Scale patterns · The CAGED system
The CAGED system: five shapes, one fretboard
Every scale on the guitar hangs off five chord shapes you already know. Learn where they sit, and the whole neck opens up in any key.
01What CAGED is
Five chords you already know
C, A, G, E and D: the A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em., moved up the neck, cover every The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. in every key.
Each A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em. gets its sound partly from the open strings. Replace the The slotted strip at the top of the neck where the strings leave the headstock. Open strings ring from the nut. with your finger (a full or partial A chord where one finger presses several strings at the same fret, like a movable nut, so the shape works anywhere on the neck.) and the shape becomes movable: slide it up and the chord name follows the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7. note under your fingers.
Play one chord, say C major, with each of the five shapes in turn and you walk it from the nut to the 12th The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step., where the cycle starts again. Every shape also carries a scale position around it, so a chord shape you know becomes a handhold for soloing: the chord tones are the safe notes, and the scale fills the gaps between them.
02The five shapes
Five positions, in any key
Pick a key, then a shape. The chord sits inside its scale position; switch to A five-note scale. The minor pentatonic is the most used scale in rock and blues guitar solos. for the five boxes.
G♯ minor · E-shape position · box 2
Frets 6–9. The G♯m chord (Dm form) is in ink.
- Root (G♯)
- Chord shape
- Scale tone
03How they connect
One map of the neck
Each shape's top notes are the next shape's bottom notes.
Up the neck the shapes always come in the order C, A, G, E, D, then C again an The distance of twelve half steps, where a note comes round to the same name. Twelve frets up a string is an octave. higher. Which shape comes first depends on the key. In C, A, G, E and D major the key's own A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em. sits at the The slotted strip at the top of the neck where the strings leave the headstock. Open strings ring from the nut., so its shape comes first; every other key starts part-way through the cycle.
Neighbouring positions overlap by a The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. or two, so you can slide from one to the next without a gap. Together the five cover every fret, which is the whole point: one key, one map.
C major across the neck
- Root (C)
- Scale tone
04Using it
From shapes to music
Chord shapes become solos, and boxes become keys.
Soloing over changes. Stay in one position and, as each chord comes round, aim for the notes of its shape inside that position. The melody follows the harmony without your hand leaving the box.
Finding any chord anywhere. Need a G chord near the 7th ? The order tells you which shape lives there, so you never have to jump back to the .
Minor boxes. The famous five boxes are the same positions, counted from the : box 1 is the G-shape position, the A minor box at fret 5. Switch the explorer to Relative minor and Pentatonic to see them.