[Sentry]

How exactly does memorizing the patterns shown in Kirk's CAGED lesson help? I mean, I know that if I memorize those patterns I'll know, with practice, the location of every C, E, and G note on the fretboard. Is that all CAGED will do for me?

[EDIT] And btw, another question: How is CAGED different from Planetalk?

[Kirk Lorange]

Hi, Sentry.

It helps in many ways to see all those chord tones. If you're playing chords you can see all the inversions the whole length of the fretboard and you can create an interesting rhythm part by moving between them. Remember that all you need is one of each of the 3 chord tones to state that chord, so you can break the fretboard down into many little chunks of "C", or whatever chord is in play. You can also use all the double stops -- just two notes -- that emerge once you can see the fretboard as one long chord. Melodically, you can look down and see all the strongest melody notes for whatever chord is in play. Thinking scales makes it difficult to do this since you're looking at 7 notes and only 3 or 4 are 'boss' notes for that chord. Thinking chord tones lets you approach soloing from the opposite direction: strong notes first, lesser notes second.

PlaneTalk describes a very easy way to see that whole fretboard CAGED template, which is the way music itself on a guitar fretboard in standard tuning. Music is context, and on a guitar, the CAGED template is the context. PlaneTalk is one layer deeper than CAGED and as deep as you can go, or, to put it another way, the lowest common denominator for a fretboard. PlaneTalk makes it very easy (with lots of practice, of course) to mentally turn the CAGED -- which is major -- into whatever the actual flavor is, like minor, minor 7th, major 7th, 9th ... etc.

[Noodler]

Originally Posted by Sentry

How exactly does memorizing the patterns shown in Kirk's CAGED lesson help? I mean, I know that if I memorize those patterns I'll know, with practice, the location of every C, E, and G note on the fretboard. Is that all CAGED will do for me?

[EDIT] And btw, another question: How is CAGED different from Planetalk?

No, CAGED will do much more for you than that, but you need a teacher too. For instance, you may not use C-shaped barre chords, but you might pick 3 notes from that shape and make miniature chords. Lots of tricks from popular songs use that. One I was listening to today is "Alright Now" by Free/Paul Rogers.

-------------
--2-----3--2
--2-----2--2
--2-----4--2
--0--0-(0)-0
------------

It jumps between those two shapes. If you look at the 2nd shape, it's part of a C-shaped barre chord at 2nd fret, which is what D actually is. Heaps of songs use it. The Loved one By INXS uses that idea too.

So the idea, rhythm-wise, is to pick out partial chords (2 or 3 notes) out of the CAGED shapes. With a loud electric guitar, you don't need to play all 6 strings! Start Me Up by the Stones, Crazy Train, Hendrix stuff. All use partial chords.

PT is a different slant on it. Just my 2c here, but I think the idea of PT is to allow you to improvise more freely and musically . PT is Kirk's trade secret, so I hope it's OK to share with you that if you buy PT (assuming you haven't already) that he gives you access to a secret-squirel exclusive other forum where he is kind enough to answer your questions about how to use it, and there are some very useful diagrams on that site that hint at how Kirk comes up with his lines.

To be honest, I bought PT and sat on it for a year, unwilling to let go of scales, since when I went to lessons everything was pentatonic...and now it's gone modal at lessons. But the PT way is great if you want to improvise over chord changes like jazz players do, and so I've come back to it. It takes some work, and it's different from just running up and down a scale...again.

[Sentry]

Ok, so I've found this CAGED site, but I think I need more explanation in order to gain any benefit so I've just ordered the Planetalk system. Thanks for your input, guys.

[Noodler]

Good call, Sentry.

Kirk gives you plenty of explanation after you purchase, which is cool. I wish you could talk to the author of other books too! He's really passionate about helping people understand how it works and how to use it. Even better if you have a way to record. It's a practical thing.

Just want to say thanks again Kirk for answering my questions. You da man.

[Sentry]

Ya, Kirk is pretty awesome. And luckily I do have a way to record: My Mac + Garageband. I just don't post recordings of myself playing because I suck.

[carol m]

Originally Posted by Sentry

I just don't post recordings of myself playing because I suck.

That hasn't stopped me - go on, do your worst! How bad can it be????

[Sentry]

My playing is bad enough that the cat sometimes comes up to me and bats at the strings with his paw. I believe he's saying "No, no, no! Your strumming technique is all wrong! Do it like this!".


Seriously, though, it's pretty bad. And I don't even know one single song all the way through, either. There's a lot of chord progressions and arpeggios that I've made up, but none of them are complete songs either.

[Noodler]

Originally Posted by Sentry

Ya, Kirk is pretty awesome. And luckily I do have a way to record: My Mac + Garageband. I just don't post recordings of myself playing because I suck.

Don't worry, man, it's not youtube. It's pretty constructive and positive here. I'll be posting as soon as I have a way to do it (I need a mic and stuff).

[Kirk Lorange]

I'm sending that out today, Sentry, thanks for ordering.

Cats are very particular about music. The late Buster used to leave the room whenever I played an augmented chord. He'd wake from a deep sleep, look at me as if to say "what do you think you're doing to my ears?" and leave the room very annoyed.

[Sentry]

Thanks Kirk. I wasn't sure if you would recognize the email address. Mine is the recent order going to New York City. I have three email addresses, don't remember which one I registered for this forum with. Might be different from my Paypal email address. I figured I would contact you for access to the planetalker's forum after I got the package, but since you seem to have figured out which order is mine, no worries.


My late dog was a lot more supportive of my guitar playing than my cat. He would smile really big with his tongue lolling out whenever I played, no matter what I played or how badly. He seemed especially fond of A minor and C major arpeggios.

[Noodler]

Originally Posted by Kirk Lorange

I'm sending that out today, Sentry, thanks for ordering.

Cats are very particular about music. The late Buster used to leave the room whenever I played an augmented chord. He'd wake from a deep sleep, look at me as if to say "what do you think you're doing to my ears?" and leave the room very annoyed.

That's becuase cool cats (think Brian Setzer) like diminished chords, hehe.

Although we've got some neighbours cats we'd like to get rid of. Augmented chords you reckon, eh? Well, tried everything else. I'll give that a go!

[carol m]

Originally Posted by Noodler

Although we've got some neighbours cats we'd like to get rid of. Augmented chords you reckon, eh? Well, tried everything else. I'll give that a go!

You can't go wrong with a water pistol - works every time and no smoking gun.

[Sentry]

Water doesn't work on my cat. Every time he gets on the table he gets squirted. Five minutes later he's up there again. Walking on the table with the same paws he's walked in his litterbox with. Just gross. He keeps getting squirted and yelled at, but he never learns. I think he is learning impaired. The sigoth and I have started taking the table cloth off when we eat and putting it back when we're done.


Anyway, I look forward to getting Planetalk. Maybe I will eventually post some recordings of my playing. Once I know at least one song the whole way through. I know most of Fur Elise, but that fast solo in the middle has me stumped.

[Kirk Lorange]

Water doesn't work on my cat.

Add some lemon juice ...