For the Church Guitarist: CAGED Chord Sequence

Now that you've wrapped your head around the basic idea of CAGED, let’s look at very useful, practical and kind of amazing  aspect of it:

The CAGED sequence of letters (C-A-G-E-D) is the order that chord shapes move up the neck in the same key.

This is a key idea for helping you visualize and understand the neck of the guitar.  Start by taking a look at this chart:

You may have done this intuitively using a capo, but see how the chords, moving from the lowest on the left to the highest on the right move in the order of C-A-G-E-D looking chord shapes?

To overstate it: in the key of C, as you move out of open position and up the neck, actual C sounding chords progress from the C shape* we know and love, to the A shape (placed at the 3rd fret making it an actual C chord even though it doesn't look like the C shape!), then the G shape at the 5th fret, on to the E shape which is actual a  C chord when placed at the 8th fret and finally, the D shape, which when moved to the 10th fret, actually becomes a C chord. It just repeats from there until you run out of frets.  

And it works that way for every single key.

So, what if you're not in the key of C?? Well, lets use the key of G:

• In the key of G, the lowest open chord shape you can play is a G, right? (yes)
• Well, then the next actual "G chord" up the neck would be - using the C-A-G-E-D sequence and seeing that we're starting on a G shape G chord in open position - the next actual G chord up the neck would be an E shape (3rd fret) . . .  then a D shape (5th fret), then the CAGED word runs out of letters and starts over at C (7th fret), etc.
• To help see it visually, here it is in G:

See how it starts on G, moves to the next letter in the CAGED word, namely E, then D, then starts over on C, then A and so on?

Again, it works this way in every single key. If you're in the key of E, start on the E of the word, CAGED, the next version of an E chord up the neck would be, using the CAGED word, a D, start over on C, then A, G, etc..

Now if you're in a key that's not a C-A-G-E-D key, its a little trickier, but not terribly so. For instance, Bb:

1. Find the lowest shape on the neck (an A shape, capo'd or barred at the first fret) and then. . .  
2. you have your starting point to move through the word CAGED (If your lowest shape is A, then G somewhere would be next, then an E somewhere, etc).
3. For any key, its always in that order. 

This can be hard to communicate outside of private lessons and actually showing you, but you can get  and it is so, so important. Once you do get it, it really makes the neck of the guitar click for you.

• For acoustic players, this can help you really learn how and why to use a capo, not just because you have to, but creatively.
• For electric players, and really any guitarist, its just how the neck works. You can move around with much more confidence.

My university students had to have this sequence memorized for all 12 keys and be able to demonstrate each key, moving from the lowest position to the highest practical position up the neck. You don't have to go that far, but you can absolutely wrap your head around this and find it useful.

If its new for you, just think about and practice seeing it for the main CAGED keys as you have time. In fact, to help, here it is for those keys:

• Key of C
• Key of A
• Key of G
• Key of E
• Key of D

So, think it over, practice and questions are always welcome! Thank you for serving and for pushing yourself to learn! 

PA 

*I call them shapes because, though we’re used to seeing them in open position as a G chord, E chord, etc., every one of them is actually movable and becomes other chords when you moved them around (i.e. G looking chord, cope 3 is no longer a G chord - so, I talk about them as shapes instead). 

For the Church Guitarist: CAGED Intro

In the last post we looked at organizing some thoughts related to our acoustic playing (chords families!) and the plenty of work that can be done there. One of the next steps would be to consider how those basic shapes fit beautifully into an idea known as the CAGED system.

Basically, the idea is that the main chord shapes we use all over the neck of the guitar are:

Seems simple but its not just about open position!

In fact, the basic open C chord shape, A shape, G shape, E and D are so foundational to how chords are made on the guitar, that they are in fact THE shapes, in one form or another, that you'll use all over the neck for almost any chord you play; even scales, arpeggios, etc. 

This might sound a little strange but you're already doing it!. Think about it:

• An F bar chord (1-3-3-2-1-1) is really just an “E” shape barred at the first fret
• A Bm chord, at the 2nd fret (x-2-4-4-3-2) is really just an A (minor) shape barred at the second fret
• The E chord at the 7th fret that we’re so fond of sliding around, is really just an “A” (major) shape using open strings (0-7-9-9-0-0)

Making sense so far?

Again, the basic C, A, G, E, and D chord shapes are the guiding shapes for many chords we play all over the neck. If you use a capo you’re already using this idea as well (i.e. you’re handed a song chart in Ab and you decide to capo 1 and play it as if its in G), and spending time thinking through this will really help you out. Specifically:

• For acoustic strummers, this is key to you really intelligently using a capo to give you 2-3 different sounding options with which to play any song and it will help you visualize the neck. 
• For electric players, this opens up the fretboard for you, helping you to visualize and remember chords up and down the neck. Its also a great starting place for understanding scales and being able to play them in any key (good for you acoustic guys too!)

For any guitarist, the CAGED concept is a foundational, practical idea for understanding how the guitar neck works and how you can move around with confidence. Awareness is the first step! Its kind of nice that it comes together to make a word we can remember too.

In the next post, we’ll look at the CAGED chord sequence how it can really unlock the neck for you. Until then, thanks for serving and keep practicing!

PA

For the Church Guitarist - Understanding Chord Progressions (Part 2)

In the last post we looked at a bit of music theory and how you can number chords. This time, we're going to look at the numbering thing a little more deeply (really helpful), how to apply this to the songs you play, and how to practice it all.

Different approaches to theory have slightly different takes on numbering systems. Really, they just tell you if a chord is major or minor. Here are the two most popular (both can be really useful to understand):

1) Traditional Numbering System

This method uses Roman numerals. Uppercase/big for major chords, lowercase/small for minor chords."°" is diminished if you ever use it (not often in pop music). So the chord progression,

| C      | F      | G     | Am      |

(or with numbers: one, four, five, six) would be,

| I      | IV     | V     | vi      |

with traditional numbering. See how the lowercase "vi" stands for minor 6? Make sense? So all the chords in the key of C would look like this then:

C   Dm   Em     F     G    Am     B diminished

I       ii      iii     IV     V     vi       vii°

Here’s another method:

2) Nashville Numbering System

Nashville numbering uses plain old numbers. A minus sign "-" tells you a chord is minor. A small circle "°" is diminished (if you ever use it). So again, the chord progression

| C      | F      | G     | Am     |

would be,

| 1       | 4      | 5      | 6-      |

with nashville numbering. Notice that "-" on the 6- that tells you its minor? That's how it works. All the chords in the key of C then would look like this:

C   Dm   Em     F     G    Am    B diminished

1      2-     3-      4     5     6-     7°

Do you get the idea? Again, your chords take on number names. Certain chords are major and certain ones are minor and that is where the traditional or nashville systems can help you. Its very helpful to think this way.

Let's try a common chord progression for a song. Something with chords like this (key of C):

|  C    |  Am     |  F       |  G        |

Can also be thought of like this:

|  I      |  vi       |  IV      |   V       |   (using the traditional method)

or

|  1     |  6-      |  4        |   5       |   (using the nashville method)

You'll hear musicians talk all the time about "the one chord" or "the five chord" etc.. They are just talking about the numbers associated with the chords.

Try this one (key of G):

|  G           |               |  C            |                | Em         |               |  D          |            |                *(answers at the end of the post)

So, take your chord charts for the next couple months and write the numbers that correspond to the chord nearby until you don't have to think about it any more. It will happen faster then you may think. Even just think about it as you encounter charts. Or, just focus on one song a week (of course you can do more) and work out the numbers for the chords. You'll find it starts to come easily as most sections of songs repeat over and over again.

This is the first step. Do what you can. With consistent work it will become second nature and be very, very useful. Trust me. The next step would be to use it while playing to change the key of a song by sight without having to write the chords out. More on that later.

Practice up and let me know if you have any questions!

PA

P.S. If you haven't already, check out the rest of the series here.

*Answers:

Traditional:  |  I          |                |  IV             |                  |

                    |  vi         |                |  V              |                  |

Nashville:    |  1          |                |  4              |                  |

                    |  6-        |                |  5              |                  |

For the Church Guitarist - Understanding Chord Progressions (Part 1)

We've been looking at lots of things relating to your guitar playing. Well, we're going to take a little trip into some music theory that will serve as a huge resource for your playing. Its a practical, simple concept that will unlock chord progressions for you, help you transpose (change keys) on the fly and use a capo and not feel like you’re cheating.

Have you ever heard someone in rehearsal say something like "let's end on the four chord," or "let's not do those chords, let's do one, five, six, four instead"? A lot of people shy away from music theory, but trust me, this is useful and really easy once you get it. Here goes:

Think about a scale in C. Here are the notes:     C   D   E    F   G    A   B

So far, so good? In music theory, the notes get numbered like this:

C   D   E   F   G    A   B

1    2    3   4   5    6   7

So, C is the first note in the key of C. D is the second, E is the third and so on. What would be the fourth? F, right? Good.

Well, the chords you play in the key of C are based on those same notes and take on the same numbers. So your chords (in C) get numbered like this:

C    Dm   Em   F   G    Am   Bdim* 

1      2       3     4    5     6       7

*diminished (you don't play diminished chords much in basic pop music)

So, just like above, a C chord in the key of C is called the “1” chord. The “2” chord is D minor in the key of C. E minor is the “3” chord and F is the “4” chord, etc. All the chords in C would numbered like this:

C = the 1 chord
Dm = the 2 chord
Em = the 3 chord
F = the 4 chord
G = the 5 chord
Am = the 6 chord
B = the 7 chord

Does is make sense then how someone might say “let’s play 1, 4 and 5 in C” and that it would mean playing C, F and G? The numbers just associate with the chords in the key. And its relative to whatever key you are in. For example, C in the key of C was the “1” chord but in the key of G, it would be something else because in the key of G, G is the “1” chord. In the key of G the chords would be numbered like this:

G = the 1 chord (in G)
Am = the 2 chord
Bm = the 3 chord
C = the 4 chord
D = the 5 chord
Em = the 6 chord
F# = the 7 chord

So in the key of G a chord progression like G – C – D – Em would be what numbers (answer at the bottom of the post)?

Chew on it for a little while. Start thinking about your chords in terms of numbers. In the next post we’ll take it a little further to look at how you can use this with songs and the different numbering systems (traditional and Nashville) that are used.

Try it out on some songs and let me know if you have any questions! You can find part two, here.

PA

* G – C – D – Em = 1, 4, 5 and 6 in the key of G.