CAGED

[That_Guy]

1. Don’t worry about any of the shapes except for the six string E major in the five string a major. All of the other shapes are fairly impossible or useless unless you’re a super advanced player.

2. Are you asking how many strings to play or how close to the headstock?

3 The lowest note in pitch or another words the note with the most bass. This is whatever note is played on the thickest string

4. You should memorize the notes on the low E and a string as most cords are routed on these two strings. I would only worry about memorizing up to about the seventh fret

• This reply was modified 4 years, 7 months ago by  That_Guy.
• This reply was modified 4 years, 7 months ago by  That_Guy.
• This reply was modified 4 years, 7 months ago by  That_Guy.

[Bill_Brown]

Hi Ursula ( @campfire ), CAGED is all about barre chords, so yes there’s going to be a lot of barring going on. Do you recall your post a few months ago where you asked something about the C chord, and I responded talking about using an A shaped barre chord to play a C chord? Well this is where you’re going to learn about that.

The most important thing to take away from this lesson is that these chord shapes have a root string – and as you move these shapes up the neck (toward the guitar body), they become different chords, and it’s the note on the root string (that your index finger is barring) which dictates what the name of that chord shape becomes. For example, lets use the E shaped chord. The root string is the lo E string for the E shape. So if I place my index finger across all 6 strings at the 3rd fret, and make the E chord shape with my other 3 fingers, then I’ve made a G chord. Why is it a G chord? Because I fretted the lo E string at the 3rd fret, which is a G note, thus a G chord! So it is important to know what string is the root string for each of the CAGED chord shapes.

Now as far as barre chord shapes go, the E shape and the A shape are the most common shapes used – so those shapes would be the ones that I’d suggest you practice fretting. The C shape barre chord is makable, but very rarely used and the D and G shaped barre chords are almost impossible to fret. However, that being said, the C, D and G chord shapes are used up and down the neck as open shapes (not barred) but the same rules apply about the root string and root note to dictate which chords they’ll become.

Good luck Ursula – I hope what I’ve said here makes sense to you and most importantly, that it helps you understand a little more about the CAGED system

Bill Brown

[JohnV]

ok I’ll give it a shot.

1) yes a lot are difficult and not really useable. You need long, lean, and limber fingers. Just know that they exist.

2) the bar is used to fill in the notes that the guitar nut would make on an open shape chord.

3) the root note is the chord tone note. For caged shapes, it will be the thickest string note and is generally the lowest tone.

4) yes, it will help on at least the 5th and 6th (low A,low E) strings. D string roots are also helpful.

5) first, know your shapes and which is the lowest note of the shape. The root dictates the chord tone. There is a connection between shapes that is a bit hard to see. I don’t have a complete grasp yet.

@That_Guy is right, learn your E shape and A shape bar chords and you will have 50% of the battle won.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 7 months ago by  JohnV.

[JohnV]

I was thinking of doing a video to step through the Caged shapes using C “chords” and A “chords”. but this guy already did it. I wish he would have continued with the A chords instead of stopping at the G shapped A chord. Check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GY0gqm8Z64

[N-lightMike]

@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 😀