Caged harmonic minor scale use this chart as an aid in memorizing the modes of the harmonic minor scale. After you explore all the major chord options, you can move onto minor chords. The caged system caged is a simple little system for broadly mapping out the fretboard as it relates to any chord. Many players use the c a g e d system without even being aware of it. T he next step is to learn the major scale in all 5 caged positions. Keyboardists should check out the pianists toolbox lesson octaves, taught by david pearl and joe rose. Start with each form in its open position, and then move up the neck by using different forms while staying on the same chord. The caged system is a useful method for organizing all styles of music on the guitar. In todays session we will use our caged system to discover how each of our five pentatonic scale boxes can be used in both major and minor soloing. Guitarists have always sought to understand the instrument in a variety of ways. This system only uses 3 of the 5 chords from caged the e minor, a minor, and d. The caged system minor shapes and how to practice them.
Overall, the caged system helps crack the code of learning where certain notes are located all along your guitars fretboard. Using the major scale to produce the minor pentatonic. In this guitar lesson, youll learn how to play minor chords in 3 main positions all over the neck of the guitar. Start on the e of the caged sequence by playing a regular open e minor chord. This is because the c minor 7th chord is tertian based harmony. In todays session we will use our caged system to discover how each of our five pentatonic scale. Here is an overview of the harmonic minor scale in the key of c, using the caged system. The more you are used to it the easier the arpeggios and the other scale positions will be to play. The caged method takes its name from the fact that there are only five basic chord forms. Feel free to download the caged system pdf that i have put together for your guitar knowledge.
You then fret and play different kinds of minor chord. Caged system guitar easy guide, 2019 update major scale. So the difference in the major chord caged system is the process of dropping the major third to a. The caged is a system of chords and their related scales which helps map out the geography of the guitars fret board. You initially work through the caged system using major chord shapes. C, a, g, e and d lay out across the fretboard to cover the whole neck of the guitar and you can shift them to play in any key. This figure shows the 5 forms of the caged system in their open positions. Just as you use the caged arpeggios to form major chord voicings on the guitar, you can do the same with minor arpeggios. We then filled in all of the surrounding chord tones to make our major triad. The caged system is a great way of learning scales and arpeggios in different positions across the fretboard. The key is to relate all forms with the same name to each other. Caged system guitar chords guitar music theory by desi serna. Pentatonic scales and the caged system lead guitar.
Major minor dominant o o rr o r x x r r r 51 3 5 5 1 b3 b7 1 5 1 3 b7 1 3 3 b7 1 5. The caged system guitar chords and major chords explained. A shape 1, a shape 2 c shape, d shape, e shape 1, e shape 2 and g shape. For major and minor modes i use the 3 note per string system and its diagonal variants. For example, playing a b minor pentatonic scale, by starting on the 2nd fret of the 5th string would look like this. If we are soloing using minor scales, we use minor chords. It is a pattern for telling how chord shapes resulting in the same chord layout across the fretboard. A basic chord progressio n is a set of chords that are common to many songs. The g shape chord is not commonly played but is the final part of the puzzle and makes sense in so many ways beyond the chord shape for scales and arpeggios. The caged chord navigation system the caged system is a way to navigate the guitar neck.
Now you know your caged system major chords, the next stage it to attach or layer on to them a useful scale. The caged system is broken down into seven patterns which you call shapes. The caged system part 2 in part one of unlock the fretboard with the caged system we went over the basic idea of the caged system. If you have any questions about this or any other topic regarding guitar, hit me. Of course, i do put in passing and blues notes which belong to the. For instance, there is a form a shape for every type of chord major, minor, major 7th, dominant 7th etc, and every single one of those form a chord types share the exact same root note. Playing minor chords is accomplished by simply making small adjustments to each form, changing the notes that make the chord major to notes that make the chord minor. So the difference in the major chord caged system is the process of dropping the major third to a flat third. In this guitar lesson, were going to learn the caged system. The caged chord system is the most popular teaching method for learning chords and. Nov 14, 2017 the majority of jazz chords such as c major 7, d minor 9, and g are all related to the basic chord shapes of the caged system. There are actually 5 shapes for minor chords that can be used just as caged is used for major chords. The full chart is included in a pdf in the downloads. Guitar theory for everybody tonys acoustic challenge.
Aug 10, 20 the caged system derives its name from five basic open chord shapes. You lower all the 3rds in each arpeggio pattern to minor 3rds. This level 2 course is based around the relative minor key. Yes, my brain cannot improvise and remember the major scale and all of its modes not to mention minor modes with the caged system. Not every guitarist thinks in terms of caged, but my opinion is that its extremely effective, and extremely easy to learn. Using the caged system to master your guitars fretboard. To form the major scale for a caged position, we take the position with just the root notes then add the other notes of the major scale to that position. To learn the chords in the caged system you must know how to barre chords. The five cage d scale shapes c shape, a shape, g shape, e shape and d shape surround the entire fretboard. When playing these 5 scale positions it can be useful to be aware of when to shift position. May 15, 2012 however, knowing the caged system and the spelling of the chords c, a, g, e, d truly helped my fretboard knowledge and my capacity to play more chords on the fly. The guitarists guide to the caged system by mike cramer. We will approach the chord progressions by working with the keys of c a g e and d.
By the end of this tutorial you should be able to construct the pattern for any scale or arpeggio yourself all the way up the guitar neck. Progression 1 4 c f g c 4 play the chord progression using 1st position c chord, 1st po. Guitar arpeggio guide with caged charts jazz guitar lessons. In a nutshell, the caged system represents a system for learning one scale or arpeggio in five. To make use of the caged system it is important that you understand the di. It is based on five essential guitar chord forms found in the first position. Basic chord progressions in a song, chords progress from one to another. As i promised you in the caged system article now i am going to show you the caged system minor shapes and how to have fun playing with it you may also read the benefits of the caged system in order to better comprehend what you will be reading in this article. Below are the 5 caged positions for both the major and minor pentatonic, but this works for any scale. Click on each mode to check out the diagrams for every mode in every form of the caged system. Place your 1st finger on the 2nd fret of the 4th string, 2nd finger. Caged stands for the names of the guitar chord forms used in the method c a g e d.
If we are soloing with dominant 7 scales, we use dominant 7 chords. From ideas to chord progressions as long as you know which area and shape you are in it is childs play to move into a new key. Dec 21, 2009 the caged method is especially good for quickly learning many chord forms all over the neck. Passs solos and scales were based on these particular chord shapes, and as such, he could move effortlessly up and down the neck from one shape to the next. It doesnt matter what style of music you play, or if you play acoustic guitar or electric guitar, this method of fretboard navigation is essential for all guitar players. The caged pentatonic system for guitar level 2 is designed to expand on what youve learned in the level 1 course. The five minor chord shapes that we will be using are the fundamental shapes for a lot of minor chords. Master the caged system for guitar fundamental changes. Sep 21, 2018 in this guitar lesson, youll learn how to play minor chords in 3 main positions all over the neck of the guitar. On the guitar, you connect the five caged forms all with the same chord to cover the whole fretboard. In reality the caged system should be call edcag as e is first position. Oct 04, 2018 and welcome to another lead guitar tutorial.
The shapes are sometimes also referred to as positions. Once you learn the minor chord shapes we will put them in the caged sequence to give you a greater understanding of how the guitar fretboard is laid out. This system only uses 3 of the 5 chords from caged the e minor. Next, you need to know where the root of the chord is located in each of the five shapes. The minor 7b5 arpeggio and chord viio7 in major, iio7 in minor mode. This method greatly helps to simplify the almost endless number of chords that you find in a chord book by replacing them with 5 forms that you can apply across the fretboard. Minor third major third major third major third major third minor third minor third minor third start with two basic rules. The x means that the string is not played and the o means that the string is played open.
The caged system derives its name from five basic open chord shapes. First of all, learn the 5 anchor chords around which we will visualise the aeolian scale shapes. The caged guitar system is a powerful tool for any guitarist. Its name is derived from the five basic major open chords. The letters in the word caged are the exact order the chord shapes occur on the fretboard the caged system involves two critical pieces of. You can apply these scale shapes to all 12 keys by simply. You will also find that your rhythm guitar vocabulary will improve as you continue to use these chords. In this post we use the g major scale as an example. Or i do the two string octave system for quick riffs. Guitar arpeggios guide for beginners caged charts and theory. The idea is that each of those five open chords uses a layout of notes that can be freed from open position and moved to any other fret on the neck. The relative minor has a blues rock tonality that adds an aggressive edgier sound to your playing.
The first step in learning the caged method is learning the open chord of the c major, a major, g major, e major, and d major guitar chords. It is used extensively on this site, even though it is rarely actually referred to as the caged system. Using our 7th caged shapes we should be able to ascend a harmonized major scale in 7th chords whilst remaining entirely inside the scale shape of the first caged chord voicing. T he caged system is a way to look at the fretboard that will allow you to learn scales, chords and arpeggios all the way up the neck. Its essential to know if you want to become an epic lead guitarist. The caged method is especially good for quickly learning many chord forms all over the neck. Its important for a student to understand what drives a chord to be major or minor. The a shape of the caged system is a very common barre chord form, second only to e shape. There are two types of thirds that we deal with here, major 3rds 4 halfsteps and minor 3rds 3 halfsteps. Caged is a simple little system for broadly mapping out the fretboard as it relates to any chord. The caged system is based on the recognition that although there are many major chords on the neck of. Minor seventh chords and arpeggios are composed of four notes, which naturally occur beginning from the second, third and sixth scale degree of the major scale. The caged system for guitar is a method for understanding the fretboard by dividing it into five overlapping chunks. The c and g shapes for the minor are not very finger friendly and are usually.
How to play minor caged forms on the guitar dummies. The caged system is an incredible method for understanding how to play several variations of any major chord across the guitar neck this is one of the secrets that my guitar teachers never taught me and i wish that they had. Oct 19, 2017 its important for a student to understand what drives a chord to be major or minor. So all five scale shapes see below are g major scale.
When we play a basic chord progression in a different key, we call that transposing. The caged system with the aeolian mode fundamental. Intermediate guitar lesson caged major and minor chords. Now that we have cemented our basic understanding of the key of a minor, and of minute keys in general, we can get into the business at hand. This printable guitar method in pdf format contains 40 easy minor jazz. It is considered to be a quite natural approach to learning the guitar and expanding the players knowledge of chords, scales and arpeggios in a logical and. Some people think that the caged system is only for major chords theyre wrong. But i guess its not as catchy last up is the d shape. Converting the 5 basic caged system chord shapes to minor. Major scale caged harmonic minor scale caged melodic minor scale caged. To get the most out of this lesson you must know these five chord shapes fig. C a g e d thatll allow you to break out of the cycle of playing what youre used to. You can practise playing the scale on one string, as we did with the major scale in the previous lesson.
The caged system is a very important concept that applies equally to both rhythm guitar and lead guitar. This simple adjustment changes everything from major to minor. How to connect the five caged forms on the guitar dummies. The caged method using major and minor chords guitarlessons365. The 5 major scale caged shapes positions guitarhabits. Now you have spent time playing with the pentatonic scale in one position, it is time to extend this idea with the aeolian mode. The second chord in the caged sequence is d make an e minor chord using the d minor chord shape. The caged method is used to help learn where certain root notes and guitar chords repeat on the fretboard. Note that we use roman numerals to identify which chord of the. They make memorising all the notes of the fret board easy for whichever key you are playing in so that improvising possible for every position on the fret board.