9/11/2023 0 Comments Caged scalesSimple playing situations, like ascending on a scale and descending on the arpeggio become difficult. These shapes are far harder to play than what we would have expected. The "D shape" covers only the first 4 strings. The "G shape" does not cover strings 2,3, and 4: these notes must be borrowed from the "A shape", but the resulting pattern is not easy to play as an arpeggio. You can see immediately that if you try and play the CAGED chord shapes as arpeggios (i.e. one note at a time in order, on all strings) then you run into strange problems. They seem to have been chosen because they resemble the classic "cowboy chords" that most players learn when starting, but this is quite a poor choice later on. The problem is that the chord patterns that in the CAGED system are shown superimposed to the scales are not useful patterns to play arpeggios. Let me show you how this is actually not true, or at least not as true a advertised. This may be surprising for some of you, since most people who use the CAGED system say that the chord/scale integration is one of the main features of their system. I am going to elaborate on that in detail in the points below. I also have seen a few who raved about it, only to drop it like a hot potato once I showed them how the system was limiting their playing ability. In my experience as a music teacher, I have seen countless students confused and frustrated by this scale system. Also, these teachers are both unable to tell me exactly how CAGED is superior to their own system. And yet, I can't help wondering why you should need to invent your own system if the "right" one already exist. When they play, on the other hand, they both use "a system they invented", but they readily concede that "of course CAGED is better". The fact that some people think that CAGED is "the only way" reaches sometimes ridiculous proportions: I know a couple of local guitar teachers that do not use CAGED but they teach it to their students because, hey, it's the "right way". Well, there are other methods to learn guitar scales and all of them obviously use the octave pattern. For this reasons many obvious observation regarding the fretboard are credited to CAGED: for instance, I have read countless articles saying that the patterns of octaves on the guitar is "a consequence of the CAGED system". Since the CAGED system of learning guitar scales is the most widespread method to learn guitar scales, many guitarists think that it is also the only "real" or "correct" method. What is happening is that the CAGED system as is commonly taught has a number of problems that prevent you to reach your full potential. Is there something wrong with you? I have been in your same situation and I can tell you that it's not your fault. And yet you still do not feel like you are mastering the fretboard. You may even have been successful in learning it. You may have heard about the CAGED system to learn guitar scales.
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