CAGED System

Turning Virtually Any Open Chord Into A Bar Chord
1. Play one of these open chords (C A G E D)
2. Refinger the chord to free up your index
3. Move the whole chord up the fretboard
4. Use your index finger to cover the string(s) that were open on step 1.

You can apply the above steps to any chord that has an open string as long as your fingers can stretch it. Here is an example:

C maj #4 can be voiced as an open chord and played as x3403x
Applying the steps above, this chord can be made into a bar chord and played up the fretboard. An example would be as D maj #4 (x5625x):

Learning the CAGED System:
1. Play Open C major chord (x32010)
2. The bottom of your C major chord, (meaning note(s) closest to the bridge of your guitar,(3rd fret Fifth string) will be the TOP of your A-shaped C major chord (x35553)
3. The bottom of your A-shaped C major chord is the top of your G-shaped chord C major chord (875588)
4. The bottom of your G-shaped C major chord is the top of your E-shaped C major chord (8 10 10 9 8 8)
5. The bottom of your E-shaped C major chord is the top of your D-shaped C major chord (xx10 12 13 12)

Congratulations. You have just played the C major chord in every area of the fretboard.

• Try the above 5 steps starting with the open A, G E and D chords.

The chords D E & A are special chords within the CAGED system for many reasons.

One example is when playing minor bar chords.

When applying the 5 steps of the CAGED system, only D E and A shapes will work. Simply skip the C and G shapes for minor chords

You can work out minor chords for these shapes later as you advance if mute strings

Other special rules of note for D E and A shaped chords:
• They’re the most popular shapes for power chords and playing rock music
• When you want to build a chord that has its bass root on a D E or A string, the name of the string also tells you the name of the chord shape that you can use. Example:
o You want to build a major chord that has its bass root on the 4th fret 5th string (C#)
o The 5th string is an A string therefore you can play the A-shape (x46664)