Category: Intermediate

If you want your solos to sound less like scales, and more in alignment with the chords, then you need to learn how to target chord tones! The best tool to help visualise chord tones on guitar is The CAGED System. It’s without a doubt one of the most vital things to learn on your guitar journey.

In the video above, I share with you a preview from my CAGED Fretboard Visualisation Masterclass, where we will explore how to apply The CAGED System over chord changes. While many guitarists think about key centers and scales when playing over chord progressions, it’s crucial to recognise that not all notes are equal. Some notes are stronger and more stable than others, and this is a continuously changing factor chord progressions.

There are two examples that I want you to explore and consider in your music practice.

Example 1: Scales

Consider a I-IV-vi-V progression in E major. Regardless of the progression, most guitar players would opt to solo using notes from the E major scale or E major pentatonic scale. While this works fine, you may notice that some notes from the scale sound better over certain chords more than others.

You can test this out yourself by playing what you consider to be a good lick over every chord. You’ll notice that that same lick won’t sound equally as good over all of the chords. So, what’s the problem? Well, the function of the notes you play change on a per-chord basis. Over one chord, the lick will be more complimentary of the underlying chord. Over another chord, perhaps not so much. To fix this, we need to consider chord tones.

Example 2: Target Chord Tones

To play chord tones, it’s important that you’re able to visualise the notes of the underlying chord in addition to your chosen scale, as a separate and independent musical device. If you’re able to do that, then you will have the power to alternate between chord tones and tension tones on command.

The easiest way to visualise the chord tones that belong to each chord is to practice visualising the triad arpeggios that correspond to each chord. The CAGED System is the best tool for this, as demonstrated in my CAGED Fretboard Visualisation Masterclass.

A good way to practice this is to consider the “parent” scale, for example the major pentatonic scale, to be your safety net. On occasion, step out of that safety net to target tones from each of the underlying chord. Ideally it’s best to hit these chord tones notes on the first beat of each bar or chord. This demonstrates to the listener that you’re closely following the chord progression.

How To Practice Chord Tones

I recommend practicing these skills in one small position of the neck. Avoid jumping around the neck to find chord tones. Instead, try to identify the chord tones of each chord in one position of the neck. Once you’re able to do this confidently, you can move on to another position of the neck. By using The CAGED System, you’ll be able to identify 5 critical positions of the guitar neck.

Gain A Deeper Insight Into The CAGED System

If you would like to learn more about chord tones and The CAGED System, consider joining my most popular course on Fretwise: the CAGED Fretboard Visualisation Masterclass! It’s designed to help you master The CAGED System and gain a deeper understanding of music theory, fretboard visualisation, and more. For me, the knowledge shared in this class has revolutionised my perspective and understanding of the guitar!

Until next time – keep practicing, and stay curious 🏆

In this post I’ll be discussing and demonstrating 10 levels of The CAGED System. CAGED has revolutionised my approach to the guitar beyond what I could have possibly imagined.

When I first discovered CAGED, I thought that it was just a beginners tool. It wasn’t until one of my guitar heroes emphasised how important it is that I took it seriously, and I hope that I’m able to relay that emphasis to you today!

The order in which I present the 10 levels does not reflect how I recommend you to practice The CAGED System, but instead it is designed to demonstrate the increasing complexity that can be achieved by learning The CAGED System.

For a structured and systematic practice plan of how to practice CAGED, see my CAGED Fretboard Visualisation Masterclass. Now, let’s delve into those 10 levels!

Level 1 – The CAGED Shapes

This level focuses on building and navigating between the 5 core CAGED shapes, which are based on familiar open chord shapes.

The CAGED shapes are designed to be transposable shapes, which can be put together by replacing the nut (open strings) of each open chord with the index finger.

Below is an example of each CAGED shape transposed to a D major chord. The yellow notes represent the notes you should play. Grey notes are neighbouring notes that belong to the triad.

C Shape:

A Shape:

G Shape:

E Shape:

D Shape:

Level 2 – Minor CAGED

In this level, we minorise the major CAGED shapes by flattening all 3rds. It’s noticeably more difficult to play these shapes because the finger positions can be awkward, so whilst it’s important to be aware of the notes you should play, it’s best to omit the notes that are difficult to lay your fingers on.

Level 3 – Basic Chord Progressions

Now you know the CAGED shapes, you can start using the CAGED shapes in a musical setting!

Here’s a challenge for you to try. Take a familiar chord progression that you would likely play using barre chord shapes. Now try to transpose those chords to one single position of the neck.

In the video, I demonstrate a I-IV-vi-V progression in E major using various CAGED voicings. Each of the chords are played within a 5-6 fret span of the neck. This will not only help build your chord vocabulary, but will later become very helpful when improvising through arpeggios and scales 😉

This level emphasises practical application.

Level 4 – Triad Arpeggios:

Here, we move from chords to single-note melodies built from the triad tones. Remember those grey notes from the diagrams in Level 1? Both Grey and Yellow notes from the diagrams show you the notes of each CAGED position that belong to the corresponding triad arpeggio (D major).

Once you’re confident playing these notes from each position, both ascending and descending, you’ll begin adding more melodic depth to your playing.

Level 5 – Triad Chords

Now that you can identify the triad arpeggios that belong to each position, you can begin grouping the notes from neighbouring strings together to form 3-note (Triad) chords. This is what’s known as closed voiced triads.

This is where your chord vocabulary will begin to grow exponentially, which is very exciting!

Level 6 – Spread Voiced Triads

We explore more advanced triad voicings that are spread across non-consecutive strings. This can be achieved by taking the middle note from closed voiced triads, and playing it an octave higher or lower.

Music that comes to mind when I think about spread voiced triads is the opening of Cliffs Of Dover Live from Austin Texas (0:00 – 0:50 in this video):

This technique is great for chord-melody playing and adds a touch of sophistication to your arrangements.

Level 7 – Extended Arpeggios

Building on the foundation of triads, we can begin to add extensions like the 7th, 9th, 11th, and 13th degrees of chords. This level introduces new chord flavours, and enriches your harmonic vocabulary tenfold!

To achieve this level of playing, it’s important to work from the notes you’re most familiar with – the triad. For example, to find the 11th degree (4th), you should first identify where the 3rd is before moving a whole step up to the 11th/4th degree.

Once you can begin identifying where the extended tones are, you can start to play each of the notes sequentially to form more exciting and colourful arpeggios.

Level 8 – Building Scales

Scales are a small extension beyond the arpeggios. A simple place to start is the major scale, followed by the natural minor scale, but there’s much more to learn beyond this!

Once you become proficient at identifying intervals quickly on the neck, it will become very easy for you to build scales on-the-spot. This is an essential skill for improvisation, especially over more complex harmonic changes.

Level 9 – Extended Chords

Playing notes in sequential order is not nearly as difficult as playing groups of notes together! We’re limited to 4 fingers, and 6 strings, so it’s necessary to make quick decisions about the order of notes, and which notes to omit.

This level requires an understanding of chord construction. In the video provided, I demonstrate chord voicings and accompany them with an improvised melody, showcasing the harmonically rich sounds of extended chords.

Level 10 – Melodic Freedom:

In this final level, you have complete freedom to visualise the guitar neck and play both melody and harmony without a struggle!

CAGED will alleviate the trial and error of finding notes on the neck, and will instead allow you to communicate more effectively from your brain to your fingers 💪

Summary

I hope this demonstration gives you insight into the creative possibilities of the CAGED system. If you’re interested in a structured practice plan on how to master these skills and beyond, consider joining me here on Fretwise for a comprehensive learning experience! Keep practicing and have fun exploring the vast possibilities of the CAGED system!

In this post I will teach you everything you need to know about how to build chords on guitar for a solid foundation of chord theory. 💪

We’ve all been there, looking at a complicated chord written down (Am7b9#13no5), feeling lost, and resorting to playing the simplest form. However, once you grasp how to read these chord notations, you’ll be able to confidently tackle even the most intricate chords. That’s precisely what this video is all about —breaking down the primary chord types and decoding chord notations.

Before you dive in, it’s necessary that you are familiar with intervals on the fretboard, like recognising intervals such as 1, 3, 5, and 7. If you need to strengthen your interval knowledge, I go through this extensively in my CAGED Fretboard Visualisation Masterclass.

By the end of this lesson you will know how to build chords on guitar.

Chord Types

We can break down all chords into three types. Take note to how each version builds upon the previous chord type:

1. Triads

Triads are basic chords consisting of three notes, all stacked in thirds. There are four essential types:

• Major Triad: 1, 3, 5
• Minor Triad: 1, b3, 5
• Augmented Triad: 1, 3, #5
• Diminished Triad: 1, b3, b5

You may be familiar with Suspended Triads, but these aren’t amongst the essential four because they actually deviate from traditional harmony because they do not comprise of stacked thirds:

• Suspended 2 (sus2) Triad: 1, 2, 5
• Suspended 4 (sus4) Triad: 1, 4, 5

All of these triads form the foundation for more complex chords.

2. Seventh Chords

Seventh chords add a fourth note to triads, the seventh degree. There are five primary seventh chord types to know:

• Major 7: 1, 3, 5, 7
• Minor 7: 1, b3, 5, b7
• Dominant 7: 1, 3, 5, b7
• Minor 7b5 (Half Diminished): 1, b3, b5, b7
• Diminished 7 (Full Diminished): 1, b3, b5, bb7 (double flat seven)

Seventh chords build upon triads, and make your chords vocabulary more colourful and jazzy.

3. Extended Chords

Extended chords incorporate additional notes – 9, 11, and 13 – above the octave (1). They are essentially seventh chords with extensions. For example:

• Major 9: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9
• Minor 9: 1, b3, 5, b7, 9
• Dominant 9: 1, 3, 5, b7, 9

These chords stack an additional third onto seventh chords.

When encountering more complex extended chords, you may need to omit certain notes to make them playable on guitar. For instance, a Major 13 (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13) has 7 notes, but guitars typically only have 6 strings. Thus to play this chord it would require omitting the 11.

Chord Modifiers

In addition to the chord types mentioned above, there are three chord modifiers that you should understand:

1. Add Chords

These simply add an extra note to a basic triad. For instance, Cadd9 includes the 9th degree (2) in addition to the triad.

The reason it’s notated as Cadd9 instead of Cmaj9 is because there’s no 7 in the chord. If there were a 7, “add” chords become extended seventh chords.

2. Modified Notes

Some chords include modified notes, like Cmaj7#11, where #11 is the modified note. This alters the chord’s tonality.

Cmaj7#11 could be constructed in a few ways on guitar:

• 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, #11 (the most complete – does not imply best)
• 1, 3, 5, 7, #11
• 1, 3, 7, #11 (the most concise and clear)

3. Slash Chords

When you see a chord like C/E, it means a C chord with an E in the bass. In this instance, E is the 3rd degree of C major. That would make C/E the first inversion of a C major triad.

Slash chords don’t always need to contain notes of the parent chord. For example, C/D is a C major triad with a D in the bass.

Concluding Notes

Understanding these three methods of chord theory will allow you to decipher and play a wide range of chords effectively.

As you experiment and build different chord variations across the neck, you’ll enhance your chord-playing skills and broaden your musical horizons. Chords are the building blocks of music, and mastering them opens up endless possibilities for your playing.