Interesting observation (to me anyway) on CAGED system

[Bob S]

I am not well versed in the CAGED system so this might not be new to those who are.

I have been working on some Charlie Christian solos lately. If you are not familiar with Charlie, he was a swing era guitarist whose very short career was with Benny Goodman’s band. He is often said to be the first guy to use an electric guitar to play lead. His playing incorporates blues, swing, and jazz.

I was reading a piece about his playing style and it stated that he played everything out of basic triad shapes, filling in notes between, resulting in a mix of major and minor pentatonics with other chromatic notes.

Nowhere did the author mention the CAGED system, but it was clear that the basic shapes were the CAGED patterns on the top (in pitch) four strings. As I worked through these on the guitar, I noticed that each of the CAGED shapes and their extensions fit nicely into one of the minor pentatonic patterns. So as you work your way up the neck, CAGED C is minor pentatonic pattern 3, A is 4, G is 5, E is 1 and D is 2.

I am really comfortable with this over pattern 1/E shape, as are many guitarists. I am hoping this will open up some other areas.

Bob

[Cobalt]

I have seen two other very professional guitar players/teachers who play everything out of the D,A and E shape. And use connecting notes like you mentioned. I think some people believe that the G shape and the C shape are really part of the A and D shape.

[sunjamr]

I totally agree. I think the most useful part of the CAGED system is in the top 4 strings, which means that instead of CAGED, it should just be the AED system. Or maybe cAgED. That makes it way easier to learn.

Sunjamr Steve

[JRG]

Hello Bob,

I have been spending some time trying to use the CAGED chord shapes and visualizing how the chord shapes fit within the 5 patterns or boxes of the pentatonic scale. I think it is very useful when moving up the neck and knowing what other notes will work around the chord tones.

I built some charts to help myself visualize the chord shapes within each box both Major and Minor.

Jim

PS Brrr, can’t wait for some warmer weather!

[Usernameinvalid]

The whole CAGED system stems from the Major Scale and it’s shapes on the fret board.
But seeing how all of the shaped are interchangeable with the Major and Minor scale
you are on the right track.

[Bob S]

Usernameinvalid wrote:

The whole CAGED system stems from the Major Scale and it’s shapes on the fret board.

I agree with you on the major scale idea, although I think there is an equivalent for minor chords. But the way the scales are filled in, you end up with a mix of major and minor, and since my first go to is a minor pentatonic scale, I am more comfortable thinking from there.

Bob

[Bob S]

JRG wrote:

Hello Bob,

PS Brrr, can’t wait for some warmer weather!

Jim,
I here you on that one. But my wife and I are packing up the house for a move to Austin, TX to be near our new granddaughter. Might be missing this cool weather.
Bob

[Duffy P]

Christian was playing out of chord shapes, which fits well with the CAGED system. But his playing is very much looking to arpeggios and not so much to scales.

For people who haven’t listened to him, it’s well worth it. His solos are very accessible. He was an absolute master at creating a riff (on the same level as Keith Richards in this regard). And there is an exuberance in what he does that is timeless.

[Bob S]

Duffy P wrote:

Christian was playing out of chord shapes, which fits well with the CAGED system. But his playing is very much looking to arpeggios and not so much to scales.

Duffy,
I kind of agree with the arpeggio idea, but not totally. One of the solos I’m working on is Grand Slam. The first four bars is over F (or probably F6). The opening pickup plus two bars is 5-6-1-b3-1-2-1-6-5-4-b3-3-5-4-3-6 (I think-a lot of numbers). To me that is a classic mix of major and minor pentatonics, although you can certainly pick out the chord tones of the F6.
Bob

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