CAGED Chord shapes

Mastering the neck should be a priority for every guitarists. The CAGED system is the perfect way to break down to the fretboard into 5 areas to help you learn the fretboard.

The system uses the 5 open major chord shapes (C, A, G, E, D) as the foundation and then the system is built upon that.

The system works by turning the open chord shapes into movable shapes that can then be played across the neck. This requires a good fretboard knowledge to be effective.

Start by learning the notes names on the E (6th string) and A (5th string)strings. Go here to practise this!

The positions are:

Pos 1 E shape (6th String root)

Pos 2 D shape (4th String root)

Pos 3 C shape (5th String root)

Pos 4 A shape (5th String root)

Pos 5 G shape (6th String root)

Where to Start?

The most commonly used shapes are Positions 1 and 4 - these shapes are the best place to start.

The red dot indicates the root note so if you shift a position 1 chord up to the 5th fret it turns from being a G chord to a A chord as the 5th fret on the low E string is an A.

Start by learning Pos 1 and 4 for the major and minor chords and then try to learn the extended chords which are the major 7ths, minor 7ths, dominant 7ths and minor7b5 chords.

The extended chords are often used in styles of music such as Jazz or RnB but you may find them in pop music as well.

The best way to practice these chords is by creating a chord progression or using song you already know and seeing how many different ways you can play it using the different shapes.