The CAGED System

The CAGED system is a way of breaking down the guitar fretboard into 5 easy workable sections. You should have already memorised your five open chords (D, A, E, C & G). Now we are going to put those chords into bar chord shapes and then place in set order. This order is C Major, A Major, G Major, E major & D Major... or CAGED to help you memorise the order.

You must be able to play the 5 open chords (C, A, G, E & D) as bar chords. We are not looking for a great sound (although it would be helpful) but mainly trying to visualise how each one of these open chords is played as a bar chords.

After teaching this method to numerous lessons and asking them the order of their most liked bar chord shape to the least favorite, this was the order of almost all answers.

1. E Shape (most favorite or easiest)
2. A Shape
3. C Shape
4. D Shape
5. G Shape (least favorite or easiest)

• C Shape
• A Shape
• G Shape
• E Shape
• D Shape

• C Shape
• A Shape
• G Shape
• E Shape
• D Shape

C Shape

C Shaped Bar Chord

The 3rd most liked of the 5 bar chord shapes. Not only is it the 3rd most liked but it is the 3rd most used. I've seen and used this shape in a lot of songs, so if you want to be a competent guitarist then I suggest you try to learn and use it.

Hint: For those of you that are already familiar with the chord Bm7 then the C Shaped Bar Chord is the same as that but placing your little finger on the 5th string.

A Shape

A Shaped Bar Chord

The 2nd most liked and used of the 5 bar chord shapes. This is a must learn shape, remember you can learn more about bar chord shapes here (6) Basic Chords (9 lsn).

G Shape

G Shaped Bar Chord

The 5th most liked and used of the 5 bar chord shapes. This is so for obvious reasons, the stretch is almost unreachable and people with small fingers will have great difficulties making this shape. Because of this reason guitarist just don't use this shape in songs. The common question is... "So Why Learn It?" Because without it the format behind the CAGED system wouldn't make any sense. You can make easier shapes derived from this one though, just look at the diagrams below.

E Shape

E Shaped Bar Chord

The 1st most liked and used of the 5 bar chord shapes. This is said loosely, almost nobody likes the stage of the learning bar chords.

D Shape

D Shaped Bar Chord

The 3rd most liked and used of the 5 bar chord shapes. The D shaped bar chord is the 5th in the CAGED system, after the D Shape it goes back to the C Shape and starts all over again.

Once you can make these 5 bar chords shapes, try to piece them together. Pay close attention to the root notes of each chord and see how the next chord links together through them.

Follow the animation through a few times until you can make out the definite divisions of the 5 shapes (CAGED).

By playing these five shapes you are not playing 5 different chords, even though the shapes are different the chords are not. For example the diagram below starts from the open C position playing a C chord, this is your normal open C. The next chord is C major played as an A Shape bar chord, then a C Major Chord played as a G Shape Bar Chord and so on. It is laid out like this...

• C Chord :: C Shape, Open Position (Pink)
• C Chord :: A Shape, root note 5th string 3rd fret (Yellow)
• C Chord :: G Shape, root note 6th string 8th fret (Orange)
• C Chord :: E Shape, root note 6th string 8th fret (Green)
• C Chord :: D Shape, root note 4th string 10th fret (Blue)