The CAGED System for Guitar

The CAGED system is a way of organising the fretboard so chords, scales, and arpeggios connect logically across the neck. Rather than learning isolated shapes, it helps you understand how familiar chord forms repeat and overlap in different positions.

When used correctly, the CAGED system makes the fretboard feel continuous instead of segmented. This page focuses on understanding the system through chord shapes first, then expanding it to different chord types.

What the CAGED system actually is

At its core, the CAGED system is built around five familiar open chord shapes: C, A, G, E, and D. These shapes can be moved up the neck to form the same chord in different positions.

Understanding this allows you to:

  • See how chords connect across the fretboard

  • Find multiple voicings for the same chord

  • Navigate the neck without relying on single positions

The system isn’t about memorising shapes — it’s about recognising how those shapes relate to one another.

A common misunderstanding of CAGED

Many guitarists treat CAGED as a collection of diagrams to memorise. This often leads to knowing the shapes but not understanding how or when to use them.

The lessons on this page focus on using CAGED as a framework for navigation, not as an end goal.

How to use this page

Start with the major chord shapes to understand the core system, then apply the same logic to other chord types. Each video builds on the same CAGED framework.

A good approach is:

  1. Learn one chord type across all five shapes

  2. Connect the shapes across the fretboard

  3. Apply the same pattern to the next chord type

Reusing the same framework across different chords helps the system become intuitive over time.

Video lessons

The videos below apply the CAGED system to different chord types, starting with major chords and expanding outward.

(Videos continue below)

This lesson introduces the CAGED system using major chord shapes. The focus is on understanding how the five core shapes connect across the fretboard rather than memorising them in isolation.

Seeing major chords this way helps reveal the overall layout of the neck and makes it easier to move between positions smoothly.

As you watch, focus on how each shape overlaps with the next rather than treating them as separate forms.

THE CAGED GUITAR CHORD SYSTEM – MAJOR CHORDS

This lesson applies the CAGED system to minor chord shapes, using the same framework established with major chords. The goal is to show how minor chords fit naturally into the same fretboard layout.

Understanding this makes it easier to switch between major and minor sounds without relearning the neck.

Pay attention to what changes within each shape and what stays the same.

THE CAGED GUITAR CHORD SYSTEM – MINOR CHORDS

This lesson extends the CAGED system to major 7th chords, showing how extended harmony fits into the same structural framework.

Viewing major 7th chords through CAGED helps make more complex voicings feel familiar and connected to basic shapes.

Focus on how the added interval affects the sound while the underlying shape remains recognisable.

THE CAGED GUITAR CHORD SYSTEM – MAJOR 7TH CHORDS

This lesson shows how dominant 7th chords fit into the CAGED system and why they are so common in functional harmony.

Understanding these shapes within the CAGED framework makes it easier to use them intentionally in progressions and blues-based contexts.

Listen for how the dominant quality creates tension and resolution.

THE CAGED GUITAR CHORD SYSTEM – DOMINANT 7TH CHORDS

This lesson applies the CAGED system to minor 7th chords, combining ideas from both minor harmony and extended chords.

Seeing these shapes as part of the same system helps connect rhythm and harmony across the fretboard.

Focus on how these voicings sit comfortably between major and minor sounds.

THE CAGED GUITAR CHORD SYSTEM – MINOR 7TH CHORDS