Free CAGED System Chart

A CAGED chord chart with the five shapes of a C chord, each with its arpeggio, major pentatonic and major scale, and one long neck showing how the shapes join end to end. Free in eight sizes, in US or UK music terms.

CAGED system chart (CAGED System Chart), Letter: The Five CAGED Shapes, CAGED Up the Neck — Make it yours: see it in another style
Dark Modern Minimal

The CAGED System Chart poster in the Dark style — Make it yours: see it in another style
Dark Modern Minimal

All sizes and files

Size	Dimensions	Sections	US terms	UK terms
Letter	216 × 279 mm · 8.5 × 11 in	2	PDF, 82 KB	PDF, 83 KB
A4	210 × 297 mm · 8.3 × 11.7 in	2	PDF, 94 KB	PDF, 94 KB
11 × 17 in	279 × 432 mm · 11 × 17 in	3	PDF, 106 KB	PDF, 106 KB
A3	297 × 420 mm · 11.7 × 16.5 in	3	PDF, 106 KB	PDF, 106 KB
A2	420 × 594 mm · 16.5 × 23.4 in	4	PDF, 154 KB	PDF, 154 KB
18 × 24 in	18 × 24 in · 457 × 610 mm	4	PDF, 160 KB	PDF, 160 KB
A1	594 × 841 mm · 23.4 × 33.1 in	4	PDF, 162 KB	PDF, 162 KB
24 × 36 in	24 × 36 in · 610 × 914 mm	4	PDF, 162 KB	PDF, 162 KB

What’s on the CAGED system chart

The five CAGED shapes: the open C, A, G, E and D chords, moved up the neck so each one plays a C chord, with finger numbers.
Around each shape: the C major arpeggio (R, 3, 5), the major pentatonic (R, 2, 3, 5, 6) and the full major scale, every note marked with its scale degree and the root colored.
CAGED up the neck: the notes of a C chord from the nut to the 15th fret, with each shape bracketed, so you can see them join end to end: C, A, G, E, D, then C again at the 12th fret.
Using CAGED (11 × 17 in and larger): one chord in five places, the order that never changes (with the starting frets in C and in G), which string each shape’s root sits on, and soloing over the chord.
How to read a chord box (A2 and larger).

Every chord, arpeggio, pentatonic and scale dot is worked out from standard tuning and checked: each shape is the open chord moved up the neck, each box holds only its notes and all of them, and the shapes overlap where they should.

How to use it

Learn the five chord shapes first. They’re the open chords you may already know, moved up the neck. The C and A shapes have their root on the A string; the G and E shapes on the low E string; the D shape on the D string.
Then the arpeggio around each shape. Play R, 3 and 5 slowly up and down, saying the degree numbers.
Join two neighboring shapes. The top of one shape is the bottom of the next, so a run can move from one to the other without a jump.
Change key by sliding everything. For G, every shape moves up seven frets, or down five: the open G shape comes first, then the E shape at the 3rd fret.

Learn it step by step

The poster is a reminder; these free lessons and guides teach each part, with notes you can play and hear.

The Five CAGED Shapes: Lesson 31: Major and Minor Chords · Major and Minor Scales · Chord Formulas
CAGED Up the Neck: Lesson 31: Major and Minor Chords · Intervals in Music
Using CAGED: Lesson 31: Major and Minor Chords · Major and Minor Scales

New to reading music?Start with lesson 1: free, in your browser, no account.

Start lesson 1

Questions

Is it really free? Yes. Download it, print as many copies as you like, and share the link. No email or account.

Why is everything in C? C lets the five shapes start from the open C chord at the nut, which is how CAGED gets its name. Every shape moves to any key unchanged: slide the whole chart up or down the neck.

Why do some scale notes appear twice? Each box shows every scale note inside that shape’s frets, so where two strings reach the same note, both are marked. Pick the one that suits your fingers.

Which size should I print? Letter or A4 has the five shapes and the long neck. 11 × 17 in and larger add the tips, and A2 and larger how to read a chord box.