 fret above the index on the B string. You’ll notice that right there at that point, you’re fretting a D chord shape with just those 2 fingers. Do a sound check with that D shape, if those 3 strings ring out clear, then you’re on the “home stretch” of making that C shaped barre chord. Finally, place the ring finger on the D string and the pinkie on the A string in that C chord form and viola, you have the C shaped barre chord.
Best of luck with making the different CAGED barre chord shapes😎
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This reply was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by Bill_Brown.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by
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thanks to you all, much appreciated.
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Hello @Powelly ;
Simple answer: No.
Wait, what’s the question?
“Is this system an alternative to barre chords as I haven’t understood it’s purpose yet.”
Ok, this is one of those “trick” sentences. So let’s break it down. There’s a question in the first part of this run on sentence: “Is this system an alternative to barre chords?”
No, it is not an “alternative” to anything. It does show all 5 barre chord shapes. Most people don’t get beyond playing 2 of the shapes, the E shape and the A shape. The others are possible, and a few guitarists actually master playing all 5 barre chords, but they do it on an electric guitar or a nylon string, not a steel string acoustic. At least, I’ve never seen anyone play all 5 barre chord shapes on a steel string.
So, since we are not going to use these barre chord shapes for playing, then what’s the purpose?
Yeah, that’s the real question and is implied in the second half of your run on sentence: “as I haven’t understood it’s purpose yet.”
So, what is the purpose of the CAGED system? Simple, this is a way to organize the notes of the fretboard in a way that we can actually explain and understand and remember every single note on the fretboard without sheer power of memorization.
You have 5 open chords with 5 associated scale patterns. You can find the notes of C major surrounding the open C chord. Then find the notes of A major surrounding the open A chord. Then find the notes of G major surrounding the open G chord. Then find the notes of E major surrounding the open E chord. Then find the notes of D major surrounding the open D chord.
However, it’s actually easier to just use one root note. Find the notes of the C major scale, all natural notes, surrounding the 5 shapes of the C major chord. Same shapes as the 5 open chords. These open chords then give us a name that makes sense for each shape. So the C shaped C major chord has it’s root on the 3rd fret of the 5th string. The A shaped C major chord has it’s root on the 3rd fret of the 5th string also, but the chord is toward the body of the guitar from that note rather than toward the head stock. The G shaped C major chord has it’s root on the 8th fret of the 6th string. The E shaped C major chord has it’s root on the 8th fret of the 6th string also, but the chord is toward the body of the guitar instead of toward the head stock. The D shaped C major chord has it’s root on the 10th fret of the 4th string.
Here is a chart showing all the natural notes on the fret board. It also shows all 5 chord shapes and the associated 5 scale patterns.
I hope this helps.
MG 😀
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Hello Mike, I really am very grateful for your most detailed reply, unfortunately my mind is now a fog. I feel I have lots of information but none is joined up as I guess it should be, hence I don’t understand the the course.
I think I need to go back to the start and try again to work out the point of it all. Maybe it’s a bit to far for a beginner.
Once again many thanks.
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No, no, no, @Powelly it’s not too much for a beginner. In fact, it’s exactly what a beginner should be learning. I’m so sorry if I threw too much at you.
So, here’s the thing, don’t worry about “understanding” the CAGED system. Just learn the open chords and use them for songs. And of course, I’m talking about the C major chord, the A major chord, the G major chord, the E major chord, and the D major chord. As you learn them, remember where the lowest root note is. That’s the important part.
So, the root notes: The root note of the C major chord is on the 5th string, 3rd fret. The root of the A chord is the 5th string, open. The G root is 6th string, 3rd fret. The E is 6th string, open. The D is 4th string, open. For now, that’s all you need to remember.
As you progress, those root notes will be used in your playing. Those root notes will shape your strumming, flat picking and finger picking. Just the idea that those root notes can theoretically be moved will help you start seeing the fretboard in a different way.
You also want to learn the 5 shapes. As time goes on, you will see more and more connections between the chord shapes and the scale patterns and understand more and more what you can do with those shapes and connections.
Yes, go through the course again… and again… and again. Give the information time to sink in and reach your fingers. Don’t turn this into an intellectual thing cause it’s not. It’s all about the sound you make and how you make that sound on the guitar. It takes time. Be patient and have fun. Find ways to enjoy playing your guitar right now. And as long as you keep doing that, you are on the happy road of your guitar journey.
MG 😀
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Hey @Powelly ;
I just found another way to help you understand the CAGED system.
I’m assuming you took the 30 days to play course? Look at 30 Days To Play Guitar Challenge, Week 1 – Learn The Basics Of Guitar With The Blues. In the introduction, Tony says you will learn 3 variations of a song, and you can play them all over the neck.
Notice that all 3, The Blues Shuffle, The Blues Baseline, and The Blues Boogie. use A, D and E “shapes”, or chords. At this point, he doesn’t want to cause confusion and he just calls them the A, D, and E “positions”. Notice that the Shuffle and the Boogie use the open A string, the open D string and the open E string as your bass note, and you can call that a root note even though you are playing notes and not a chord.
Notice that one of the notes you are playing in the Blues Shuffle is on the 2nd fret. Now, look at the open E chord, the open A chord, and the open D chord. The next string after the “root” string, is on the 2nd fret. Try it. Play an E chord, the 5th string is fretted on the 2nd fret. The A chord is rooted on the 5th, and the 4th string is fretted on the 2nd. Same for the D chord, the 4th string is your root note, and the 3rd string is fretted on the second.
The Blues Boogie throws in more notes, but you still play the open 5th string and the 2nd fret of the 4th string for the “A position”. The open 4th string and the 2nd fret of the 3rd string for the “D position”. And yep, the open 6th string and the 2nd fret of the 5th string for the “E position”.
Now, let’s look closer at the Blues Bassline, the second lesson in Week 1. Open the tab and look at it. You will see that the root note for the A position is the 5th fret of the 6th string. Now, look at an open E chord. Notice that the root is the open 6th string, and the 5th and 4th string are fretted at the 2nd fret. Now, look back at the tab for the Blues Bassline and see that it plays the 5th fret on the 6th string and the 7th fret on the 5th and 4th strings. You are picking out some of the notes of the “E shaped” A major chord, even though you aren’t playing or fretting the chord. You have simply slide the E shape up 5 frets.
Now, notice the root of the D position is the same 5th fret, on the 5th string, and it uses notes that are 2 frets higher on the 4th and 3rd strings just like the open A chord. And then the E position still uses the 5th string, just slide up 2 more frets.
So the Blues Bassline is picking out some of the notes of the E shaped A major chord, the A shaped D major chord and the A shaped E major chord.
That’s what CAGED means. You can use those 5 open chords to figure out how to play all over the fretboard. You won’t see the whole, big picture for a while. Don’t worry about it. Just learn what you can and have fun with what you can.
Remember, you can play cool sounding stuff without understanding what you’re playing or why it’s cool sounding. The notes and the music don’t care if you understand. Your audience doesn’t care if you understand if you are playing something they like.
MG 😀
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