The CAGED System Explained
The CAGED system describes the fretboard as five interlocking chord shapes taken from the open chords C, A, G, E and D. Each shape can be moved up the neck with a barre, so you can play any chord in five different places.
The five shapes
C, A, G, E and D are the five open major chords. If you play one of them higher up the neck with your first finger acting as a capo, you get a new chord of the same type. The five shapes connect in order along the fretboard, as the spelling CAGED suggests.
How to use it
- Pick a chord, for example G major.
- Find its shapes: the open G shape at the nut, the E shape with a barre at the 3rd fret, the D shape at the 5th fret, the C shape at the 7th fret, and the A shape at the 10th fret.
- Practise moving from one shape to the next without changing the chord.
Why it is useful
CAGED shows how everything fits together. It helps with lead guitar too, because every scale pattern can be placed around the chord shape.
Related
FAQ
Do I need to learn CAGED?
It is not required, but it makes the fretboard much less confusing and gives you a way to find any chord anywhere on the neck.
Is CAGED the same as barre chords?
Barre chords are the E and A shapes of CAGED. The full system also includes movable versions of C, G and D.
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