Boxes & Chord shapes

MikeS

MikeS

Student Of The Blues
Staff member
I can comfortably play (well sorta) most of the chord shapes up the neck, but I don't "see" the connection to boxes.
I can Play the boxes (sorta) but can't "see" the chord shapes.
Does this just mean I don't really know either boxes or chord shapes well enough?
 
Paleo

Paleo

Student Of The Blues
May seem obvious, but if you're talking Major CAGED chord shapes make sure you're also talking pentatonic (and diatonic) Boxes from a Major perspective.

(And minor chord shapes with minor boxes.)

Start with recognizing the octave shapes the root notes make.

Then add in all the 3's and 5's of the chord (and scale) .

(Which will also give you the chord as an arpeggio.)

Some see the chord shape within a scale pattern and others see the scale pattern "around" the chord shape. :unsure:

Griff’s “CAGED Unleashed” covers how chord and arpeggio shapes and pentatonic and diatonic scale patterns are all related. :cool:
 
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Jay Dee

Jay Dee

Blues addicted
Paleo said:
May seem obvious, but if you're talking Major CAGED chord shapes make sure you're also talking pentatonic (and diatonic) Boxes from a Major perspective.

(And minor chord shapes with minor boxes.)

Start with recognizing the octave shapes the root notes make.

Then add in all the 3's and 5's of the chord (and scale) .

(Which will also give you the chord as an arpeggio.)

Some see the chord shape within a scale pattern and others see the scale pattern "around" the chord shape. :unsure:

Griff’s “CAGED Unleashed” covers how chord and arpeggio shapes and pentatonic and diatonic scale patterns are all related. :cool:
Click to expand...
+1 (y)Triads are the key. Find the R 3 & 5 on the 2nd 3rd and 4th strings and see where its fits Major box.
 
PapaBear

PapaBear

Guit Fiddlier
You can look at the chord and discern what box fits it or look at the box and determine which chord shape will fit it. It doesn't help that they overlap. But, with some intentional practice I'm seeing it better and better. The C shape fits Box 4 as well as a Dm shape. G or A shape fits box 1
 
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ChrisGSP

ChrisGSP

Blues Journeyman
Mike, I generally make a correspondence between the boxes and the chords by looking at the root notes.

Box 1 Minor or Box 2 Major have the root on the 1st, 4th and 6th strings - that's an E chord.
Box 2 Minor or Box 3 Major have the root on the 2nd and 4th strings - a D chord
Box 3 Minor or Box 4 Major have the root on the 2nd and 5th strings - a C chord
Box 4 Minor or Box 5 Major have the root on the 3rd and 5th strings - a A chord
Box 5 Minor or Box 1 Major have the root on the 1st, 3rd and 6th strings - a G chord (note the root on the 3rd string differentiates from the E chord with a root on the 4th string).

Some of them are bridge-facing and some are nut-facing, and that's where I usually get myself boxed up.
 
Paleo

Paleo

Student Of The Blues
One more thought and then I'll bow out of this one.

To me knowing how to play a scale and/or related chord to the left or right from any note wherever I am on the fretboard is more important than any previous preoccupation I used to have with what "box" I am in.

The patterns I use the most, Griff's "4 Note Solo Pattern", "House Pattern", "Minor 2+3 pattern" and "Major 3+2 pattern", aren't even in "boxes". :unsure:
 
Paleo

Paleo

Student Of The Blues
Come to think of it, starting with a box and trying to figure out all the left-facing and right-facing chords and scales you can play in it is way more confusing than starting with a chord or scale you want to play and deciding where you want to play it. :unsure:

The former may be "educational" but not as useful. :oops:

For example, when was the last time you started out strumming a song in a Major key with a G-chord shape other than a song in the key of G Major?

(Without a capo.)

For me?

Never. :eek:
 
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