We've been studying the industry standard system of neck management and have called it The Caged System or Five Position Thinking. In our last lesson we learned to play a C Major Scale in five different positions
on the neck by transposing 5 basic open Major scale patterns. In this lesson you'll learn this type of scale organizaton in the Key Of G. By expanding your focus to include the sound of the scales, the true flavor and feel of the scales will emerge.
As we learned to navigate our way through the five positions of the key our emphasis was on fingering, using the concept of position playing to train our eyes and fingers to memorize scale shapes and negotiate scale patterns. The Five Position System can be simplified by thinking of the Root Notes located on strings six and five and learning how to approach each Root Note with different fingers. In this lesson you'll be listening to and playing the five scale shapes in the Key Of G, using scale passages as play along ear training exercises. This lesson is about hearing scale sounds as well as seeing and feeling their patterns.

G Major Scale Theory

The G Major Scale contains is spelled with these notes:

G - A - B - C- D - E - F# - G

As the diagram as left clearly shows us, member notes of the exist all over the neck, in every position. By applying the same 5 position system we used in the key of C, we can easily and quickly learn to play a G Major Scale all,over the neck of the guitar.

G Type Fingering Pattern.....
The Open Position, is where all scale types are forged and is the foundation and basis of the Five Position System. The scale at left then would be considered the G TYPE of fingering pattern. Our focus here is on moveable scales, so the exercise below is position 12. View the scale passages on this page as ear training play along exercises.
  • Root On String 6,
  • Begin With Finger 4.

Content on this page requires a newer version of Adobe Flash Player.

Get Adobe Flash player

E Type Fingering Pattern.....
The next shape in our Five Position CAGED System is the shape ee associate with the E Major Scale. During your studies of position playing, the E TYPE of fingering pattern must be thought in these terms.
  • Root On String 6,
  • Begin With Finger 2.
E Type fingering pattern, all notes in position II

Content on this page requires a newer version of Adobe Flash Player.

Get Adobe Flash player

D Type Fingering Pattern.....
The Open Position G Major Scale also transposes easily and cleany up the neck because the majority of the notes fall neatly in one position
  • Root On String 6,
  • Begin With A Stretch Of Finger 1.
D Type fingering pattern, all notes in position II

Content on this page requires a newer version of Adobe Flash Player.

Get Adobe Flash player

C Type Fingering Pattern.....
The C TYPE of scale pattern contains coverss one complete octave and has both an upper and lower extention. The play along ear training exercise below features the stepwise sound of these extentions. In the Five Position System organize the C TYPE of scale pattern around twio critical facts.
  • Root On String 5,
  • Begin With Finger 4.
C Type fingering pattern, all notes in position VII

Content on this page requires a newer version of Adobe Flash Player.

Get Adobe Flash player

A Type Fingering Pattern.....
Our version of the A TYPE involves an unorthodox shift outof position to make it a two octave scale. We believe our unorthodox, two octave, multi-position pattern reflects an effective, musical and wide ranging approach.
  • Root On String 5.
  • Begin With Finger 2.
A Type fingering pattern, all notes in position IX

Content on this page requires a newer version of Adobe Flash Player.

Get Adobe Flash player

Guided Practice......
Link to animated visualization exercises concerning the Five Position System and its application to the key of G Major.
Conclusion......

The Five CAGED Position System that we're continueing to strudy is really an exercise in scale transpositon and diatonic (Major Scale) ear training involving the fingering patterns associated with opem position keys. In this lesson were suggesting you take two approaches to mastering the Five CAGED Position System in the key of G.

  • Visualizing The Fingering Patterns.
  • Playing The Scales And Scale Passages As Play Along Ear Training Exercises.

To organize the scale shapes and ultimately memorize the pattterns for performance purposes think of:

  • The Root Notes Of The Scale Located On Strings Six And Five.
  • The Finger Used To Begin The Pattern.