The "CAGED"

Chord System

The first chords most guitar players learn are the basic “open” chords. These are the chords played at the lowest frets on the neck. Open chord shapes utilize open strings and fretted notes together.

These shapes are laid out using intervals to give you the proper scale degrees needed to form a chord. These degrees are 1 (Root), 3 and 5 for Major chords.

For example, when you hold an open C Major chord, you are holding nothing but a combination of 1s, 3s and 5s based on C being the root note – C(1)  E(3) G(5).

Open C Major Guitar Chord with Degrees.

Guitar chord shapes are moveable. As long as you hold the exact same shape, you can transfer it to a different spot on the fretboard to play a different chord.

Example: You can play an open C Major chord shape in its normal spot and it’s just a C Major chord. If you move the entire shape 2 frets higher, the Root notes of the shape are now on “D” notes. You are now playing a D Major chord utilizing the open “C” shape.

The interval pattern has stayed the same, but the specific notes are now different D(1)  F#(3) A(5).

D Major Guitar Chord Played with the "C" shape.

Five of these open chord shapes, C A G E and D join together with common notes when played up and down the fretboard. They are commonly referred to as the “caged” chords. If you know these five open chord shapes and know which notes are the Root notes within each shape, you can easily play chords at any area of the fretboard using one of the shapes. You can also move chords up and down the fretboard going from one shape to the next.

This diagram shows the relationship between the different chord shapes.

Relationships of the "CAGED" guitar chord shapes.