So what is the simplicity in CAGED?

[ASATKat]

I am amazed at how much people have to say about the CAGED chords but never connect it to progressions. For example,

Dm7 G7 Cmaj7, if the Dm7 is found on the 5th fret, the practical G7 would be found at the 3rd fret, and the Cmaj7 would also be found on the 3rd fret.

A shape. . . . . E shape. . . . . .A shape
------------------------------
-6------------3------------5
-5------------4------------4
-7------------3------------5
-5------------5------------3
---------------3--------------

It's about understanding that the CAGED shapes are being used as the chords come flying by.

Here's another one,

. . . . .E . . . . . .A. . . . . . C. . . . . D shapes
Cmaj7 Em7 Fmaj7 G
-------------------------------
-----8-------8-------5------8
-----9-------7-------5------7
-----9-------9-------7------5
--------------7-------8-------
-----8------------------------7

Hopefully you see value in this. Makes me feel good to pay it forward.

 

[thunderbyrd]

ok, i am 100% sincere and do not wish to be rude, but i just don't get it at all. i know somewhat about CAGED. but if i were going to play the 3 chords in the beginning of your post, OF COURSE i would play those 3 iterations of those chords because they are close together on the fretboard. CAGED would not enter into my thinking there at all. what is the advantage of CAGED in this?

thank you for your help understanding this.

 

[ChicknPickn]

ok, i am 100% sincere and do not wish to be rude, but i just don't get it at all. i know somewhat about CAGED. but if i were going to play the 3 chords in the beginning of your post, OF COURSE i would play those 3 iterations of those chords because they are close together on the fretboard. CAGED would not enter into my thinking there at all. what is the advantage of CAGED in this?

thank you for your help understanding this.

Don't feel bad. I, too, sense there is something worth learning in CAGED, but have never been able to extract it.

 

[thunderbyrd]

Don't feel bad. I, too, sense there is something worth learning in CAGED, but have never been able to extract it.

yes, exactly. if someone could help me to make this jump, i'd be eternally grateful...

 

[klasaine]

On a standard tuned guitar, CAGED just 'exists'. One certainly does not have to use it, see it or even acknowledge it. I don't.
The acronym didn't exist when I was learning to play. I think I finally heard about it in 1981 when I was working in a music store. I came across it in a method book.

I had already sort of devised my own system by noticing that several different types of chords looked pretty much the same. For example; Am7, D9, C, Fmaj9 and Bbmaj7#11 all have a barre or partial barre at the 5th fret with just some extra stuff added in or taken away. At least that's how my teenage brain codified it.
What I extrapolated from that was "hey, if I can play this lick over a C chord - let's hear how it sounds over the D9 or Am7, etc." That was actually kinda revelatory and it got me to realize that there's a lot of inter-related stuff on the guitar. I still look for those similarities of patterns and shapes.

Back to CAGED.
I think it can help beginning guitarists get a handle on how the instrument is laid out.

 

[ASATKat]

CAGED helps me, in the backing tracks activity we have on twanger central, you can hear me play chords scales all the time. Mostly 2 - 3 note chords because they are easy to move around fast.
If you were to freeze frame on any chord solos you could relate it to CAGED. To me, this has been the best usage of CAGED. ** don't freeze frame on a gig while playing with a band.

In a regular song we play different chords and that means every chord has its own CAGED grid. Say C major was my first chord and the second chord was Dm, that means you need a D minor CAGED grid. Every chord in the song needs its own CAGED grid.
Think about it.

And the reality is you need to know all this right now, by ear, for the real CAGED chords to function as they should. It's all about how trained your ear is. Now do all this with your eyes are closed, by touch.

 

[duzie]

CAGED helps me, in the backing tracks activity we have on twanger central, you can hear me play chords scales all the time. Mostly 2 - 3 note chords because they are easy to move around fast.
If you were to freeze frame on any chord solos you could relate it to CAGED. To me, this has been the best usage of CAGED. ** don't freeze frame on a gig while playing with a band.

In a regular song we play different chords and that means ever chord has its own CAGED grid. Say C major was my first chord and the second chord was Dm, that means you need a D minor CAGED grid. Every chord in the song needs its own CAGED grid.
Think about it.

And the reality is you need to know all this right now, by ear, for the real CAGED chords to function as they should. It's all about how trained your ear is. Now do all this with your eyes are closed, by touch.

What is a d minor caged grid ?

 

[ASATKat]

What is a d minor caged grid ?

Think about it, D Major you know how to play it, if you lower one of those notes, say the first string down 1/2 step or one fret. By doing that you can play Dm. Hopefully you know that too. D Major and D minor. But not only is there the mechanical movement down 1/2 step, there is the sound difference. Getting all this in your ear is essential if you want to be a real player. A player that can figure out songs right in front of you.

So make a D minor dot/grid and just take it in for a whole. And if I told that it's a D minor CAGED grid that it is also an F major CAGED grid. Look up relative major, relative minor.

Next, forget all this and go play. Check out Twanger Central for the jam.

 

[ASATKat]

What is a d minor caged grid ?

Also Duzie, it's CAGED with capitals. All chords are named with capitals. 'D minor CAGED' or Dm CAGED
Now, forget all this and go play lol

 

[dsutton24]

Also Duzie, it's CAGED with capitals. All chords are named with capitals. 'D minor CAGED' or Dm CAGED
Now, forget all this and go play lol

No, not really. A lot of notation simply uses 'd' or 'dm' to denote a D minor chord.

 

[ASATKat]

It's hard to say what goes through my mind when playing through different chords. When Dm comes up I think of the 'correct' sound, that's not hard to do since most songs repeat for 3 minutes, you get used to that chord sound, or you should be. I know what it is but I don't think Dm, that takes thought, a whole other activity, I simply channel (feel) the sound.
Channeling is much better than thinking. When playing over backers I often hear other songs, and I go with it and make it a weird version of the song I heard. I don't try to be too accurate. That's channeling, and may drive some people crazy I do it so much.

 

[ASATKat]

No, not really. A lot of notation simply uses 'd' or 'dm' to denote a D minor chord.

I'm anel

Music is difficult, the language is there to learn, it helps me.

I always knew what you meant.

 

[klasaine]

The reason it's CAGED as opposed to caged is that we're not talking about a boundary.
Those are specific Major chord names and shapes.

Lowercase letters for chord (letter) names are used sometimes but for clarity, uppercase is definitely the better choice. The worst is when someone uses an uppercase M for minor. Whenever I see this; DM - I just play root and 5th until I hear what they actually meant.

 

[ASATKat]

So we have CAGED, but why don't we use the B shape and F shape?

Because F uses one of the CAGED shapes.

This F chord uses the E shape
-1
-1
-2
-3
-3
-1

This F chord uses the C shape.
-×
-6
-5
-7
-8
-×

There is no F shape when thinking in CAGED terms.
Ditto for the B chord.
Ditto for all the major chords F, B, Bb, Ab, Gb, Db & Eb, they all use the 5 "shapes" of CAGED.

It's these five shapes that are really at the heart of CAGED, they are the ONLY shapes on the guitar when thinking in CAGED terms. 12 overall notes, five shapes.

 

[Vibroluxer]

Don't feel bad. I, too, sense there is something worth learning in CAGED, but have never been able to extract it.

Make it 3. But I'm not too old too learn.

 

[klasaine]

Don't feel bad. I, too, sense there is something worth learning in CAGED, but have never been able to extract it.

You probably don't need it.
If you can see how the open C chord shape can transpose up to an F chord at the 5th fret (587565), you already know it/use it.

 

[oldunc]

It would be a better world if people would have chord voicings determined by voice leading rather than convenience of fingering.

 

[BigDaddyLH]

It would be a better world if people would have chord voicings determined by voice leading rather than convenience of fingering.

Or know and make the choice.

 

[klasaine]

It would be a better world if people would have chord voicings determined by voice leading rather than convenience of fingering.

That's just a string instrument thing in general.
It's such an obvious 'grid' that it's almost impossible to not think of it that way.
But you are right, if we all thought voice leading instead of shape, we'd probably sound better .

 

[BigDaddyLH]

It would be a better world if people would have chord voicings determined by voice leading rather than convenience of fingering.

On that note, as a demonstration of CAGED *and-a* drop-2 *and-a* voice leading, I would have done the original example as

x5756x x5546x x3545x

rather than

x5756x 35343x x3545x