![\"guitars](\"https:\/\/www.musikalessons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/five-guitars-.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe nature of learning guitar is slower than every aspiring guitarist would like. We all want to learn how to play this song or that song, or play this solo or that riff\u2014it\u2019s simply human nature. But, it takes time to get certain things under our fingers and digesting the hows and whys of it all also has its process. Let\u2019s take, for example, the topic of open-string guitar chords<\/a>. This concept could be overwhelming if we don\u2019t break it down into a series of manageable, bite-size pieces. We’ll start with the CAGED chords.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This is a question that every student asks me at one point or another and the answer I give them is, \u201cIt depends on your imagination.\u201d When I see the look of disappointment wash over their faces, I then follow with, \u201cBut, you only need to learn a few chords to begin playing most of your favorite songs!\u201d And, now, that look of disappointment turns into wonder and curiosity. This article focuses on 5 major open-string guitar chords, often referred to as the CAGED chords, that are the building blocks of every guitarist\u2019s chord vocabulary. These chords are also the starting point of a system that intermediate and advanced players use to learn the fret-board and \u201csee\u201d their way from one pattern to the next.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The CAGED chords system is a method that is used to teach the geometry behind the guitar\u2019s layout. It helps unlock the difficulty that guitarists have when learning to connect one chord to another, one scale to another, etc. This system also spells out the 5 must-know, open-string guitar chords that we\u2019re focusing on the moment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When reading tabs, if there\u2019s a letter that represents the chord symbol, like \u201cC\u201d for instance, and there is nothing written after it, it is then understood to be major. Every other variation uses some kind of symbol to represent it and, as your chord vocabulary grows, your ability to recognize and play these variations will grow too.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Let\u2019s begin with the C major open-string guitar chord, represented by the C in the CAGED chords. We\u2019ll build these chords from the bottom to top.<\/p>\n This fingering may seem a little bit awkward, but once you give it a try, you may it more comfortable than the previous fingering and it makes switching between the A and D chords much easier.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This finger pattern uses a bar (a \u201cbar\u201d, sometimes spelled barre, is when you hold down, or fret, more than one note using the same finger). In this case, use your 1st finger to fret the notes of the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd strings with your 1st or index finger. Notice that this fingering makes it very difficult to play the 1st string open. Most players simply avoid playing this string.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This is a more advanced fingering that was made popular by blues, country, bluegrass, and folk players. It makes it much easier to switch between the G and C chords that work so well together.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nHow many chords are there?<\/h2>\n
Can you spell \u201ccaged\u201d? C-A-G-E-D<\/h2>\n
C<\/h2>\n
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<\/a><\/b><\/p>\nA<\/h2>\n
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<\/a><\/b><\/p>\nA (alternate fingering 1)<\/h2>\n
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<\/a><\/b><\/p>\nA (alternate fingering 2)<\/h2>\n
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<\/a><\/b><\/p>\nG<\/h2>\n
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<\/a><\/b><\/p>\nG (alternate fingering)<\/h2>\n
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<\/a><\/b><\/p>\nE<\/h2>\n
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