I remember watching an interview with David Gilmour and he said something that all aspiring guitarists should understand. Not everybody’s fingers are capable of playing fast. He realized he was one of those who’s fingers had a speed limit. So he had to develop a style that complimented his “limitation”. For me, that made perfect sense. For my fingers are similarly challenged in the speed category. It is simply impossible for me to shred. Not that I’d want to. I was raised on classical music and jazz. Melodic music. No angry Hungarian violinist please. Same goes for guitar. Slow is good. An old acquaintance and a professional musician, played classical guitar, lute, lap steel, jazz, but above all was a great blues player. He always emphasized minimizing the number of notes. Caress, bend, vibrato, slide. It’s not a race he would say. I suppose that is why many of us never tire of Gilmour and Beck. They tell a story with their playing.
I knew jazz players targeted chord tones. So I started learning triads and how they relate to the pentatonics. It's been a game changer. Hear a a melody first and then find it and play it. Gilmour and Knopfler use this all the time.
@@chrisbirdsall6055 So I know my open chords, quite a few bar chords but I've barely scratched the surface on triads. When ever I love using the pentatonic it just sounds like im playing the scale up and down with a few bends here and there. I need to find that melody in my solo.
Yeah I went through that as well. The triads are in those chords, you just have to break them down and see them. Learn a solo or two by someone that you like so that you can understand the architecture of how they constructed their lines. Play it a LOT, almost until you're sick of it and the ideas are second nature. Then you can start hearing other ideas to mix in and create your own solo. You're learning a language and it takes time and experience.
@@chrisbirdsall6055 yes i do see it as learning a language as well. I'm currently working on the Stairway to heaven solo. I appreciate your advice. Thank you.
As someone with a terrible ear this is how I construct solos. There are the chords, these are the notes within these chords, and add some connecting notes to smooth it out. That or just cop the melody or vocal line. On most rock/ blues contexts it's effective.
Yes. I just commented something similar, but I forgot to mention playing the actual vocal line, or harmonizing with it. Once one can build solos within this structure, it’s easier to leave it at times, when it works for the song, and/or moment.
Have you tried ear training intervals? Or my personal favorite " just hum along to the different instruments of songs"? And lastly, just sitting down to imagine melody without playing? ( although, if you can do the other stuff you said, maybe you don't have such a bad ear after all)
What a great video! subbed 3 videos ago. You make so much sense. In all the years I have played....took years of a break due to frustration. I was so frustrated when trying to learn theory....I hated it. I rely on my ears. This is the BEST channel!
Good vid. I went thru some of the same process that you did, but it was 50 years ago, and all I had were the Mickey Baker book for chords, and the Berklee books for scales. I did the same thing: recorded myself playing along to a backing track and then listened to my Solo without the changes. Same result: just repetitive non-sense, & no sense of "Playing the Changes." Off to your next vid. Thanks!
The chord system, which is called the CAGED system, is a great way to visualize the chords as they march up and down the fretboard. I wrote a little Visual Basic program in 2003 that utilizes the chord progression patterns. My program marches 36 different chords types, in all keys, in the 5 different patterns they are found on the fretboard. I didn’t realize at the time that it it is called the CAGED system because I started on E pattern as the first actual chords on a normal six string guitar. We can visually see the E chord as it marches up the fretboard. E>D>C>A>G the pattern follows every chord up and down the fretboard. We can see how each pattern contains parts of the pattern before or after it. When we move from the E pattern up to the D pattern (of the same same chord, we use the same 5th and 4th strings. D>C use the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st strings. C>A only uses the 5th string. A>G uses 4th, 3rd, and 2nd string. G>E uses 6th, 2nd, and 1st strings. So instead of memorizing notes in scales, the patterns of the notes always fit the chord. As long as you know what you root note is, you can figure out the notes that will fit the chord on the area of the fretboard. This means we aren’t limited to just one position on the fretboard but can go to any position that fits the chord and use the pattern. This also serves to teach the chord structure all over the fretboard. Plus, now it’s easier to figure out more complex chords and inversions of chords. I wish I had learned this method when I first started out.
Great video and channel! The way you talk about theory has really clicked with me in a way that reading from books and watching other guitar youtubers just hasn't; thank you for your work!
For me this was the most important lesson (and most rewarding) I ever learned. I played minor pentatonic on almost everything and it worked for most things, but it was boring as hell. I did practice the 3 on 1 string scales a lot, but it didn't really bring me anywhere. My story is just a little different from yours. I started to search for the sevenths and the thirds in a blues progression. This sounds a bit more complicated, but it lead to the same thing. I could see the shapes and my fingers would follow almost automatically, because I could play all the scales from my muscle memory. I'm not lying, but in two weeks time I went from playing minor pentatonic scales to playing changes. And it helped me to see so many new patterns and once you start to play those patterns you develope an ear for these things. Know that I hate(d) studying and practicing. This however was so much fun because it made me a much better player in such an unbelievably short period of time. I'm glad you explained it this way. It's one of the most important lessons I try to teach my students. Mainly because it worked so well for me. 😄
This hit me in the feels...and fretboard! I started in the box, youth and speed pushed me to 3&4 notes per string... now I'm older and slower... and just picked up a book on CAGED... going to dig in with your video. TY
you are going to hear the chord progression without having to hear the chord progression. Think about the times you hear a great player plug in at the guitar store, and play some really great melodies on guitar you just know that they are keeping it all together following chords we may not hear. The unheard rythm is the solid foundation for us to build on within, but not without..
I recently discovered your channel. I am 10 years older then you and I have been through the same kind of path of frustration and flash. I really like your method as its unique and well though! When I got better was when I started playing what I hear instead of letting the muscle memory take over. Gilmour and Gibbons for me are a tutorial for life :) Keep up the amazing work! I love your channel.
Well..... guess I have been in a cave all my life. I had been using this system for the better part of my playing years because Gilmore and Beck (Blackmore, Clapton, Larry Carlton, Peter White) were big influences for me from very early in my learning. I had no idea it was called the CAGED system, but it does work beautifully and now I know what to call it when other guitar players are asking me "how are you playing that". Great info, thanks for sharing..... and I promise to climb out of this cave 😁
The guy that really influenced me in making solo lines follow underlying chords was Marty Friedman. To me, he's the best rock guitarist at playing original lines according to the chords. I guess Jazz is the ultimate expression of this approach, but Friedman really makes it cool to me.
I have played guitar since the sixties, never took a lesson. Lots of pro work. Never thought about how I was playing. Playing Blues all this time, played in sweet boxes, chords and triads. Great fun.
Great vid. Thank you! It’s so easy to get stuck in a style or method rut on guitar. I’ve been playing for 40 plus years and still enjoy learning from great guys like yourself. Imagine if we had these learning tools in the 70s Holy shit.
I watch most of the videos from this channel that come across my feed but it was this video that made me subscribe because I think this is the most useful explanation of why I play like I do When im improvising nicely. I picked up my guitar right after watching this caged explanation and I just started playing around with a comfortably numb solo and it makes more sense to me now. more than ever before.
That is very interesting.. I learned the cage system from the beginning of my playing 30 yrs ago .. and I always wanted to learn the 3 note per sting style ..I think knowing both makes you a monster guitarist.. or a very knowledgeable better player … great video .. thank you
sometimes the best thing you can do as a musician is put the instrument down and get inspiration from your daily life but wait everyone is to buzy on their phones or internet oh know so just connect to be speaking is good it can help with verses and chorus and pre middle 8s and please help one another it is trying times please help one another to write and play the correct way and stick to it and get tight as a unit
CAGED liberated me as a player, and then EVERYTHING started to make sense. I discovered it too late though and I recommend every young player to learn it. The ability to play over anything is amazing and you can still fit in a few fast licks and arpeggios.
@@MrAxman53 Not to overwhelm you, but just to give you the 4 general directions that will help you out for sure.( as they have helped me, as someone who mainly enjoys making wierd songs) To improvise is to combine what you already know in a new context. So for anyone who can't improvise like a jazz musician, I'll say that, what you are doing, even if you don't have the most control, is still a step towards improvising. It's not just about the caged system. Although the caged system cirtainly is a tool towards that. It's about beeing able to preform a set of specific tasks in order. 1. Beeing able to recognise whare you are in the harmony (ear training intervals interval and progressions will help. There is a good app for this called open ear. Also look for a song for each interval for the start, so that the process goes faster. There is a video for this on a british pianists chanel, youll find it on youtube) 2. Beeing able to imagine the note you want to play ( the more you do imagine what note or phrase before you play it, the more you'll be able to) ( this is called Audiation) 3. Beeing able to execute what you hear in your head, on the guitar( this is whare things like the caged system come Into play, but also what I'd recomend is using this site to randomly generate note names, and for you to then play the notes one by one on only one string, and to time your results. On each string play every instance of that one note occurring before moving on to the next, and then after finishing a string, then move on to the next string. Then review the time, and once you get pretty fast at some strings, start focusing more on the ones you are slower at, and when you get fast at all of them, do it with 2 strings the 3 and etc.. Here's the site www.therandomscalemachine.com/list.php) Along side this, is using a metronome for picking speed and accuracy. You can use an app for that. Then, a metronome for left hand speed. And try each hand alone and together( so that you can realise which one might be lagging, and you can focus on that one) - and with that, you'll be alright, but, to go on to the next step, you'll find it vary usefull if you have memorised the basics of musical theory. The note names in each scale, how to make a minor and major scale, types of progressions, what chords attract others, etc.. this can be found on Rick Beatos Channel ) This will make the other things easier, and the others will make this easier, but there is another step. - Consistency. Even if its 5 min a day practising, if its every day, you'll learn faster, and ofcourse if you do more it'll be better, but don't forget that you also need to take breaks and sleep, and don't do something If it's too painful, that's a sign that you might not be holding a proper technique, In which case you might know what not to do Take it step by step,and expand on your own personal aproach about how you should do thease things. When I was teaching myself guitar for example, I focused a lot on how to write comfortable fingerings for myself, because I wanted to compose and I wanted to play classical guitar. And the 1st peace I learned seriously was bourree by back, since before that I just fu*ked around with the guitar with 2 years, and learning that peace took me 2 months to learn well, and I needed some 5 or 4 hours of practise. ( I was really invested in it, and a lot of coffee was drank xd since I was a teen who didn't know any better than not to drink 5 coffees a day hahah) Follow what amuzes you, try making songs, even if at first they don't sound right. And research how to practise. If you do it right, everything will go faster. Hint: take few note phrases, and repeat them slowly untill you get them down. Then reference the song if it sounds good. Then take the next few notes. Then combine the few last notes of the 1st and few first notes of the 2nd few notes. And lastly, play the 2 together and move on to the next. Take things, one at a time. There is time for all of thease things on your guitar learning journey. Just keep in mind the 3 things. 1.To be able to Recognise 2.To be able to Audiate 3.To be able to Execute I can send you other materials if you ask for them by replying to this coment. If you found it useful, do share what you know with others, since that's a great way to strengthen what you already know. Anywho,rant over, have a good day.
Very well pesented, interesting, with only one aspet left to deal with: The song to be interperted and assisted by solos of any kind. Awaiting your news.Paul, 67, retired teacher, fan of electronic guitars.
I was thinking most musicians knew this. I cannot really play an instrument but I have a daw and 16 pad controller that I make groove based music on. I purchased some music theory plugins that basically are one finger chord players but with advanced music theory. I learned that the melody and bass come from the same notes as the chords. Get a good chord progression and follow the notes in that chord progression for for your melody. Do the same for the bass line. Drums also need to be tuned to fit the key of your song. You can find a cheap or even free digital work station and get a plugin virtual instrument like Captain Epic. You can use Captain Epic to find chords you like. Once you got that it also comes with Captain bass and Melody. You can play around with these tools to easily and quickly build a song to play with other instruments.
Another good music theory plugin is Scaler from plugin boutique. With all this technology most of the popular music you hear today is still only four chords through the entire song. With these plugins you should be hearing chord progressions that blow your mind. Could you imagine if the Beatles had this technology to help them write songs?
I did CAGED for 50 years before I started 3nps. I did CAGED for something like 35 years before I knew it was CAGED. I dutifully go through all 3nps positions every morning when I wake up. When I'm actually improvising and not just practicing I'm mostly CAGED with the occasional 3nps flourish. I use the 3nps knowledge a lot when tapping but I almost never tap when I'm actually improvising, which I just noticed now. So who knows why I'm spending so much time on 3nps and tapping when I hardly ever do it when it counts? Its fun, and that's enough. Great video. One thing I've been doing is on a run up the pentatonic minor scale tapping a 5th above the minor third when I get to the end which is novel and unexpected. Thanks for the great video
Thank you for an insightful video! I've never sat down to figure out what CAGED actually was but now that you have explained it I realise that I always play like that! Great! Now I just need to figure out that "3 notes per string"-system that I've never sat down to understandv before either! Maybe I already know it! 😅
Yeah, my point exactly, Michael (above). "CAGED" is what many of us have done for ever. We just never called it that. So it's interesting to come across an already fluid guitar player, who, weirdly, has not thought in that way!
Great Video presentation! I have found bucket 5 , 4th string root Pentatonic blues 2 note per string may require all 4 fingers in the more challenging positions . making the challenging positions work helps in blending different keys in the same position .
The "F" chord on the "D" string is a 6th area to practice with as well, even if it overlaps the "E" chord & string. It's good to look at it independently.
Highly intriguing video, David. I’ve usually looked at the caged system as a means of tracking chords. I’d heard of it being used to solo, but never saw it demonstrated like. That’s really interesting.
Yep, your onto it. The cords are made up of notes out of the scale. So it makes sense to use the cords as a springboard to solo from. Also what is helpful is to think like a piano player who plays using the chord & scale together in their playing.
If this is helpful to anyone, here's another way of grasping CAGED: Each chord appears in these shapes sequentially going higher up the guitar neck. So, C chord appears in C shape (fret 3 to 1, root on 3rd fret), next in A shape (fret 3 to 5, root on 3rd fret), then in G shape (fret 8 to 5, root on 8th fret), then E shape (fret 8 to 10, root on 8th and 10th frets), and then in D shape (fret 10 to 13, root on 10th fret). You can figure out which string(s) the root is on from your knowledge of the 5 shapes. So, essentially, you can play chord tones, non-chord scalar tones, chromatic intervening tones in any/all positions according to the function of that particular note in the melody (e.g. do you intend a natural 3rd, or a 6th over the prevailing chord--well, then that is the note you play next; don't shred scalar patterns).
@@scottwheels This way of conceptualizing CAGED is what you mean, I guess. "Exact quote" would require someone to copy and paste (plagiarize) what I said above.
Wow, this is weird timing because I started playing guitar 45 years ago and there was a metal guitarist guy had a course. He said what you just said, and I found the little booklet I bought from him 45 years ago! It lays out the five pentatonic shapes, it covers: (blues, major scales and modes) visually. And one thing I finally realized is that if you move one box for example the *A* pentatonic up all the other shapes(boxes) move too and that means that you have access to all the notes in those four scales ALL over the guitar neck. If you play C major and want to find the relative minor just move back three frets and play the parallel minor scale there and all the notes will be the same and match up in the order of the relative minor! Also, you’ll find that you will always be in key, so form there it’s just a matter of using your ears and chromaticism!
@@mrquick6775 I hardly think in terms of scales anymore. I think of chord tones, and neighboring diatonic and chromatic tones (each by degree). But when I am playing mandolin, I shoot for the exact melody note I am hearing in my brain (thinking of chords might be an afterthought, sometimes emerging years later). The chord shapes/grips (on any instrument) just show where the 1, 3, and 5 are, and the brain calculates the remaining neighboring tensions.
@@longtalljay True, I only brought it up because of the timing. I only think of scales when I’m looking for an exotic sound. I have perfect pitch so I can pretty much play whatever I hear in my head!
we have this thing that busy sounds good or fast when you realize your wrong is when you find that the scales are there to help the notes are what make the music like chromatic notes before or after joining the dots and subtracting in the end you try to find the melody or a chord or nothing is good because you could be playing over something that should be there like another instrument good luck all musicians
I guess the common issue is that a guitar play wants to become a guitarist instead of a musician who wants to use the guitar as chosen instrument. A lot of words to explain a very simple concept. You can’t avoid to sound more professional/musically if you first and foremost learn the progression and the chosen rhythm. Then when the desire grows to improvise/ soloing the following should be less challenging and developing ears over time. Collecting ideas over years and you’ll be fine. Play the Scale over the relevant Chord . Am Am scale , always think natural not pentatonic that’s only good for positioning. Next chord D major play D major over it. Needless to say this is far more harder to learn then a scale played up and down. A good idea is to learn a Key and understand the difference between intervals/ Dominant/ Subdominat and so on. With time that’s the way to choose. Caged system is just a description for guys who want a shortcut. There is no shortcut only doors to go through
Love the lick at 8:17 so much I had to learn it. Only possible thanks to the great camera angle (and YT's play speed adjustment), and, of course, the great content you make. Now I just need to find me a shovel... 'Cause I can dig it. \,,/
what about guide tone lines to get from chord to chord and then adding other chord tones + tensions, transcribing tons of solos and most importantly: learn to sing everything before you play it. I study jazz singing therefore I was improvising with voice before I was improvising on guitar. You must hear notes so clear in your head that you can nail them when singing, no little slides because you didnt intonate right right away. If you have a clear sound for every note in your head and can just take a random standard you dont know yet, get a first note and improvise over it while still being in tune after several choruses (without backing track) you can make musical ideas in your head. You just need more voculary then (transcribe a lot of solos and use the language you learn). Once you have all those ideas in your head you only have to find them on the guitar, which was fairly simple for me. (I played guitar as a kid, so technique was not a big problem) But I think getting a very fast, very clear sound in your head for every note and then getting vocabulary are by far the harder and more important parts in learning to solo. A great way to learn a lot of this stuff is to learn to sight sing. It doesnt even take that long to get very good at sight singing. Maybe a couple of years 20 minutes a day and you will be able to sing everything. I think I started sight singing maybe 4 years ago and I am now at the point where I am sight singing the omnibook (at a relatively slow pace still, but I hardly make mistakes anymore) and try to improve speed and intonation. Also practice very slowly! No need to play on 240bpm or something. You learn much more if you go to 80bpm and can hear your intonation and really develope some ideas. Also guidetone lines are great for the beginning to get from chord to chord when singing. Arpeggios and scales and enclosures and stuff is great, but you want to have a roadmap to get through the song first. If you have a guidetoneline down and it gets boring then you can venture off a little on the chords, throw in a little arpeggio here and there. Then you learn more guidetoneline (you can also make guidetonelines for tensions 9->13->#11 etc., but only after you mastered the 3rd and 7th lines) and before you know it you can improvise (still singing) and always know where you are and hear every possible tension for the current and next chord and can therefore plan your lines. Learning to sing the solos is the most important part imo. I am a singer, so maybe I am biased. But I can not imagine another way thats as effective to get the sounds into your head. You improvise in your head. The singing helps to check whether your imagination is clear enough and then and only then you translate it to your instrument. Otherwise you might just end up noodling whatever your hands have learned before. Even if the stuff is not very complicated at the start. It is far more promising in the long run to only play the sounds you imagined and also much more fun. Edit: I commented because I didnt know anything about the caged system. You dont necessarily have to. The process for me is: I hear a melody in my head and I know what frets belong to which sound. I practiced with Solmisation and Intervals for a while but now its almost automatic. (Also here: it is better to sing the melody and then think first what frets to press without trying and then play the right frets immediately. Even if it takes much longer. Do whatever: solmisation or figuring out the intervals, its good to be good at both. Your brain will get much faster at this over time until it becomes almost instant. But you do the right thing right away: thinking about the melody, and then immediately playing it (even if it takes a lot of time at first) and not noodling around trying to find the right notes. You dont want the process to happen with external feedback of what every fret sounds like, you want it to happen in your brain and your brain becomes very efficient at doing this over time by itself. Another note: learning solmisation when learning to sight sing is so much value for the effort. Because of solmisation (I practiced with a piano) I had a very clear image of the scales already. And it is super easy to translate this to the guitar. (If you have a lick and you hear the according syllables (re fi so fa mi do la te ti or something) with it, you basically dont have to do much to translate it to the guitar). Therefore you dont only get the mind image of where every note lies and learn to intonate precisely, which gives you the playground to experiment with different melodies in your head, but you also get a very simple translation to every instrument you want. (Say you have E7b9, you will most likely use mi fa si la ti do re mi, (E HM5), after this comes Am7, and you just use something like la ti do re mi fa/fi so la. And you can immediately see where the scale changed. You dont necessarily have to shift all syllables for every chord. And you can use the same system for several chords (maybe just changing one or two notes). You just have to target the right notes for every chord. (for the concept: major 2-5-1 -> dorian, mixolydian and ionian. You start on re, so and do., therefore you have re fa la do, so ti re fa, do mi so ti) One sentence: I do really recommend to any guitarist to learn to sightsing with solmisation for only 20 (or 15) minutes a day. You will get so much for the little effort. And the next thing would be: learn to sing intervals. (start just with 2nds, 3rds, those will be most useful and then slowly build up, dont forget downward motion) The two combine great together.
I take a fretboard diagram and, dealing with one scale at a time, indicate the notes of the scale, colour-coding the 1,3,5 of each. The CAGED chords emerge.
E,F and Barr chord with root on sixth string is essentially the same. F with added dominant fifth gives you standard E shape add a dominant root on sixth string and you have standard major barr chord rooted on sixth string.
The same scale pattern moved up or down the neck and variation of technique applied by the fingers, but you got to have an "EAR". Then brain to ear, play what you hear. Just to be able to make a "Racket" is good to me. Practice, Practice, Practice, Practice, Practice, etcetera. And just have fun, but you got to have some eerie tone.
Sorry it would help immensely if you could explain exactly do you mean by chords spread on left or right side. Why is a C chord on the left side and an A chord on the right side of the 5th string?
One really need to learn both ways to be a proficient player...Lean more on the CAGED (Pentatonic) for simpler melodies (unaltered chords) like Page,Gilmour or Beck or go to full modal playing on extended chords a la Vai,Satriani and other shredders...but you actually need both under your fingers...As always...the chords will tell you what to play...not your dexterity...
If you can master both visualizing the entire fretboard and practice with visualization to build mental focus and stamina, AND take the time to learn your basic triads and extensions, you’ll be able to combine both concepts to play fluidly over changes, from simple country to spicier jazz stuff. It’s a lifetimes work
Believe it or not, finger picking by myself, just trying to make chord progressions sound more interesting really expanded the guitar for me. The paradigm can shift to all stringed instruments. Watch Billy strings play, and another guy called igor presnyokov that dude shreds
But yeah the caged made it all describable for me. I was chasing the sound for a long time, now the theory makes a lot more sense. Always more to learn though.
I didn't like Beck until I started playing 🎸... now Jeff Beck is the best 🎸🎵🎶 as far as I am concerned. How he uses the whammy bar and the volume knob and without a pick. And Jeff Beck and Fender strat is like peanut butter and jelly ‼️ And I like it playing from inside not your fingers
I use the caged system, but if one really plays to the melody, or purposely don’t, and/or build a line from different bends, and/or vibrato, then add effects, et al infinitum…
This is interesting and useful and by the following I mean no disrespect for you or it. However, players like Gilmour, Beck, Hendrix, May, and others we love to listen to are using their musical imaginations and feelings to play. These people happen to have exceptional musical imaginations, etc., and accordingly, they sound exceptional. They also have exceptionally great touch and feel on the instrument. That is why they sound as they do, not because of "CAGED" or any other methods of playing a clever and logical as they may be. It's all really far more mystical and deeply personal than what anyone can define or understand, even them. I understand why you and others seek to find a "system" of playing that "explains" why Jeff Beck, etc. does what he does. It's natural to want to do so and I don't blame anyone at all for trying. Hell, just like you, I'd like to know the "answer" that unravels what and how these geniuses do what they do. However, this is not the answer because there is no "answer".
Hi. Thanks for this useful educational video. It would be great if you add the link of the other video, that you refer to at the end, to the description. Somehow, I don't see that link you put on the screen and point to. So l, I cannot go watch the other video you're referring to.
Thanks! It’s weird that it’s not showing up for you. I just tried again and it’s definitely there. Here it is: ruclips.net/video/_sPlAJrkkmA/видео.htmlsi=MN5b0_jwwmclIwG6
If you know your chords (with tensions) and their harmonic context, along with the fingerboard, you don't need systems that refer to the fingerboard. You just play music. After all, horn players, keyboardists, vocalists, etc., don't mess around with this kind of thing.
@@sose6255 I'm not saying fingerings are not important, I'm saying that pianists can't shift keys merely by starting the same fingerings in a different spot using the same patterns like a guitarist can. Too many guitarists don't even know the names and functions of the notes they are playing, they are just playing patterns.
There's a very simple reason why pentatonic scales sound like they fit the chords better: 4 of the 5 notes in the scale are chord tones and the 5th note is a whole step away from a chord tone: i.e. not dissonant. Whereas the 7-note scale (3-note per string) contains two notes that are a half step away from your chord tones. i.e. You have to know what you're doing and what notes you're playing. You can't just b.s. your way through the geometric shape like you can with pentatonics.
For sure this is the one thing that rock students trying to learn jazz have trouble with - but as you point out great rock players are changes players too.
Caged bothered me so long because I thought it was something I wasn’t doing. Then I realized it was how I was already playing, it was something I just really figured it out on my own noodling around and playing blues and barred chords. When it clicked that I was doing this intuitively I felt like such a fool. I was getting so mad because it seemed like there had to be something there I was missing. There wasn’t. The “teachers” just seemed to make it out to be more than it was.
I learned jack grassel's 4 notes per string scale system. So a full octave in 2 strings. Adding to this his 4 note chord inversions thru the chord tones was foundational for me. There's more but it's all about theory.
Being a lefty I was a lil confused (just for a minute) with right and left side of the root imaging when u hit 4 string , which means it was backwards for the other strings too but left and right works out since u mention both ways (in my lefty screwed up brain) …should say up or down the neck from the root to include us lefty freaks and not confuse our fragile minds hehe
Up or down the neck ,yes !!! Much better for us leftys .. when is someone going to produce a left handed version of their courses ? Just a flip the image function would be awesome 👌
As a matter of fact I come from the opposite end of the situation. I found myself always repeating the same CAGED pentatonic licks and when I moved to 3nps I started becoming more melodic because I was playing modally with each chord. Nowadays I incorporated 3nps and CAGED together. 3nps for melodic soloing, sequences and run. CAGES for energy pentatonic licks.
OK, I am still one step short of understanding how to use this, so if someone can bridge that gap for me I'd be quite grateful! I understand the shapes--but how does that relate to the chord progression? If you were to pick a key and pick a chord progression, relate that to how I am supposed to solo in that situation. For instance, let's say I'm in the key of A with a standard twelve bar progression, which would be A, D, and E. Do I just play the minor version of the pentatonic in each of these shapes over each of those chords? What about for a major key? I'm just not getting it. :(
The idea that if it comes from your hand it doesn’t come from inside is crazy to me. But then I’m left-handed. Having my left hand on the fretboard enables me to tap into and directly express the intervals I want. I can only guess, but is this different for right-handers?
If you've ever heard a technically proficient player mindlessly noodling with technical finesse but yet what he's playing just sounds like musical nonsense.... this is what he's talking about.
Classical guitarist John Willams was right about classical guitarists: the focus for most students was on teaching them as a soloist rather than teaching them to be ensemble players. This applies to almost every single lesson I see on websites and from wannabe teachers on youtube. They all want to teach solos but not an ounce on how to play like Rush and other title ensemble players like Alex Lifeson
I kinda made my own caged system. I thought the caged was hard to learn so I decided to just play until I make my own theory. I have some interesting ways of embelishing chords.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
I remember watching an interview with David Gilmour and he said something that all aspiring guitarists should understand. Not everybody’s fingers are capable of playing fast. He realized he was one of those who’s fingers had a speed limit. So he had to develop a style that complimented his “limitation”. For me, that made perfect sense. For my fingers are similarly challenged in the speed category. It is simply impossible for me to shred. Not that I’d want to. I was raised on classical music and jazz. Melodic music. No angry Hungarian violinist please. Same goes for guitar. Slow is good. An old acquaintance and a professional musician, played classical guitar, lute, lap steel, jazz, but above all was a great blues player. He always emphasized minimizing the number of notes. Caress, bend, vibrato, slide. It’s not a race he would say. I suppose that is why many of us never tire of Gilmour and Beck. They tell a story with their playing.
dave was most even a guitarist he was a sax clarinet five/7 stringer so to speak wh
I knew jazz players targeted chord tones. So I started learning triads and how they relate to the pentatonics. It's been a game changer. Hear a a melody first and then find it and play it. Gilmour and Knopfler use this all the time.
You just dropped a jewel on me. Thank you.
@@AridGems Sure! It took a long time of looking for the "magic bullet" to arrive at this.
@@chrisbirdsall6055 So I know my open chords, quite a few bar chords but I've barely scratched the surface on triads. When ever I love using the pentatonic it just sounds like im playing the scale up and down with a few bends here and there. I need to find that melody in my solo.
Yeah I went through that as well. The triads are in those chords, you just have to break them down and see them. Learn a solo or two by someone that you like so that you can understand the architecture of how they constructed their lines. Play it a LOT, almost until you're sick of it and the ideas are second nature. Then you can start hearing other ideas to mix in and create your own solo. You're learning a language and it takes time and experience.
@@chrisbirdsall6055 yes i do see it as learning a language as well. I'm currently working on the Stairway to heaven solo. I appreciate your advice. Thank you.
As someone with a terrible ear this is how I construct solos. There are the chords, these are the notes within these chords, and add some connecting notes to smooth it out. That or just cop the melody or vocal line. On most rock/ blues contexts it's effective.
Yes. I just commented something similar, but I forgot to mention playing the actual vocal line, or harmonizing with it.
Once one can build solos within this structure, it’s easier to leave it at times, when it works for the song, and/or moment.
Have you tried ear training intervals?
Or my personal favorite " just hum along to the different instruments of songs"?
And lastly, just sitting down to imagine melody without playing?
( although, if you can do the other stuff you said, maybe you don't have such a bad ear after all)
What a great video! subbed 3 videos ago. You make so much sense. In all the years I have played....took years of a break due to frustration. I was so frustrated when trying to learn theory....I hated it. I rely on my ears. This is the BEST channel!
Good vid. I went thru some of the same process that you did, but it was 50 years ago, and all I had were the Mickey Baker book for chords, and the Berklee books for scales. I did the same thing: recorded myself playing along to a backing track and then listened to my Solo without the changes. Same result: just repetitive non-sense, & no sense of "Playing the Changes." Off to your next vid. Thanks!
I applaud you for, after mastering one system, you went back and learned a different approach. Not easy to do.
The chord system, which is called the CAGED system, is a great way to visualize the chords as they march up and down the fretboard. I wrote a little Visual Basic program in 2003 that utilizes the chord progression patterns. My program marches 36 different chords types, in all keys, in the 5 different patterns they are found on the fretboard. I didn’t realize at the time that it it is called the CAGED system because I started on E pattern as the first actual chords on a normal six string guitar. We can visually see the E chord as it marches up the fretboard. E>D>C>A>G the pattern follows every chord up and down the fretboard. We can see how each pattern contains parts of the pattern before or after it. When we move from the E pattern up to the D pattern (of the same same chord, we use the same 5th and 4th strings. D>C use the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st strings. C>A only uses the 5th string. A>G uses 4th, 3rd, and 2nd string. G>E uses 6th, 2nd, and 1st strings. So instead of memorizing notes in scales, the patterns of the notes always fit the chord. As long as you know what you root note is, you can figure out the notes that will fit the chord on the area of the fretboard. This means we aren’t limited to just one position on the fretboard but can go to any position that fits the chord and use the pattern. This also serves to teach the chord structure all over the fretboard. Plus, now it’s easier to figure out more complex chords and inversions of chords.
I wish I had learned this method when I first started out.
Great video and channel! The way you talk about theory has really clicked with me in a way that reading from books and watching other guitar youtubers just hasn't; thank you for your work!
For me this was the most important lesson (and most rewarding) I ever learned.
I played minor pentatonic on almost everything and it worked for most things, but it was boring as hell. I did practice the 3 on 1 string scales a lot, but it didn't really bring me anywhere. My story is just a little different from yours. I started to search for the sevenths and the thirds in a blues progression. This sounds a bit more complicated, but it lead to the same thing. I could see the shapes and my fingers would follow almost automatically, because I could play all the scales from my muscle memory. I'm not lying, but in two weeks time I went from playing minor pentatonic scales to playing changes. And it helped me to see so many new patterns and once you start to play those patterns you develope an ear for these things.
Know that I hate(d) studying and practicing. This however was so much fun because it made me a much better player in such an unbelievably short period of time.
I'm glad you explained it this way. It's one of the most important lessons I try to teach my students. Mainly because it worked so well for me. 😄
This is one of your best videos! For someone with little knowledge of music theory, you explain the CAGED system very clearly! 🎸👍
This hit me in the feels...and fretboard! I started in the box, youth and speed pushed me to 3&4 notes per string... now I'm older and slower... and just picked up a book on CAGED... going to dig in with your video. TY
you are going to hear the chord progression without having to hear the chord progression. Think about the times you hear a great player plug in at the guitar store, and play some really great melodies on guitar you just know that they are keeping it all together following chords we may not hear. The unheard rythm is the solid foundation for us to build on within, but not without..
I recently discovered your channel. I am 10 years older then you and I have been through the same kind of path of frustration and flash.
I really like your method as its unique and well though! When I got better was when I started playing what I hear instead of letting the muscle memory take over.
Gilmour and Gibbons for me are a tutorial for life :)
Keep up the amazing work! I love your channel.
Well..... guess I have been in a cave all my life. I had been using this system for the better part of my playing years because Gilmore and Beck (Blackmore, Clapton, Larry Carlton, Peter White) were big influences for me from very early in my learning. I had no idea it was called the CAGED system, but it does work beautifully and now I know what to call it when other guitar players are asking me "how are you playing that". Great info, thanks for sharing..... and I promise to climb out of this cave 😁
Dude, this video was great - thank you. Honest, direct, and conversational approach. I dig the infomercial intro too haha
The guy that really influenced me in making solo lines follow underlying chords was Marty Friedman. To me, he's the best rock guitarist at playing original lines according to the chords. I guess Jazz is the ultimate expression of this approach, but Friedman really makes it cool to me.
Marty is a Boss.
That was the most easily understandable explanation of the CAGED system I've ever seen. Thanks!
I have played guitar since the sixties, never took a lesson. Lots of pro work. Never thought about how I was playing. Playing Blues all this time, played in sweet boxes, chords and triads. Great fun.
Great vid. Thank you! It’s so easy to get stuck in a style or method rut on guitar. I’ve been playing for 40 plus years and still enjoy learning from great guys like yourself. Imagine if we had these learning tools in the 70s
Holy shit.
Your lessons helped me play what I feel in ways i was not able to do for over 20 years. Best money I ever spent on lessons. Thank you!
I watch most of the videos from this channel that come across my feed but it was this video that made me subscribe because I think this is the most useful explanation of why I play like I do When im improvising nicely. I picked up my guitar right after watching this caged explanation and I just started playing around with a comfortably numb solo and it makes more sense to me now. more than ever before.
Thank you!
This is the first video that's made some kind of sense out of caged. Thank you very much!
I have a fretlight guitar, I use the backing tracks and have the root notes flashing on the fretboard, it’s an incredible learning tool
As long as you have n accurate midi that thing sounds like a fantastic learning tool.
@@Exspazament ruclips.net/video/LuBUHMNvwl8/видео.html. 🎸😊
That is very interesting.. I learned the cage system from the beginning of my playing 30 yrs ago .. and I always wanted to learn the 3 note per sting style ..I think knowing both makes you a monster guitarist.. or a very knowledgeable better player … great video .. thank you
sometimes the best thing you can do as a musician is put the instrument down and get inspiration from your daily life but wait everyone is to buzy on their phones or internet oh know so just connect to be speaking is good it can help with verses and chorus and pre middle 8s and please help one another it is trying times please help one another to write and play the correct way and stick to it and get tight as a unit
I love your videos. I have played for decades and went to a well known music school. Your videos are very clever and I’m still learning!!!
Thank you Steve
This video and the previous one are exactly what I need!
I now have a new "Bucket List" to work with. Thank You Sir David!
CAGED liberated me as a player, and then EVERYTHING started to make sense. I discovered it too late though and I recommend every young player to learn it. The ability to play over anything is amazing and you can still fit in a few fast licks and arpeggios.
Peter, can you recommend any specific training method or course that helped you the most learning CAGED? Thank you.
@@MrAxman53 look up Kirk L'Orange
@@MrAxman53
Not to overwhelm you, but just to give you the 4 general directions that will help you out for sure.( as they have helped me, as someone who mainly enjoys making wierd songs)
To improvise is to combine what you already know in a new context.
So for anyone who can't improvise like a jazz musician, I'll say that, what you are doing, even if you don't have the most control, is still a step towards improvising. It's not just about the caged system. Although the caged system cirtainly is a tool towards that. It's about beeing able to preform a set of specific tasks in order.
1. Beeing able to recognise whare you are in the harmony (ear training intervals interval and progressions will help. There is a good app for this called open ear. Also look for a song for each interval for the start, so that the process goes faster. There is a video for this on a british pianists chanel, youll find it on youtube)
2. Beeing able to imagine the note you want to play ( the more you do imagine what note or phrase before you play it, the more you'll be able to) ( this is called Audiation)
3. Beeing able to execute what you hear in your head, on the guitar( this is whare things like the caged system come Into play, but also what I'd recomend is using this site to randomly generate note names, and for you to then play the notes one by one on only one string, and to time your results. On each string play every instance of that one note occurring before moving on to the next, and then after finishing a string, then move on to the next string. Then review the time, and once you get pretty fast at some strings, start focusing more on the ones you are slower at, and when you get fast at all of them, do it with 2 strings the 3 and etc..
Here's the site www.therandomscalemachine.com/list.php)
Along side this, is using a metronome for picking speed and accuracy. You can use an app for that.
Then, a metronome for left hand speed.
And try each hand alone and together( so that you can realise which one might be lagging, and you can focus on that one)
- and with that, you'll be alright, but, to go on to the next step, you'll find it vary usefull if you have memorised the basics of musical theory. The note names in each scale, how to make a minor and major scale, types of progressions, what chords attract others, etc.. this can be found on Rick Beatos Channel )
This will make the other things easier, and the others will make this easier, but there is another step.
- Consistency.
Even if its 5 min a day practising, if its every day, you'll learn faster, and ofcourse if you do more it'll be better, but don't forget that you also need to take breaks and sleep, and don't do something If it's too painful, that's a sign that you might not be holding a proper technique, In which case you might know what not to do
Take it step by step,and expand on your own personal aproach about how you should do thease things.
When I was teaching myself guitar for example, I focused a lot on how to write comfortable fingerings for myself, because I wanted to compose and I wanted to play classical guitar.
And the 1st peace I learned seriously was bourree by back, since before that I just fu*ked around with the guitar with 2 years, and learning that peace took me 2 months to learn well, and I needed some 5 or 4 hours of practise. ( I was really invested in it, and a lot of coffee was drank xd since I was a teen who didn't know any better than not to drink 5 coffees a day hahah)
Follow what amuzes you, try making songs, even if at first they don't sound right.
And research how to practise.
If you do it right, everything will go faster.
Hint: take few note phrases, and repeat them slowly untill you get them down. Then reference the song if it sounds good. Then take the next few notes.
Then combine the few last notes of the 1st and few first notes of the 2nd few notes. And lastly, play the 2 together and move on to the next.
Take things, one at a time.
There is time for all of thease things on your guitar learning journey.
Just keep in mind the 3 things.
1.To be able to Recognise
2.To be able to Audiate
3.To be able to Execute
I can send you other materials if you ask for them by replying to this coment.
If you found it useful, do share what you know with others, since that's a great way to strengthen what you already know.
Anywho,rant over, have a good day.
Great advice!
Very well pesented, interesting, with only one aspet left to deal with: The song to be interperted and assisted by solos of any kind. Awaiting your news.Paul, 67, retired teacher, fan of electronic guitars.
That's a great way to explain CAGED. It's how it clicked with me but I think in terms of shapes Infront of the root note and behind the root note.
I was thinking most musicians knew this. I cannot really play an instrument but I have a daw and 16 pad controller that I make groove based music on. I purchased some music theory plugins that basically are one finger chord players but with advanced music theory. I learned that the melody and bass come from the same notes as the chords. Get a good chord progression and follow the notes in that chord progression for for your melody. Do the same for the bass line. Drums also need to be tuned to fit the key of your song. You can find a cheap or even free digital work station and get a plugin virtual instrument like Captain Epic. You can use Captain Epic to find chords you like. Once you got that it also comes with Captain bass and Melody. You can play around with these tools to easily and quickly build a song to play with other instruments.
Another good music theory plugin is Scaler from plugin boutique. With all this technology most of the popular music you hear today is still only four chords through the entire song. With these plugins you should be hearing chord progressions that blow your mind. Could you imagine if the Beatles had this technology to help them write songs?
I did CAGED for 50 years before I started 3nps. I did CAGED for something like 35 years before I knew it was CAGED.
I dutifully go through all 3nps positions every morning when I wake up.
When I'm actually improvising and not just practicing I'm mostly CAGED with the occasional 3nps flourish. I use the 3nps knowledge a lot when tapping but I almost never tap when I'm actually improvising, which I just noticed now.
So who knows why I'm spending so much time on 3nps and tapping when I hardly ever do it when it counts?
Its fun, and that's enough.
Great video.
One thing I've been doing is on a run up the pentatonic minor scale tapping a 5th above the minor third when I get to the end which is novel and unexpected.
Thanks for the great video
btw just got serious about 3nps about a year ago
Thank you for an insightful video! I've never sat down to figure out what CAGED actually was but now that you have explained it I realise that I always play like that! Great!
Now I just need to figure out that "3 notes per string"-system that I've never sat down to understandv before either! Maybe I already know it! 😅
Yeah, my point exactly, Michael (above). "CAGED" is what many of us have done for ever. We just never called it that. So it's interesting to come across an already fluid guitar player, who, weirdly, has not thought in that way!
Yep 3rd video in a row, I'm heading down that rabbit hole. Thanks for lighting the way
EXCELLENT lesson! ... Glad I found you today, subscribed! ... lookin' forward to more. ... cheers.
That bit around 2:22 about the fingers being in control is SO me, I had to subscribe.
Wow! That makes so much sense. Thank you!
Great Video presentation!
I have found bucket 5 , 4th string root Pentatonic blues 2 note per string may require all 4 fingers in the more challenging positions .
making the challenging positions work helps in blending different keys in the same position .
Those Vola Guitars Sound Fantastico. Thanks for this info on the Caged System...🎸 😊👍🏻
this guy and stitch method are the best teachers
The "F" chord on the "D" string is a 6th area to practice with as well, even if it overlaps the "E" chord & string. It's good to look at it independently.
Good points that are well-explained. Thank you very much.
Highly intriguing video, David. I’ve usually looked at the caged system as a means of tracking chords. I’d heard of it being used to solo, but never saw it demonstrated like. That’s really interesting.
EXCELLENT DESCRIPTION and brief lesson
That's an interesting explanation of the caged system, thanks! 👍
Yep, your onto it. The cords are made up of notes out of the scale. So it makes sense to use the cords as a springboard to solo from. Also what is helpful is to think like a piano player who plays using the chord & scale together in their playing.
If this is helpful to anyone, here's another way of grasping CAGED: Each chord appears in these shapes sequentially going higher up the guitar neck. So, C chord appears in C shape (fret 3 to 1, root on 3rd fret), next in A shape (fret 3 to 5, root on 3rd fret), then in G shape (fret 8 to 5, root on 8th fret), then E shape (fret 8 to 10, root on 8th and 10th frets), and then in D shape (fret 10 to 13, root on 10th fret). You can figure out which string(s) the root is on from your knowledge of the 5 shapes. So, essentially, you can play chord tones, non-chord scalar tones, chromatic intervening tones in any/all positions according to the function of that particular note in the melody (e.g. do you intend a natural 3rd, or a 6th over the prevailing chord--well, then that is the note you play next; don't shred scalar patterns).
I read this exact quote somewhere just the other day!
@@scottwheels This way of conceptualizing CAGED is what you mean, I guess. "Exact quote" would require someone to copy and paste (plagiarize) what I said above.
Wow, this is weird timing because I started playing guitar 45 years ago and there was a metal guitarist guy had a course. He said what you just said, and I found the little booklet I bought from him 45 years ago! It lays out the five pentatonic shapes, it covers: (blues, major scales and modes) visually. And one thing I finally realized is that if you move one box for example the *A* pentatonic up all the other shapes(boxes) move too and that means that you have access to all the notes in those four scales ALL over the guitar neck.
If you play C major and want to find the relative minor just move back three frets and play the parallel minor scale there and all the notes will be the same and match up in the order of the relative minor!
Also, you’ll find that you will always be in key, so form there it’s just a matter of using your ears and chromaticism!
@@mrquick6775 I hardly think in terms of scales anymore. I think of chord tones, and neighboring diatonic and chromatic tones (each by degree). But when I am playing mandolin, I shoot for the exact melody note I am hearing in my brain (thinking of chords might be an afterthought, sometimes emerging years later). The chord shapes/grips (on any instrument) just show where the 1, 3, and 5 are, and the brain calculates the remaining neighboring tensions.
@@longtalljay True, I only brought it up because of the timing. I only think of scales when I’m looking for an exotic sound. I have perfect pitch so I can pretty much play whatever I hear in my head!
we have this thing that busy sounds good or fast when you realize your wrong is when you find that the scales are there to help the notes are what make the music like chromatic notes before or after joining the dots and subtracting in the end you try to find the melody or a chord or nothing is good because you could be playing over something that should be there like another instrument good luck all musicians
I guess the common issue is that a guitar play wants to become a guitarist instead of a musician who wants to use the guitar as chosen instrument.
A lot of words to explain a very simple concept.
You can’t avoid to sound more professional/musically if you first and foremost learn the progression and the chosen rhythm. Then when the desire grows to improvise/ soloing the following should be less challenging and developing ears over time. Collecting ideas over years and you’ll be fine.
Play the Scale over the relevant Chord . Am Am scale , always think natural not pentatonic that’s only good for positioning.
Next chord D major play D major over it. Needless to say this is far more harder to learn then a scale played up and down. A good idea is to learn a Key and understand the difference between intervals/ Dominant/ Subdominat and so on. With time that’s the way to choose. Caged system is just a description for guys who want a shortcut. There is no shortcut only doors to go through
Awesome its like chord tone soloing. I sometimes use this way of playing without knowing my technique isnt as polished though. Lol
Love the lick at 8:17 so much I had to learn it. Only possible thanks to the great camera angle (and YT's play speed adjustment), and, of course, the great content you make.
Now I just need to find me a shovel... 'Cause I can dig it. \,,/
Love the bucket visualization!
Excellent video David!
what about guide tone lines to get from chord to chord and then adding other chord tones + tensions, transcribing tons of solos and most importantly: learn to sing everything before you play it. I study jazz singing therefore I was improvising with voice before I was improvising on guitar. You must hear notes so clear in your head that you can nail them when singing, no little slides because you didnt intonate right right away. If you have a clear sound for every note in your head and can just take a random standard you dont know yet, get a first note and improvise over it while still being in tune after several choruses (without backing track) you can make musical ideas in your head. You just need more voculary then (transcribe a lot of solos and use the language you learn). Once you have all those ideas in your head you only have to find them on the guitar, which was fairly simple for me. (I played guitar as a kid, so technique was not a big problem) But I think getting a very fast, very clear sound in your head for every note and then getting vocabulary are by far the harder and more important parts in learning to solo. A great way to learn a lot of this stuff is to learn to sight sing. It doesnt even take that long to get very good at sight singing. Maybe a couple of years 20 minutes a day and you will be able to sing everything. I think I started sight singing maybe 4 years ago and I am now at the point where I am sight singing the omnibook (at a relatively slow pace still, but I hardly make mistakes anymore) and try to improve speed and intonation.
Also practice very slowly! No need to play on 240bpm or something. You learn much more if you go to 80bpm and can hear your intonation and really develope some ideas.
Also guidetone lines are great for the beginning to get from chord to chord when singing. Arpeggios and scales and enclosures and stuff is great, but you want to have a roadmap to get through the song first. If you have a guidetoneline down and it gets boring then you can venture off a little on the chords, throw in a little arpeggio here and there. Then you learn more guidetoneline (you can also make guidetonelines for tensions 9->13->#11 etc., but only after you mastered the 3rd and 7th lines) and before you know it you can improvise (still singing) and always know where you are and hear every possible tension for the current and next chord and can therefore plan your lines.
Learning to sing the solos is the most important part imo. I am a singer, so maybe I am biased. But I can not imagine another way thats as effective to get the sounds into your head. You improvise in your head. The singing helps to check whether your imagination is clear enough and then and only then you translate it to your instrument. Otherwise you might just end up noodling whatever your hands have learned before.
Even if the stuff is not very complicated at the start. It is far more promising in the long run to only play the sounds you imagined and also much more fun.
Edit: I commented because I didnt know anything about the caged system. You dont necessarily have to. The process for me is: I hear a melody in my head and I know what frets belong to which sound. I practiced with Solmisation and Intervals for a while but now its almost automatic. (Also here: it is better to sing the melody and then think first what frets to press without trying and then play the right frets immediately. Even if it takes much longer. Do whatever: solmisation or figuring out the intervals, its good to be good at both. Your brain will get much faster at this over time until it becomes almost instant. But you do the right thing right away: thinking about the melody, and then immediately playing it (even if it takes a lot of time at first) and not noodling around trying to find the right notes. You dont want the process to happen with external feedback of what every fret sounds like, you want it to happen in your brain and your brain becomes very efficient at doing this over time by itself.
Another note: learning solmisation when learning to sight sing is so much value for the effort. Because of solmisation (I practiced with a piano) I had a very clear image of the scales already. And it is super easy to translate this to the guitar. (If you have a lick and you hear the according syllables (re fi so fa mi do la te ti or something) with it, you basically dont have to do much to translate it to the guitar). Therefore you dont only get the mind image of where every note lies and learn to intonate precisely, which gives you the playground to experiment with different melodies in your head, but you also get a very simple translation to every instrument you want.
(Say you have E7b9, you will most likely use mi fa si la ti do re mi, (E HM5), after this comes Am7, and you just use something like la ti do re mi fa/fi so la. And you can immediately see where the scale changed. You dont necessarily have to shift all syllables for every chord. And you can use the same system for several chords (maybe just changing one or two notes).
You just have to target the right notes for every chord. (for the concept: major 2-5-1 -> dorian, mixolydian and ionian. You start on re, so and do., therefore you have re fa la do, so ti re fa, do mi so ti)
One sentence: I do really recommend to any guitarist to learn to sightsing with solmisation for only 20 (or 15) minutes a day. You will get so much for the little effort. And the next thing would be: learn to sing intervals. (start just with 2nds, 3rds, those will be most useful and then slowly build up, dont forget downward motion) The two combine great together.
I take a fretboard diagram and, dealing with one scale at a time, indicate the notes of the scale,
colour-coding the 1,3,5 of each. The CAGED chords emerge.
Really enjoyed this one David, thank you again! God bless!
E,F and Barr chord with root on sixth string is essentially the same. F with added dominant fifth gives you standard E shape add a dominant root on sixth string and you have standard major barr chord rooted on sixth string.
take yer meds boy
Phrasing is a key element in all forms of music. I mean classical, jazz, swing, rock, every genre is defined by how note groups are phrased.
Nice video - thanks David. Great reminder to letting the song do the singing, not the muscle memory!
The same scale pattern moved up or down the neck and variation of technique applied by the fingers, but you got to have an "EAR". Then brain to ear, play what you hear. Just to be able to make a "Racket" is good to me. Practice, Practice, Practice, Practice, Practice, etcetera. And just have fun, but you got to have some eerie tone.
Very helpful to me. Thanks.
Much thanks for explaining that!
I did it wrong before, I had a large bamboo cage made, to get inside with my guitar...
Hahaha! I love it!
Very clear with you David ! Thanks🇫🇷👍🏼🍒
Sorry it would help immensely if you could explain exactly do you mean by chords spread on left or right side. Why is a C chord on the left side and an A chord on the right side of the 5th string?
let us know what link you’re pointing to at the end ... bc I couldn’t see it.
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Now i get why i love Jeff Beck And David Gilmours Guitar playing
One really need to learn both ways to be a proficient player...Lean more on the CAGED (Pentatonic) for simpler melodies (unaltered chords) like Page,Gilmour or Beck or go to full modal playing on extended chords a la Vai,Satriani and other shredders...but you actually need both under your fingers...As always...the chords will tell you what to play...not your dexterity...
David says just that in his sounds true courses. I am not sure I agree it's about simplicity; it's just more focused the melody.
If you can master both visualizing the entire fretboard and practice with visualization to build mental focus and stamina, AND take the time to learn your basic triads and extensions, you’ll be able to combine both concepts to play fluidly over changes, from simple country to spicier jazz stuff. It’s a lifetimes work
@@ricardorodriguez5549 ruclips.net/video/LuBUHMNvwl8/видео.html. 😊🎸
Learning full songs is the ticket for me. I know some theory im learning alot of technique by learning songs.
Believe it or not, finger picking by myself, just trying to make chord progressions sound more interesting really expanded the guitar for me. The paradigm can shift to all stringed instruments. Watch Billy strings play, and another guy called igor presnyokov that dude shreds
But yeah the caged made it all describable for me. I was chasing the sound for a long time, now the theory makes a lot more sense. Always more to learn though.
Someone bring this man a bucket!
I didn't like Beck until I started playing 🎸... now Jeff Beck is the best 🎸🎵🎶 as far as I am concerned. How he uses the whammy bar and the volume knob and without a pick. And Jeff Beck and Fender strat is like peanut butter and jelly ‼️
And I like it playing from inside not your fingers
Always interestling David. Thanks
Great Video!
I use the caged system, but if one really plays to the melody, or purposely don’t, and/or build a line from different bends, and/or vibrato, then add effects, et al infinitum…
CAGED to my understanding means the shape of C the shape of A,the shape of G the shape of E,the shape of D all over the neck!//!
Every system has something to teach
This is interesting and useful and by the following I mean no disrespect for you or it. However, players like Gilmour, Beck, Hendrix, May, and others we love to listen to are using their musical imaginations and feelings to play. These people happen to have exceptional musical imaginations, etc., and accordingly, they sound exceptional. They also have exceptionally great touch and feel on the instrument. That is why they sound as they do, not because of "CAGED" or any other methods of playing a clever and logical as they may be.
It's all really far more mystical and deeply personal than what anyone can define or understand, even them.
I understand why you and others seek to find a "system" of playing that "explains" why Jeff Beck, etc. does what he does. It's natural to want to do so and I don't blame anyone at all for trying. Hell, just like you, I'd like to know the "answer" that unravels what and how these geniuses do what they do.
However, this is not the answer because there is no "answer".
Hi. Thanks for this useful educational video.
It would be great if you add the link of the other video, that you refer to at the end, to the description. Somehow, I don't see that link you put on the screen and point to. So l, I cannot go watch the other video you're referring to.
Thanks! It’s weird that it’s not showing up for you. I just tried again and it’s definitely there.
Here it is: ruclips.net/video/_sPlAJrkkmA/видео.htmlsi=MN5b0_jwwmclIwG6
@@Wallimann tnx!
Excellent information and musicianship! What gear are you using to get that particular "sound"?
If you know your chords (with tensions) and their harmonic context, along with the fingerboard, you don't need systems that refer to the fingerboard. You just play music. After all, horn players, keyboardists, vocalists, etc., don't mess around with this kind of thing.
@@sose6255 I'm not saying fingerings are not important, I'm saying that pianists can't shift keys merely by starting the same fingerings in a different spot using the same patterns like a guitarist can. Too many guitarists don't even know the names and functions of the notes they are playing, they are just playing patterns.
i like how he put the word "improvisation" in quotation marks
There's a very simple reason why pentatonic scales sound like they fit the chords better:
4 of the 5 notes in the scale are chord tones and the 5th note is a whole step away from a chord tone: i.e. not dissonant.
Whereas the 7-note scale (3-note per string) contains two notes that are a half step away from your chord tones.
i.e. You have to know what you're doing and what notes you're playing.
You can't just b.s. your way through the geometric shape like you can with pentatonics.
One his missing is feel beck Gilmore play with feeling
Great video, thanks!
For sure this is the one thing that rock students trying to learn jazz have trouble with - but as you point out great rock players are changes players too.
Caged bothered me so long because I thought it was something I wasn’t doing. Then I realized it was how I was already playing, it was something I just really figured it out on my own noodling around and playing blues and barred chords. When it clicked that I was doing this intuitively I felt like such a fool. I was getting so mad because it seemed like there had to be something there I was missing. There wasn’t. The “teachers” just seemed to make it out to be more than it was.
I learned jack grassel's 4 notes per string scale system. So a full octave in 2 strings. Adding to this his 4 note chord inversions thru the chord tones was foundational for me. There's more but it's all about theory.
Thanks !!!
Being a lefty I was a lil confused (just for a minute) with right and left side of the root imaging when u hit 4 string , which means it was backwards for the other strings too but left and right works out since u mention both ways (in my lefty screwed up brain) …should say up or down the neck from the root to include us lefty freaks and not confuse our fragile minds hehe
Same here, well put!
Lol we have to flip everything
Up or down the neck ,yes !!! Much better for us leftys .. when is someone going to produce a left handed version of their courses ? Just a flip the image function would be awesome 👌
@@warrenblake5554 usually I automatically switch direction now…but for some reason that explanation just on the 4’th string stumped me for a second
Beck & Zappa have been my mentors since 1976
As a matter of fact I come from the opposite end of the situation. I found myself always repeating the same CAGED pentatonic licks and when I moved to 3nps I started becoming more melodic because I was playing modally with each chord. Nowadays I incorporated 3nps and CAGED together. 3nps for melodic soloing, sequences and run. CAGES for energy pentatonic licks.
The key is to stop seeing individual chords, and follow movement instead.
OK, I am still one step short of understanding how to use this, so if someone can bridge that gap for me I'd be quite grateful! I understand the shapes--but how does that relate to the chord progression? If you were to pick a key and pick a chord progression, relate that to how I am supposed to solo in that situation. For instance, let's say I'm in the key of A with a standard twelve bar progression, which would be A, D, and E. Do I just play the minor version of the pentatonic in each of these shapes over each of those chords? What about for a major key?
I'm just not getting it. :(
Just waiting on the gods to reply...
The idea that if it comes from your hand it doesn’t come from inside is crazy to me. But then I’m left-handed. Having my left hand on the fretboard enables me to tap into and directly express the intervals I want. I can only guess, but is this different for right-handers?
If you've ever heard a technically proficient player mindlessly noodling with technical finesse but yet what he's playing just sounds like musical nonsense....
this is what he's talking about.
You have some good tones there pal! Besides good things to say…
And the 6th bucket is for the lotion that goes on the skin for those who don’t use the musical moisturizer from the first 5 buckets.
Thanks. You just won a subscriber.
Classical guitarist John Willams was right about classical guitarists: the focus for most students was on teaching them as a soloist rather than teaching them to be ensemble players. This applies to almost every single lesson I see on websites and from wannabe teachers on youtube. They all want to teach solos but not an ounce on how to play like Rush and other title ensemble players like Alex Lifeson
I kinda made my own caged system. I thought the caged was hard to learn so I decided to just play until I make my own theory. I have some interesting ways of embelishing chords.
Good basic sense there. However, then there is the issue of what notes to highlight of the chord, when a chord is at least has 3 notes