Learn the Music Theory Behind the Guitar Chord CAGED System

United States of America (Press Release) October 23, 2007 -- There are literally thousands of different kinds of chords and chord shapes that can be played on the guitar, but most can be traced back to just 5 basic chord shapes. The 5 basic forms are C, A, G, E, and D. This spells "Caged" and gives rise to the Guitar Chord CAGED System. With the right kind of Guitar Theory, each one of these chord forms can be turned into a barre chord and moved around the fretboard. Each barre chord can be played as an arpeggio pattern which inlcudes even more notes. These arpeggio patterns can then be broken up into all sorts of unique chord shapes, voicings and inversions.

Guitar Chord Arpeggios
Major chords are made up of three notes. Notes can be repeated, stacked in any order, and played anywhere on the guitar fretboard. Just like with playing guitar scales, guitarists must learn how to map out the notes of chords on the guitar neck. These patterns are called "arpeggios."

Chord Inversions and Voicings
Arpeggios show you where all the chord tones are located for a given chord. When all the notes of a chord can be easily visualized in each position, then a guitar player can easily grab the notes in a variety of ways and do so anywhere on the guitar neck. A chord inversion, in practical music theory terms, is simply a re-arrangement of the notes from one shape to another. For example, a C major chord includes the notes C-E-G. These notes are available in this order but only in some spots. In other areas you might find them stacked E-G-C or G-C-E. Each combination produces a slightly different sound or "chord voicing."

Guitar CAGED Template Chord System
When guitar players map out all the notes of a C chord across the entire fretboard they end up with a big pattern of notes that is very hard to follow. But when this pattern is broken down into 5 pieces it produces 5 practical arpeggio patterns. Reduced to its fundamental shape, each arpeggio pattern becomes something very familiar. One position resembles an open C chord, the next an open A chord, followed by G, E and D. Hence, the Guitar CAGED Template Chord System.

Chord Shapes For Rhythm Guitar
Great rhythm guitar players don't necessarily use strange chords, they just know how to freshen up common guitar chord progressions with different shapes and voicings. Take the song "Jack and Diane" by John Mellencamp for example. Each section of this tune sounds unique but the whole song is actually just variations of the SAME THREE CHORDS! Understanding guitar theory and the guitar chord caged system enables guitar players to squeeze new life out of familiar chord forms.

For more free information about using the guitar chord CAGED system, Google search "Desi Serna Guitar Theory Podcast."

Play until your fingers bleed!