Look Who it Was Random video

caged system chords

2,133 views · Published 24 June 2016 · 10:10 · Indexed 14 November 2026

Channel: New Secret Guitar Teacher · 2016 · Music

Watch on YouTube

Using caged system. Caged system chords. Using the caged system to find major chords on guitar. Guitar fretboard knowledge.

From the Secret Guitar Teacher Site. Click to access a free tour: http://secretguitarteacher.com/youtube/ssb.php?lp_id=1565

Video script:
To develop your use of the CAGED system to work with chords it is probably a good idea to orientate yourself first to just MAJOR chords. At first glance this seems easy because, after all, the naming of the shapes in the CAGED system is based on Major chords - C in the word CAGED stands for C as in the basic open chord shape for C ; A for the open A shape; G for G  and so on...

But once we move away from the familiar territory of the first three frets on the guitar, strange things can start to happen as we lose the use of the open strings in the chord. So a 'C' shaped Eb chord, for example, can't be played just by moving the C up the fret board like this  because we have left this open string note behind. And to include that note in a movable shape is awkward, as it requires quite a stretched out, four-fingered shape like this. It's a nice sound, but not an easy shape to grab in a hurry.

So generally, as we think of movable shapes for each of the CAGED system patterns, we tend to pare chords down to just three strings. One of the effects of this is to bring to light previously unseen connections between chord shapes.
 
For example if I play C here in the open position and focus in on just the top three strings, I only need one finger to play it in the open position as a C chord  However as I slide it up the fretboard to make C#. I have to bring these two open notes with me  and as soon as I finger those, I realise that actually I am playing what looks like a 'D' shape. So all this time there has been a D shape hidden in the C chord, but because it was made up of open strings it was hidden from view.

A similar thing occurs with the G shape - probably the first chord most of us ever learn - it's very familiar, but how long does it take us to spot the hidden A shape within the G chord?
 
Again, the use of un-fingered, open, strings keeps this hidden, but as soon as we turn this into a movable shape  we can spot the 'A' shape in the 'G' shape

To avoid confusion it helps, to always keep some awareness of how any shape you play relates to the CAGED system Octave Patterns. So if I play a D shape like this - I either frame it in my mind as belonging to the 'D' Part of the CAGED system  - in which case my octave pattern is here, linked to the 'D' string - or I can frame it as part of the 'C' shape by thinking of this octave pattern with the top note on the 'B' string.

A quick aside here: all the other shapes in the CAGED system can be linked to the open string of the same name. The A shape octave pattern comes off the A string, the G shape off the G string, the E shape off the E string and the D shape off the D string. But poor old C is the odd one out, because there isn't a C string.

But if we look at the situation from the opposite view - each open string has a CAGED system octave pattern associated with it except the B string

So the B string and the C shape are like the only two single people at a party otherwise made up of couples - in that situation - what else can they do but pair up with each other?

So whenever we discuss the CAGED system we think of the second string as being the 'C' string and you'll find that works perfectly well as a usable concept even though it sounds a bit weird!

So, when using common shapes like D and A, what we play with, before or after using these shapes and the fingering this causes us to use generally defines which part of the caged system we are using them in.

In the next lesson we'll look at how your music theory knowledge can help you use these basic major chord shapes as starter units to work out other chord types in each of the Five CAGED system positions.

More from this channel