UNLOCKING MAJOR CAGED
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Before tackling this course, you should be comfortable with all the material from The A CAGED Shape

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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. As with all our chords, we’ll start by learning it all in C major, before changing keys later down the line. Let’s get started!

Lesson 17: Chord & Arpeggio

First up, let’s learn the chord shape and arpeggio. We have drawn out the basic shapes below, as well as alternate ways for you to play this, to ensure that no matter you preference, you can play this chord. Your first task is to learn these shapes.

Lesson 18: Diatonic & Pentatonic

Now we’ll continue to layer up this shape by adding the full major scale box 1 and the major pentatonic box 1. These scale shapes will ALWAYS work over the top of this CAGED chord position, so lets get them memorised now.

Lesson 19: Moving Keys

We will now bring in the backing track! So, lets start by talking about the backing track. The chords are as follows:

C for 4 bars, G for 4 bars, D for 4 bars, A for 4 bars, E for 4 bars, B for 4 bars, F# for 4 bars.

This chord progression is based on the circle of fifths, which is a fantastic way to subtly change keys. If you take a look at this diagram first:

all 7 keys in shapes...

For your reference, below we have drawn out every single chord shape, scale and arpeggio in each of the keys, following along with the backing track. Your job is to play through all of these as the backing track changes, trying to move with those changes. Enjoy!

Lesson 20: Melodic Playing

For this lesson we take all of the chord and scale shapes from the previous lesson and try to use them melodically. This is the real underlying truth behind the CAGED system, being able to use it as your base for soloing! Use the chord shapes to put you in position, and then start trying to play into the shapes. Here are a few tips for you:

    Top Tips

  • 1. Use the arpeggios to target the key tones of the chord as you change to a new key.
  • 2. Visualise the chord box to find the key, but don’t necessarily play it!
  • 3. Play simple melodies using the scales provided. No need to overcomplicate this!
  • 4. Take your time, and accept that there will be many mistakes! This is a creative process, and therefore you will have good days and bad days with it. Keep working at it and you’ll gradually reduce those bad days!

Materials: Backing Track

Here's the track Dan plays along with in the videos. Once you're comfortable with the concept try it yourself!

Ready to move on? Remember to check out every lesson in this unit first – then try the next unit...

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.