Guitar: CAGEDFive chord shapes that connect to cover the entire fretboard.MusicEvery major chord can be played in five places, using the five open shapesmoved up.1C shapeThe open C form, barred. Root on string 5.2A shapeNext up the neck. Root on string 5.3G shapeAwkward but useful for arpeggios. Root on string 6.4E shapeThe standard barre chord. Root on string 6.5D shapeHighest of the five. Root on string 4, then it repeats.C MAJOR, ALL FIVEC shape at fret 1A shape at fret 3G shape at fret 5E shape at fret 8D shape at fret 10Each shape's scale pattern connects to the next. CAGED is really a mapof the fretboard, not five chords.Guitar: CAGEDlearnposters.com
Guitar: CAGED — printable music wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

Guitar: CAGED, step by step

Every major chord can be played in five places, using the five open shapes moved up.

  1. C shapeThe open C form, barred. Root on string 5.
  2. A shapeNext up the neck. Root on string 5.
  3. G shapeAwkward but useful for arpeggios. Root on string 6.
  4. E shapeThe standard barre chord. Root on string 6.
  5. D shapeHighest of the five. Root on string 4, then it repeats.

C major, all five

  • C shape at fret 1
  • A shape at fret 3
  • G shape at fret 5
  • E shape at fret 8
  • D shape at fret 10

Each shape's scale pattern connects to the next. CAGED is really a map of the fretboard, not five chords.

Questions about the Guitar: CAGED poster

What’s on the Guitar: CAGED poster?
5 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. Every major chord can be played in five places, using the five open shapes moved up. C shape — The open C form, barred. Root on string 5.; A shape — Next up the neck. Root on string 5.; G shape — Awkward but useful for arpeggios. Root on string 6.; E shape — The standard barre chord. Root on string 6.; D shape — Highest of the five. Root on string 4, then it repeats.. Each shape's scale pattern connects to the next. CAGED is really a map of the fretboard, not five chords.
Who is the Guitar: CAGED poster for?
Guitar: CAGED belongs to the Music section rather than to a school year, because music is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning instruments can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Guitar: CAGED poster?
The five shapes always appear in the order C-A-G-E-D as you move up the neck. Always. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Guitar: CAGED belongs on the wall where that music work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Guitar: CAGED?
Bass Guitar, The Brass Family and Cello Basics sit alongside Guitar: CAGED in the Music section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Bass GuitarThe Brass FamilyCello Basics
Is the Guitar: CAGED poster free to download and print?
Yes. Guitar: CAGED downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Music section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Guitar: CAGED poster print at?
Guitar: CAGED is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Guitar: CAGED loses nothing.Printing guide

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