Aug 02, 20 okay, so in one of my online polls you guys said that you would like me to give you an. Theartofguitar the caged system tends to baffle many players but once. The caged system focuses on these beginner guitar chords and then, once youve mastered them, how to move those shapes around the fretboard as bar chords. Aug 10, 20 think of this lesson as a handson tutorial.
How to use the a form to play the caged system on the. Caged is a simple little system for broadly mapping out the fretboard as it relates to any chord. Learn acoustic or electric with this beginner lesson for the caged system. Caged is how scales and chords relate around the basic c, a, g, e and d major chord forms. Caged is not just a word for how chords can make us all feel sometimes in this case it is actually an anagram kindof. This figure shows the 5 forms of the caged system in their open positions. Sep 22, 20 in this video, i explain what the allimportant caged system is all about. Oct 01, 2016 theres a great way to learn all of the chords on your guitar. It describes the way music imposes herself on a guitar fretboard in stand. In this video, i explain what the allimportant caged system is all about. So the next step in the system is to move up to the third fret and play a fifth string c major bar chord. Use the caged system to quickly find your way around the fretboard. The immediate thought is that it will help find new positions for the same chord. As i mentioned before the caged system comes from combining the notes on the guitar neck with the notes of a chord.
How to use the a form to play the caged system on the guitar. By the end of this tutorial you should be able to construct the pattern for any scale or arpeggio yourself all the way up the guitar neck. Using our 7th caged shapes we should be able to ascend a harmonized major scale in 7th chords whilst remaining entirely inside the scale shape of the first caged chord voicing. In a nutshell, the caged system represents a system for learning one scale or arpeggio in five. Stepbystep, ill walk you through the basics of this system while providing practical assignmentsas if we were in a oneonone lesson. Caged is the system many country pickers use to learn how to play. It took the help of a good teacher to let go of the caged system and discover that there are other systems out there, more functional and less difficu. Jul 22, 2009 use the caged system to quickly find your way around the fretboard. The keys to the fretboard each scale shape is related to a chord shape and surrounds that chord shape so you can easily identify the name of each scale shape.
Start with each form in its open position, and then move up the neck by using different forms while staying on the same chord. Okay, so in one of my online polls you guys said that you would like me to give you an. I have read and reread the caged system in the practical music theory book but have failed to comprehend what it is. The a form is one of the most commonly used shapes and is typically what comes to mind when guitarists think of barre chords. In this lesson, well talk about what caged is, the chord forms used and how these chord forms are moved around the neck. The x means that the string is not played and the o means that the string is played open. The caged system and the importance of five positions. Caged is an acronym, as it refers to these five chords.
Caged system for guitar a simple explanation youtube. Pentatonic scales and the caged system lead guitar. Orville johnson takes a beginners look at the caged system. If youre not sure what the caged system is all about check out. The caged guitar system can be very useful to help you find your way around the fretboard.
Ernie hawkins is a renowned blues guitar player and teacher. Overall, the caged system helps crack the code of learning where certain notes are located all along your guitars fretboard. The five basic chord shapes discussed earlier give you all the information you need to move up and down the fretboard. With an approachable and engaging style, guitar theory for dummies goes beyond guitar basics, presenting the guidance intermediate to advanced players need to improve their improvisational and compositional skills. The caged system the caged system derives its name from five basic open chord shapes. In this excerpt, raleigh will show you some easy ways to navigate the fretboard by introducing a simple. See if you recognise the open position chords that you probably learned. Its essential to know if you want to become an epic lead guitarist. Get a practical understanding of the caged system so you can start applying it in your own playing. An introduction to the caged system by scott blanchard in this edition of the theory corner, well take a look at an excerpt from raleigh greens new book, the versatile guitarist, available through alfred publishing.
Why the guitar caged system is not bad for you guitar music. Improve your guitar playing with online video lessons from. The caged system is not defined justin guitar community. It is also a very useful method for visualising chord tones across the neck of the guitar. Understanding the caged system will deepen your understanding of the instrument in many ways. To make use of the caged system it is important that you understand the di. The caged system is one of the most important lessons a guitarist can learn.
Here, you move up an open a chord and use it as an a form barre chord to play major chords all along the 5th string. The caged system guitar chords and major chords explained. Ive read about it, and seen a graphic showing all the points, but i must misunderstand the fundamentals, because whenever i try to replicate the diagrams myself, it goes wrong in some way. Idiots guide to the caged system guitarist academy. Welcome back to my absolute fretboard mastery series. Nov 14, 2017 the caged system is perfect in this regard. Now i will be trying my very best to explain the caged system, but let me tell you now that even the simplest guide to this system may sound notoriously complicated. But i guess its not as catchy last up is the d shape. The five chords do not have to be in open position, they can be played in fact anywhere on the neck. C a g e d thatll allow you to break out of the cycle of playing what youre used to.
The d form is unique in that its the only caged form that isnt rooted to either the 6th or 5th string on the guitar. Michael palmisano explains the caged system and how guitar players can use it to learn the fretboard along with basic music theory, to get started playing quickly. Basic chord progressions in a song, chords progress from one to another. When we play a basic chord progression in a different key, we call that transposing. This method greatly helps to simplify the almost endless number of chords that you find in a chord book by replacing them with 5 forms that you can apply across the fretboard. The caged method takes its name from the fact that there are only five basic chord forms. Guitarists have always sought to understand the instrument in a variety of ways. The caged system can easily be modified to adjust for all of its limitations, so it is just fine to learn it, if it is taught correctly.
Introduction to the caged system which breaks the guitar neck into five areas of study. Why the guitar caged system is not bad for you guitar. These chord shapes correspond to the common chords c, a, g, e and d, hence the systems name. Using the caged system to master your guitars fretboard. The caged system divides the guitar neck into manageable chunks based around five different chord shapes the chord shape of c, the chord shape of a, and the chord shapes of g, e and d. In reality the caged system should be call edcag as e is first position. So caged is just cmajor, amajor, gmajor, emajor and dmajor. First, lets lay the foundation by learning the five basic chords in the caged system.
T he caged system is a way to look at the fretboard that will allow you to learn scales, chords and arpeggios all the way up the neck. The caged system tends to baffle many players but once they understand it, it always opens up a new world of possibilities for necksploration. The image below gives a highlevel view of all 5 chords plotted on the fretboard using the caged system. The caged system is a nice way for beginners to intermediates to see the fretboard in context. Its awkward to finger and technically isnt a barre chord. The caged system is a great way of learning scales and arpeggios in different positions across the fretboard.
Mar 15, 2014 the five scale shapes are derived from the caged system. Caged system a guide for guitarists ds music author. Master the caged system for guitar fundamental changes. The five scale shapes are derived from the caged system. Sorry if this is a bit basic, but ive been playing for about 5 years now, and im nowhere near as good as i expected to be at this. By hal leonard corporation, jon chappell, mark phillips, desi serna. The caged system is an incredible method for understanding how to play several variations of any major chord across the guitar neck. In this months edition of the column were going to be delving into a very useful visual technique called the caged chord system. How to connect the five caged forms on the guitar dummies. It is how the guitar works and comes directly from the tuning of the instrument combined with western harmony. To learn the chords in the caged system you must know how to barre chords. Pentatonic scales and the caged system lead guitar playing part 1 in the previous lesson we discussed what scales are, why theyre important, and the many benefits of learning them well. A basic chord progressio n is a set of chords that are common to many songs.
Now i will be trying my very best to explain the caged system, but let me tell you now that even the simplest guide to this system may. C chord shape a chord shape etc is clear but what it does and why escapes me. As with some of the other caged forms, you dont usually use it in. Caged guitar system, as the name implies, refers to the common major chords c a g e d in open position. On the guitar, you connect the five caged forms all with the same chord to cover the whole fretboard. I had studied the similar, but overreduced, gdb system for ukulele and heard about the far superior cagfd for uke, and bosko in a video on the bosko and honey website from which i managed to work out most of the cagfd system, with the help of the dgb system, which is structurally the same mentions that cagfd was derived from caged, so i. The caged system derives its name from five basic open chord shapes. It is considered to be a quite natural approach to learning the guitar and expanding the players knowledge of chords, scales and arpeggios in a logical and. Realising this is the key to understanding the caged system. A clearcut guide to learning the entire guitar fretboard paperback october 1, 2009. Another great disadvantage of the caged system is that it tends to confine you in position playing, i. Which, as you should know by now, uses the a chord shape. The caged guitar system is a powerful tool for any guitarist.
Print or download them to develop your guitar playing. The guitarists guide to the caged system 20801 premier. Aug 17, 2017 the caged system tends to baffle many players but once they understand it, it always opens up a new world of possibilities for necksploration. Ive highlighted the lowest root note in green to show which note youll start on for each chord shape. This is where the caged system for guitar comes in. It stands for the chords c,a,g,e and d all in their major forms well be avoiding minor because it just gets way too complicated. The guitarists guide to the caged system by mike cramer. You should find that after understanding this system that a lot of things make more sense and i will try and point out the most important things as we go and link to relevant lessons. Next, you need to know where the root of the chord is located in each of the five shapes. Getting locked into the caged system will have its disadvantages i am sure, but i think most guitar players know when to seek alternatives and will probably be curious to explore other options anyway.
Note that we use roman numerals to identify which chord of the. Ive been meaning to add this lesson for some time, so after harassment from certain members of the forum and seeing the question asked a few times i have decided to use some time off. This lesson will teach you how to understand and apply the caged system for both lead and rhythm guitar. Caged system guitar chords guitar music theory by desi serna. The caged system makes use of 5 basic open chords to help you better visualize your guitars fretboard. It doesnt matter what style of music you play, or if you play acoustic guitar or electric guitar, this method of fretboard navigation is essential for all guitar players. I realise that it means you can play chords in different shapes but i have to ask for what purpose. See all 5 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. Free caged system a guide for guitarists from ds music. If you are new to the caged guitar system then stick around because you are about to learn a very useful thing. This video is the first in a 3 dvd video series on a very powerful system for learning the guitar fretboard called the c a g ed system taught by ernie hawkins. The idea is based on the relationship between common major chord and major scale shapes. We focused on major scales, because they are in a sense, the master scale.
Youll be able to play all over the fretboard and see better the. Learn how to convert all open position chords to moveable shapes. With the guitar caged chord system, you barre each of the five open forms and move around the neck playing different chords in other positions, but thats only the beginning you see, the caged system doesnt end with making barre chords. This is one of the secrets that my guitar teachers never taught me and i wish that they had. If you dont believe that the caged system is technically inferior, i suggest the two following three exercises. The caged system is the key to finding your way around the fretboard. The caged system is a very important concept that applies equally to both rhythm guitar and lead guitar. The whole idea of using the caged method to create guitar solos is a very useful one but is sometimes oversold when you hear it spoken about. You should now have a better picture of how the caged system works in the key of c. Plus, with access to audio tracks and video instruction online you can master the concepts and techniques covered in the book. How to use the g form to play the caged system on the guitar. The 5 major scale caged shapes positions guitarhabits. In this excerpt, raleigh will show you some easy ways to. Understanding the caged system the first step in learning the caged system is to analyze the chords in the 1st position.
The caged system is an incredible method for understanding how to play several variations of any major chord across the guitar neck this is one of the secrets that my guitar teachers never taught me and i wish that they had. Not every guitarist thinks in terms of caged, but my opinion is that its extremely effective, and extremely easy to learn. Youll be able to play all over the fretboard and see better the relationships between chords, scales and arpeggios. Mar 25, 2019 in terms of the caged chord system, this is the first or c position. Many players use the c a g e d system without even being aware of it. The caged system is based on the recognition that although there are many major chords on the neck of the guitar, there are really only. It is used extensively on this site, even though it is rarely actually referred to as the caged system. Players who first learn about the caged system often wonder how to use it.