Unlocking Major CAGED

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Unlocking Major CAGED

Intermediate Level

We firmly believe that the CAGED chord system is the key to unlocking the fretboard. This means being able to play in any key, using any scale, chord or arpeggio, in every position on the neck. Imagine putting a jam track on, reading the chords and instantly being able to play smooth, flowing lead lines that can move through the chords of the track. This, is how powerful the CAGED chord system can be. In this course, we will show you exactly what you need to do to achieve this!

The E CAGED Shape

We kick off with our E shape CAGED chord. This feels like the best place to start as it’s built from the root note on the E string, and is the most common chord of the CAGED chord system.

The D CAGED Shape

We now move onto our D shape CAGED chord. This isn’t quite as easy to find as the E string shape, but will rapidly help you learn the D string notes.

The C CAGED Shape

We now move onto our C shape CAGED chord. This is Dan's favourite of the 5 CAGED shapes, and can be easily found on the A string.

The A CAGED Shape

We now move onto our A shape CAGED chord. This is another very well known shape, as it’s one of your barre chord positions, and can be easily found on the A string.

The G CAGED Shape

We now move onto our G shape CAGED chord. This is the least well known shape, but arguably one of the most useful, as it contains pentatonic box 1.

Putting It Together

In our final unit, we draw all the shapes together to allow us to play in just one area of the fretboard. This will allow us to have total freedom over what we play, without having to jump around the fretboard to find the same chord shape.