My Online Guitar Lessons

I had another lesson this week with my teacher, this time getting a little more in depth with some chord patterns. I learned that there are five different chord patterns that when shifted up and down the fretboard they become another chord. These different patterns allow you to keep lateral fretboard movement to a minimum, essentially maximizing your playing speed.

The five chord types are as follows: C chord pattern, A chord pattern, G chord pattern, E, and then D. Each of these chord patterns is either based on a root note on the low E or A string, which is why it was essential—as mentioned in previous lessons—to memorize the notes on those two strings. These chord patterns are often called the CAGED method, and are very helpful if you want to play either the same chords in different positions on the fretboard, or different chords in the same relative 4-fret region.

If we start off by taking our open C chord shape—where our root note (C) is on the A-string, 3^rd fret—we can slide that same shape up our fretboard, and depending what note on the A-string we are on, that will determine the chord. However, when you slide the C chord shape up, you must barre the bottom 3 strings with your index finger and use the other ones to finger the C chord shape. So it would go from:

Open C chord shape

0
1
0
2
3
X

To

C#

1
2
1
3
4
X

And so on, all the way up the fretboard—the chord depending on which note on the A string you are on.

Moving on to the open A chord shape:

0
2
2
2
0
X

Which would shift up the fretboard to

A#

1
3
3
3
1
X

And so on, all the way up the fretboard—the chord depending on which note on the A string you are on.

The A chord shape is also known as your “powerchord” shape, where you only play the notes of the chord that are on the A,D,G strings.

The open G chord shape is:

3
0
0
0
2
3

And would shift up the fretboard to

G#

4
1
1
1
3
4

And so on, all the way up the fretboard—the chord depending on which note on the E string you are on. This shape is a tricky one to accomplish as you have to barre the middle strings while forming the G shape with your first, middle, and pinky finger.

The open E chord shape is

0
0
1
2
2
0

And would shift up the fretboard to

F

1
1
2
3
3
1

And so on, all the way up the fretboard—the chord depending on which note on the E string you are on. This chord shape is also known as a “barre” chord.

And finally, the D chord shape is

2
3
2
0
X
X

And would shift up the fretboard to

D#

3
4
3
(1)
X
X

This time, the root note depends on where you are playing on the D string, or also, the root note can be found two frets down, and on the low E string.

To practice these different chord shapes, I took a single chord, and tried to find the five positions on the fretboard to play it. When you know which chord shape you are in, the next shape moving up the fretboard is the next letter in our CAGED acronym.

For example, with the C chord. Starting with your open C chord, the next C chord up the fretboard would be the A shape. This A shape is two frets up from the first shape, the root note found on the 3^rd fret on the A string. (This was also the same fret for our root note in our open C chord, and is the note that starts each chord shape.)

The next shape where the C chord is found on the fretboard would be the G shape, now using the low E string for finding the root note. This would be on the 8^th fret of the low E string.

The next chord shape would be the E chord shape. Once again, the root note for the E chord shape is found on the low E string, and is actually the same root note as for the G shape—the 8^th fret on the low E string.

The next shape is the D shape, which can be tricky to find. The D shape chord’s root note is based on the B string note. The root note on the B string is actually 5 frets higher than the root note on the low E string that was previously played in the E chord shape.

Once I knew and recognized how to play a C chord in all five positions, I moved on to another chord and learned the positions. Breaking it up into pieces helped me learn it easier, instead of trying to find all the different chords in all the positions at once.

No matter which chord position you are in, the C-A-G-E-D pattern is a continuous loop. This means that if you are playing a G chord in an E chord pattern, the next pattern up the fretboard would be a D chord shape, then a C shape and so on. This also works going down the fretboard. If you are playing a F# in a G chord pattern, the next pattern going down the fretboard would be an A pattern, then a C shape, and then a D shape, and so on.

Check out this blog for any more help or clarity with the CAGED system here.

For a visual aid on the CAGED method, check out this video.

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