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@campfire @That_Guy @Bill_Brown @JohnV
You are certainly not alone in misunderstanding the CAGED system. To believe that the CAGED system is simply about movable barre chords is to miss 90% of the importance of the CAGED system.
1- As already stated, few people play these complete shapes, but all advanced players play these shapes all the time as either arpeggios (individual notes) or partial chords (just 3 or 4 of the strings, or even just 2).
2- I don’t understand the question.
3- Lowest in sound. Toward the guitar body is “higher” (in sound) and toward the headstock (the string tightening thingy) is “lower” (in sound). Along the same line, the “1st” string is the highest string, not highest from the ground, but highest in sound, so it is the thinnest string, and it’s called the high E string. The “6th” string is the lowest string (in sound), and it’s at the “top” when holding the guitar and it’s called the low E string.
4- Yes, absolutely, to advance as a guitarist, you will need to “memorize” the notes on the low E string and A string at the very least. At first, this may seem daunting, but it’s not as hard as it at first seems. Start with the low E string (the high E will be the same notes). Each fret is a half tone. So it starts with the note E, then the first fret is F, and the second is F#, third is G, etc. What you will find, is that the chords you learn will help you remember where the notes are and the CAGED system will give you the understanding of the organization of the notes to start intuitively remembering the notes as you learn. CAGED is far more important than you can understand at this point. The sooner you learn it, the more it will help you as time goes on. Just understand the “concept” at this time.
5- The order of different shaped chords in the same key are C, A, G, E, D. To “see” the progression from the C shape to the A shape, you must understand that the root note on the A string is the same for both shapes. So, the open C chord, you play the 2nd string (B), 1st fret; 4th string (D), 2nd fret; and the 5th string (A), 3rd fret. The 5th string, 3rd fret is the lowest C note, that is, the root note. If you play an A shaped C chord, you play the 5th string, 3rd fret (same root note); 4th sting, 5th fret; 3rd string, 5th fret; 2nd string, 5th fret; and 1st string, 3rd fret. So if you put a capo on the 3rd fret and pretend that was your nut, then play an open A chord, you’d be playing an A shaped C chord. (Put a capo on the 5th fret and play an open G chord and you’d be playing a G shaped C chord. Put a capo on the 8th fret and play an open E chord, and you’d be playing an E shaped C chord. Put a capo on the 10th fret and play an open D chord, and you’d be playing a D shaped C chord. Notice how each of these chord shapes share a common C note. That common note is where you are putting the capo, or the barre. And by the way, I can actually play all these shapes. Not well enough to play in a song, but well enough to make them sound out clean and clear. Just trying to play them helps me to visualize the note relationships, the organization, the patterns, whatever you want to call it. The CAGED system is what makes it way easier to see the relationships of all the notes on the whole fretboard.)
I hope this helps. Please feel free to ask further questions. And re-watch the CAGED video as many times as it takes. The CAGED system allows guitarists to play chords and solos all over the neck. It describes the order and pattern of the notes on the guitar neck.
MG 😀
