Eli5 CAGED system on guitar
In: 177
Just looking at it, a guitar as 6 strings and at least 12 frets that people frequently play, that might imply a mind numbing array of possible chords to play. So, so many combinations, surely it would take a musical genius to master them.
Instead, if you focus only on the “cowboy chords” – the set of chords played down around the 0th-4th frets and often include several “open” strings. These chords are easy to learn and play and usually Natural and easy to toggle from Major to Minor. The point being there are 5ish “core” chords that all guitar players typically learn in the first few weeks of the instrument, C-A-G-E-D chords.
**I can’t emphasize enough the relationship between these chords being easy to play and learn, their pleasing to hear relationship to each other, and their roll in rock music; like 80% of songs written since Elvis are based on these 5 chords.**
Anywho, the 2nd thing a guitar player learns after being fluent in these chords is that they can all played “in shape” anywhere on the guitar neck, you just need to use a finger (usually your pointer finger) to act as a “barre”, a stop playing on all cords mimicking the “nut” (the top-end of the guitar). It takes some practice and strength but that’s the trick – you can move these 5 chords *anywhere* on the guitar *AND* keep the nice sounding relationship too.
Point being – Rock music *loves* what’s called the “1-4-5” chord progression, if you take “G” as your 1, that would make “C” your 4 and “D” your 5. (Maybe you’re playing “Good Riddance” by Green Day, “Ziggy Stardust” by Bowie, “No Woman No Cry” by Bob Marley, or perhaps “In the Aeroplane over the Sea” by Neutral Milk Hotel?) That’s down at the end as cowboy chords. But if you *pull* the chords all up 4 frets, now your 1 becomes “B”, “E” is your 4 and “F#” is your 5. (“Learn to Fly” by the Foo Fighters, perhaps?) The notes are different, but the progression sounds the same, and it sounds great. This is why 80% of music is written using this progression.
Long Story Short – CAGED is a system of taking 5 easy to play, and useful chords on the guitar and learning how to move them up and down the neck so that you can play any chord, anywhere with minor learning of new shapes
EDIT – for a longer lesson on the importance of the progressions that CAGED unlocks – [Watch This](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pidokakU4I)
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