So, if you are in the key of G, you know where to play the pentatonic by finding a G note. The big deal with The Major Pentatonic scale has the same visual shapes as the Minor Pentatonic so it is ESSENTIAL that you focus on where the ROOT note is. The shape that you play first, depends on which key you are in: The best way to practise the shapes is to choose a key and play each shape in that one key. The main reason for the confusion is because some visualization systems are “dynamic” whereas others are “static”. Because of this, you can’t say that pentatonic position #1 always overlaps with the G-shape. The strings are set out horizontally, with the 6th string to the right and the 1st string to the left. But it’s well worth it. A lesson already exists on how to do this, called how to practise scales by staying in one position. This post is an overview to the guitar’s CAGED system, highlighting the diatonic and pentatonic scale shapes as the relate to the whole fret board. That is true sometimes, but not always. Pentatonic Scales Major Scales Shapes in C Chords Linked Up A / E / C 7 G E E C C C F G G G G A D G F A D G B G E 15 12 9 7 5 3 15 12 9 7 3 C G G C E C G C G C E C C E E C C E C C C C E C E E G G Fretboards by Neck Diagrams www.NeckDiagrams.com Creating fretboard diagrams just got EASY! We therefor played an ‘F minor pentatonic scale’. It is set out the same as a chord diagram, but we interpret it a little differently. Required fields are marked *. I think it’s easier just to know that you should learn each scale five different ways and by doing so, you will be effectively using the CAGED system. In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to combine the major and minor pentatonic scales with chord shapes from the CAGED System. The five C-A-G-E-D scale shapes (C shape, A shape, G shape, E shape and D shape) surround the entire fretboard. From our previous lesson on the CAGED systemwe know that the sequence remains constant regardless of which chord shape we started from. We could however, start on the 5th fret. We could play the same shape in a different position if we want, but we would be changing the key. We then move through the notes in order of pitch, until we reach the root note again (up one octave). I’ve been playing in bands and studying the fretboard since I was 11. When the progression moves to C, find a C. If there is one on the b or d string you feel like jumping to, you know you can play chord tones or an arpeggio in the D shape, for example. START Extras If you know the theory (which you do, right?) For instance if you are playing in the key of C major, and you are soloing in pentatonic position #1, you will realize that you can also find the chord tones of the C major scale right underneath your fingertips in the “G-shape”: Pentatonic position #1 in the key of C major: However, this may lead you to believe that pentatonic position #1 is ALWAYS going to be associated with the G-shape of the chord that you are looking for, but that will not always work. The only difference is the root (in red), the starting note. Being able to play scales up and down the fretboard opens up a whole world of endless possibilities for lead guitar playing. That’s why it’s so important to master all of these five scale shapes. If we look at its interval structure, it goes like this: You can practise playing the scale on one string, as we did with the major scale in the previous lesson. Because we have used each shape to play over one octave, there are notes in each shape that we simply haven’t covered. Because we play this shape by starting on the 5th string, you need to know the notes along the 5th string in order to know which key you are in. Here is what is included when you pay the one-time fee to upgrade your account. Movable scales using the CAGED system. Both are important, but you should always be very clear about what you are trying to do. The major scale is the mother of all scales and your reference point for all other scales. If we played the above scale diagram starting on the 1st fret, we would be playing the following: I specified starting on the 1st fret, because as I mentioned earlier, scale diagrams are movable, which means we can start on any fret we want, depending on which key we want to play in. However, I prefer not to use these labels, as it can be confusing. In this lesson, we are going to look at another scale – the ‘minor pentatonic scale’, so that we can explore lead guitar playing. There are many ways to visualize the fretboard. I understand that this reiterates what you’ve said, but again, the focus for me seems to be knowing the root notes, in both senses, cold. The circles with numbers tell us to use that finger (number) on the string and fret that it sits on. Pattern 1 (CAGED: E shape) This shape has many cool blues licks in it, should be the second shape you learn. you can figure out how to play scales in a given position. Your email address will not be published. This was easy with the original shape that we looked at because the lowest note of the shape was the root note, but with this one, we need to observe where the lowest root note is, and play from there. As you say, it’s all about visualization, which is necessary for total fretboard mastery. You’ll learn how to easily jump from the major to the minor pentatonic scale in three main neck positions AND how to play the 1, 4, 5 chords in those various positions. “Layer 1” systems are always about learning how to play “in key”. In this case, let’s learn the Major Pentatonic scale around each of the scale … However, as guitarists, we have the luxury of being able to learn movable shapes. 0:45 – 5 Pentatonic Positions vs 5 CAGED Shapes Comparisons When you are focusing on the “I chord” of the key that you are playing in, it is often helpful to make the connection between the pentatonic position that you are in and the nearby available CAGED shape. If you learn five different shapes for a given scale, you can play that scale all over the fretboard. Pentatonic position #1 in the key of G major: As you can see the C major chord (found in the G-shape) is still in the same exact spot, but the location of “pentatonic position #1” has shifted once the key changed. A more commonly used method is to relate any scale back to the major scale, in terms of numbers. The frets are set out vertically, with the 1st fret at the top. However the fact that there are so many different systems can often lead to confusion. 0:00 – Intro Demo But I’m not going to suggest that you reinvent the wheel every time you want to play a scale. Its definitely a good idea to learn the minor pentatonic in all CAGED positions. Below are the 5 CAGED positions for both the major and minor pentatonic, but this works for any scale. This is where the CAGED system for Guitar comes in. You’ll learn how to easily jump from the major to the minor pentatonic scale in three main neck positions AND how to play the 1, 4, 5 chords in those various positions. In actual fact, we should play these notes when practising each shape. These are the dynamic systems. Your email address will not be published. The northstar in this, as I see it, is the root note. The major pentatonic sequence goes: R-2-3-5-6 (Box 2 in the example). Pentatonic Scales And The Caged System (Lead Guitar Playing Part 1), how to practise scales by staying in one position, How To Practise Scales And Arpeggios By Staying In One Position. Using this method, we can say that the minor pentatonic scale is made up of the following: What this translates to is that the minor pentatonic scale is made up of the following: The C major scale contains the following notes: Therefor the C minor pentatonic scale contains the following notes: As you can see, by knowing the C major scale and the makeup of the minor pentatonic scale, we are able to determine the notes of the C minor pentatonic scale. The CAGED System with The Major Pentatonic Scale. It’s a good thing to do, as an exercise in fretboard knowledge and scale knowledge. Nice work. The CAGED system divides the guitar neck into manageable chunks based around five different chord shapes – the chord shape of C, the chord shape of A, and the chord shapes of G, E and D. Look at these barre chord shapes. So why do we need more shapes that simply allow us to play the same thing? For example, ‘C#’ becomes ‘C’. What this translates to is that the minor pentatonic scale is made up of the following: 1st note of the major scale (1) 3rd note of the major scale, lowered by a semitone (b3) 4th note of the major scale. The “pentatonic positions” are a dynamic system of fretboard visualization (positions change based on key), whereas the “CAGED system” is a static system (independent of key).