CAGED system

SmokeyB · #1 04-11-2008, 08:06 AM

My instructor favors the CAGED approach -- fingering patterns for navigating the fretboard.

It appears to be adapted from 6-string guitar. At first it was so different from any approach I've seen that it didn't click. Still not sure I see the point. But I took it as a challenge to learn and it has given me a new way to think (a good thing, since I'm in a rut about playing through changes).

Anyhow, just curious if anyone else has used this and if you have any thoughts on it.

Thanks

mothmonsterman · #2 04-11-2008, 08:11 AM

nope, but you have me interested got a link that explains it?

MarkTAW · #3 04-11-2008, 08:18 AM

The CAGED system basically says.

There's 5 chord form shapes based on the open chords for C, A, G, E, and D.

You can play these as barre chords anywhere on the guitar & without moving your index finger much to switch from chord to chord - it acts as the zero fret. This allows you to play in any key anywhere on the fretboard without learning all sorts of funky chord shapes. You need pretty long fingers to pull this off - playing an "Open G" shape with just the pinky, ring and middle finger while using your index finger as a capo is a bear.

Then to solo on top of that you use a repetitive pentatonic pattern (in the two-octave form) on top of that and you can play that up & down the neck all day long with relative ease and sound OK as long as the song stays in the same key.

mothmonsterman · #4 04-11-2008, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkTAW

The CAGED system basically says.

There's 5 chord form shapes based on the open chords for C, A, G, E, and D.

You can play these as barre chords anywhere on the guitar & without moving your index finger much to switch from chord to chord - it acts as the zero fret. This allows you to play in any key anywhere on the fretboard without learning all sorts of funky chord shapes. You need pretty long fingers to pull this off - playing an "Open G" shape with just the pinky, ring and middle finger while using your index finger as a capo is a bear.

Then to solo on top of that you use a repetitive pentatonic pattern (in the two-octave form) on top of that and you can play that up & down the neck all day long with relative ease and sound OK as long as the song stays in the same key.

ahh, i get it.

my sausage fingers don't like the bar thing.

playinpearls · #5 04-11-2008, 08:36 AM

my old guitar player was raving about this system, he said its the best way to learn your way around the fretboard...

http://www.i-love-guitar.com/caged-system.html

MarkTAW · #6 04-11-2008, 09:04 AM

Yeah, neither do mine.

Oh, actually I think I was wrong about not moving the index finger, I think maybe you do move the index finger & that it's that this sytem allows you to jump to any chord anywhere on the fretboard - you can play a C chord in the open C position, or using a G form at the 5th fret or an E form at the 8th fret and so on.

There's 2 pentatonic scales, if I remember correctly - one for minor and one for major... I can only reconstruct the major one offhand, but the minor one was very similar & involved the same strings & the same frets, but the gap was in a different place (7th fret E string?).

Code:

Major
g
d
a       5 7
e 3 5 7
        ^ played with index finger

Mushroo · #7 04-11-2008, 09:27 AM

Here's the best simple explanation I can give for the CAGED system:

First of all, remember that it was invented for guitar. If you know a little guitar and can visualize the open C, A, G, E, and D chords, it will help a lot.

Step 1 is to memorize 5 shapes:

C shape: C (A string, 3rd fret), E (D string, 2nd fret), G (G string, open)
A shape: A (A, open), E (D, 2nd fret), A (G, 2nd fret)
G shape: G (E, 3rd fret), B (A, 2nd fret), D (D, open), G (G, open)
E shape: E (E, open), B (A, 2nd fret), E (D, 2nd fret), G# (G, 1st fret)
D shape: D (D, open), A (G, 2nd fret)

As you are learning these shapes, you should also pay attention to which notes are roots, 3rds, and 5ths of the chord.

Step 2: Learn how to move these shapes anywhere on the fretboard. For example, to play a "C-shape D chord": D (A string, 5th fret), F# (D string, 4th fret), A (G string, 2nd fret). See how that is the same shape as the C chord, just moved up 2 frets? Repeat this process so you can play all 5 shapes anywhere on the neck.

Step 3: Here is where the system "comes to life." Pick one chord, whatever key you are playing in, and learn how to play it using all 5 shapes. For example, let's play a C chord using all 5 shapes.

C-shaped C chord: starts at A string, 3rd fret with 3rd or 4th finger
A-shaped C chord: starts at A string, 3rd fret with 1st finger
G-shaped C chord: starts at E string, 8th fret with 4th finger
E-shaped C chord: starts at E string, 8th fret with 1st finger
D-shaped C chord: starts at D string, 10th fret with 1st finger

So basically, no matter where you are on the fretboard, you can quickly find the notes of a C Major chord within a few frets of any location. If your left hand is in 5th position (1st finger on 5th fret, 4th finger on 8th fret), you can visualize the G shape starting from the E string, 8th fret; but if your left hand is in 8th position (1st finger on 8th fret), you start from the same place (E string, 8th fret) but visualize the E shape.

Step 4: Any type of chord or scale can be moved around the fretboard using this same system. For example, there are 5 different fingerings for the Major Pentatonic scale, and you will find they move up the neck according to the same CAGED system. Another example, you can add the b7th to the chord, and find the C7, A7, G7, E7, D7 shapes moving up the neck.

Hope that makes sense!

Tnavis · #8 04-11-2008, 10:00 AM

Interesting. It kind of reminds me of some of the different scale shapes in "Serious Electric Bass" by di Bartolo.

Some players are against the concept of shapes, but I find that they're extremely helpful in learning how various modes interact with one another.

TheInsane · #9 04-11-2008, 10:10 AM

I once bought this book called "fretbord logic" which uses the CAGED system. I never made it through the whole book but it made me realice quite alot of how things work. That was during a time when I was trying to get more into guitar playing (bass was always my first instrument).

SmokeyB · #10 04-11-2008, 11:49 AM

It does strike me as a bit of a kluge on bass, esp on 4. It's a bit easier to fit it onto a 5er.

Still, forcing myself to adopt E and G patterns, which seem to be the basics (A is just E, one string over?) is getting me out of my rut.

Mushroo · #11 04-11-2008, 12:00 PM

One benefit of the CAGED system is it helped get me out of the rut where I always played major scales starting with my 2nd finger (2-4, 1-2-4, 1-3-4). Now I am more comfortable starting with other fingers as well.

I agree it is a more useful system on guitar than on bass. Guitarists who know CAGED well (I'm not one of them) can build a HUGE chord vocabulary. For example, let's say you want to play a BMaj7#11 chord, with CAGED you can easily figure out 5 different ways to play it, depending on where you are on the neck. This is really, really important for jazz players who play in the chord/melody style, because that way you can play the melody note on the high string, then find a chord voicing that is in that same region of frets.

EDIT: It is also helpful for guitarists because they have that weird major 3rd between the G and B strings. Like SmokeyB said, on the bass, the A shape is just the E shape one string over. On guitar, however, it is a different shape because of the major 3rd from G to B. We don't have to worry about that!