CAGED stands for the five open chord shapes C, A, G, E and D that most beginning guitarists learn first. Each of these shapes can be moved up the neck with a barre and then produces the same chord at a different spot on the fretboard.
Line up all five shifted shapes one after another and they overlap seamlessly, covering the entire fretboard – the sequence C → A → G → E → D → (back to C, an octave higher) keeps repeating. The CAGED system helps you recognise the same notes and chords in different positions, find your way around the fretboard and later also line up scales and solos along these familiar shapes.
The CAGED Explorer is meant to help you play related keys on the fretboard using the CAGED system. In addition, the interactive circle of fifths below helps you connect music theory with practice and see which keys are closely related – and therefore often used together in pieces of music. The buttons below the fretboard offer suggestions for how to switch between the individual keys during a song.
Pick a root note and a shape below to see how each chord shape is shifted.
New to the CAGED system? We take a closer look at the CAGED system in our CAGED Roadmap →
The buttons are suggestions for how the keys from the circle of fifths can be combined with a matching CAGED shape on the fretboard – not fixed rules.