CAGED system explained

CAGED system. How to find notes on the fret board. Keyboard notes compared to guitar fret board notes.

From the Secret Guitar Teacher Site. Click to take a free tour: http://secretguitarteacher.com/youtube/ssb.php?lp_id=1457

Video script:

In the previous Sound Bite we showed how the layout of notes on the guitar fret board is compared with the layout of notes on a keyboard instrument. Here's a quick visual reminder of that.

Now I want to show you how the CAGED system can help you orientate yourself, so that you can find your way around the fret board just as easily as the keyboard player can find their way round the keyboard.

If we take all the C notes on our keyboard and play them on the guitar...we immediately run into the problem that due to the two dimensional nature of the layout of notes on the fretboard we are spoilt for choice as to possibilities.

The lowest C can be played either here or here - two choices for that one. The C an octave higher can be played either here, here, here, here, or here. . Five choices for that one!

On a 24 fret guitar the next C up can be played here, here, here, or here. Four choices. But for the very highest C there is only one possibility. So that is still pretty confusing isn't it!

It is for this reason that we have to apply a completely different system. A system that works for guitar players, because it can cope with the two dimensional problem, and because it relates to something that practically all guitar players learn right near the beginning of their guitar learning journey.

First off, let's restrict our view to just the first 14 frets of the guitar after all, most of us know that from the 12th fret upwards, all shapes are just a copy of those on the first 12 frets.

I have coloured in all our C notes with the different colours representing the different pitches of these notes.Then using the yellow highlighter I have connected all these C notes together.

What the CAGED system does, is link this pattern, with the pattern made by the root notes of each of the five most commonly played open chords. The fact that this actually happens in the right order to spell a recognisable word - C A G E D - Caged - proves that the universe was actually designed by an intelligent being...

Either that, or it's just an amazing coincidence of course.

In the next lesson we'll start talking about the best way to learn the CAGED system so that you turn it into a powerful tool for learning just about anything you ever need to learn on guitar.

If you found this little lesson interesting, you'll be pleased to know that on the SGT site we have a course that takes you through the CAGED system every step of the way.

It shows you how you can use it to find every note, chord, scale, arpeggio and mode; in any key you choose; in any direction; at any point on the fret board.

Depending on where you are watching this video, you can access the site from the link on the screen.... or from the link near the top of the video description, or from the Free Tour button to the right of the screen.