[Chaotic Kittie]

I've heard this being mentioned a lot here... especially when people are talking about PT.
What is it?

[cshude]

They are the first chords you want to learn on guitar- C, A, G, E, D. Once you have those in major and minor, there are literally thousands of songs you can play.

[allthumbs]

Originally Posted by cshude

They are the first chords you want to learn on guitar- C, A, G, E, D. Once you have those in major and minor, there are literally thousands of songs you can play.

Yup. You can add a bar on the bottom of them and move them up and down the neck to make various chords in different shapes.

[Chaotic Kittie]

Ah.. I see.. add a bar on the bottom of them? What exactly do you mean by that?

[allthumbs]

Ok. Play an A minor at the first and second fret, the open A minor chord. Bar, for example, the fith fret with your index finger and think of it as the nut. Make the same A minor shape with the other 3 fingers on the 6 and 7 fret and you have a D minor. Count up from the root of A, the a in cAged, the open A string. It would go A#,B,C,C#, D. From the first fret to the 5 fret. Find the root for each of the 5 chords so you can name them and then start throwing a bar behind them and up the neck you go.

[Chaotic Kittie]

ah, just normal barring then I see... I just got a little confused when you said "on the bottom of them".

More specifically it is a way to help learn the fretboard.
For instance the C major chord can be found as a C shaped open chord or 3 frets up as an A shaped barre chord, or 5 frets up as a Gshaped barre chord,or 8 frets up as an E shaped barre chord or 10 frets up as a D shaped barre chord.

So for example, if you are playing an A shaped barre chord at any fret then the next inversion of that chord up the neck will always be the G shaped barre chord 2 frets up.

Some of those inversions can be hard to play any you may end up only using only some of the notes but knowing the shapes does help you improve your concept of the fretboard.

[Kirk Lorange]

Well put, BuddyManx ...

[iltpff]

Originally Posted by BuddyManx

More specifically it is a way to help learn the fretboard.
For instance the C major chord can be found as a C shaped open chord or 3 frets up as an A shaped barre chord, or 5 frets up as a Gshaped barre chord,or 8 frets up as an E shaped barre chord or 10 frets up as a D shaped barre chord.

So for example, if you are playing an A shaped barre chord at any fret then the next inversion of that chord up the neck will always be the G shaped barre chord 2 frets up.

Some of those inversions can be hard to play any you may end up only using only some of the notes but knowing the shapes does help you improve your concept of the fretboard.

Buddy, regarding your first comment about the CAGED system, how do you know what type of form you are supposed to be using at a certain fret, i.e., when you say "D" shaped bar chord, are you talking about the bar first, then form a d chord with the rest of your fingers like you would a normal "D" chord shape at the second fret?

In reference to your second comment about playing the A shapped barre chord, I thought two frets up would be some form of a "B" as it is a whole step? How is this different with teh CAGED system?

Anthony

[si16]

When you move two frets up you also change from the A shape to the G chord shape. The root stays the same because you are moving down a string but 5 frets up.

[iltpff]

Originally Posted by si16

When you move two frets up you also change from the A shape to the G chord shape. The root stays the same because you are moving down a string but 5 frets up.

But isn't the G chord shape the one that you use on the 2nd and third fret? I think you mean the barred G right? shaped like an E chord?

Now my brain is fizzling...

[Kirk Lorange]

No, iltpff, it's the open G shape we're referring to; the CAGED system isn't so much a guide to playing chords, but a way to see the notes that make up the chords (1s, 3s and 5s)so you can use them to create melody. If you look at the whole template, which stretches from one end of the fretboard to the other, you're looking at all the chord tones for that chord. They are the strongest notes to wrap your melodies around.

Once you get the major CAGED template locked in, you can then adjust it mentally for any other chord flavor ... you add notes to the template for extended chords, tweak any of the 1,3 5s for sus, aug, dim chords. It comes in very handy. Below is the CAGED pattern for C major. All those notes are either 1s, 3s or 5s of C major. All 12 major chords can be seen in this way.

It starts with the open C shape; then the A form barre C chord; next comes the open G shape you were asking about; then it's the E form barre shape; then the open D shape. Then it starts again above the 12th fret.

CAGED


0||---|---|-0-|---|---|---|---|-0-|---|---|---|-0-|---|---|---|---|
-||-0-|---|---|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|---|---|---|-0-|---|---|---|
0||---|---|---|---|-0-|---|---|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|---|---|---|
-||---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|---|---|---|-0-|---|---|---|-0-|---|---|
-||---|---|-0-|---|---|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|---|---|---|-0-|---|
0||---|---|-0-|---|---|---|---|-0-|---|---|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|

[iltpff]

Originally Posted by Kirk Lorange

No, iltpff, it's the open G shape we're referring to; the CAGED system isn't so much a guide to playing chords, but a way to see the notes that make up the chords (1s, 3s and 5s)so you can use them to create melody. If you look at the whole template, which stretches from one end of the fretboard to the other, you're looking at all the chord tones for that chord. They are the strongest notes to wrap your melodies around.

Once you get the major CAGED template locked in, you can then adjust it mentally for any other chord flavor ... you add notes to the template for extended chords, tweak any of the 1,3 5s for sus, aug, dim chords. It comes in very handy. Below is the CAGED pattern for C major. All those notes are either 1s, 3s or 5s of C major. All 12 major chords can be seen in this way.

It starts with the open C shape; then the A form barre C chord; next comes the open G shape you were asking about; then it's the E form barre shape; then the open D shape. Then it starts again above the 12th fret.

CAGED


0||---|---|-0-|---|---|---|---|-0-|---|---|---|-0-|---|---|---|---|
-||-0-|---|---|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|---|---|---|-0-|---|---|---|
0||---|---|---|---|-0-|---|---|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|---|---|---|
-||---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|---|---|---|-0-|---|---|---|-0-|---|---|
-||---|---|-0-|---|---|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|---|---|---|-0-|---|
0||---|---|-0-|---|---|---|---|-0-|---|---|---|-0-|---|---|-0-|---|

Kirk, is this for every key? How do you apply the CAGED system shaped chord to the Key of "D" with the open D major on the second fret being the first chord, then G major as the second, then A7; are you still using the CAGED system? If so, I thought that the Caged system were the chord shapes of the letters CAGED?

Are you supposed to for, for example, take the 1, 3, & 5 notes and fins them all on the fret board, then find the chord shape for the D first on the lower frets, then A somewhere higher up where the a notes are, etc?

I am a little confused as in the CAGED, the A is the 6th chord from the C.

I am making a mess out of it huh?

[Kirk Lorange]

Originally Posted by iliketoplayforfun

Kirk, is this for every key? How do you apply the CAGED system shaped chord to the Key of "D" with the open D major on the second fret being the first chord, then G major as the second, then A7; are you still using the CAGED system? If so, I thought that the Caged system were the chord shapes of the letters CAGED?

Are you supposed to for, for example, take the 1, 3, & 5 notes and fins them all on the fret board, then find the chord shape for the D first on the lower frets, then A somewhere higher up where the a notes are, etc?

I am a little confused as in the CAGED, the A is the 6th chord from the C.

I am making a mess out of it huh?

For D it becomes DCAGE, for E the EDCAG ... but they always follow that CAGED order. Think of them written in a circle. It helps to always think of notes written in a circle. In this case, though, the way the arrange themselves on the fretboard, you have to go counterclockwise.



This has nothing to do with keys, it's just a chord thing, a way of seeing one chord for what it truly is: a bunch of tones scattered the length of the fretboard. They're the notes that make up the chord -- chord tones -- and obviously they are the strongest notes to use for anything (riffs, solos, licks etc.) while that chord is in play. When the chord changes, the tones shift position, and now they are the strong notes. No need to think scales/modes ... since you should always know what chord is being played anyway, that's pretty much all you need to track. Scales and modes fade into the background.

[iltpff]

Originally Posted by Kirk Lorange

For D it becomes DCAGE, for E the EDCAG ... but they always follow that CAGED order. Think of them written in a circle. It helps to always think of notes written in a circle. In this case, though, the way the arrange themselves on the fretboard, you have to go counterclockwise.



This has nothing to do with keys, it's just a chord thing, a way of seeing one chord for what it truly is: a bunch of tones scattered the length of the fretboard. They're the notes that make up the chord -- chord tones -- and obviously they are the strongest notes to use for anything (riffs, solos, licks etc.) while that chord is in play. When the chord changes, the tones shift position, and now they are the strong notes. No need to think scales/modes ... since you should always know what chord is being played anyway, that's pretty much all you need to track. Scales and modes fade into the background.

Now does this mean then, that you first play the D chord on the second fret, then the open C shape; then the A form barre C chord; next the open G shape, then the E form barre shape?