The CAGED System Unlocked
CAGED maps the whole neck onto five familiar open chord shapes: C, A, G, E, D. Each shape interlocks with the next by sharing notes; move through them in order and you can play the same chord anywhere on the neck.
Every C major chord tone on the neck
The five shapes, in order
- The shapes climb in the order C → A → G → E → D → C, repeating from fret 12.
- Around every chord shape sits a pentatonic box and an arpeggio: the chord tones (R-3-5) are the skeleton of the pentatonic. Compare them in the Scale & Chord Explorer.
- Practice: play one chord (e.g. G) in all five shapes, then play I–IV–V staying in one area.
Triad Inversions
Reorder a triad's notes and you get an inversion: the same chord with a different colour, in a different part of the neck.
| Inversion | Lowest note | In C major |
|---|---|---|
| Root position | R | C – E – G |
| 1st inversion | 3 | E – G – C |
| 2nd inversion | 5 | G – C – E |
Play a progression (e.g. C – Am – F – G) using only triads on strings 1-2-3 without leaving a 4–5 fret area. Choosing the nearest inversion is the foundation of voice leading.
3-Note-Per-String (3NPS) System
In the 3NPS system every string gets exactly three notes. The regular pattern suits alternate picking and legato at speed; it's the standard map of modern rock and fusion.
There are 7 patterns, one starting on each note of the major scale, and each is the shape of a mode: