Hey Friend,

How'd ya do with the exercise files? No worries if you had to put in a long day at the j.o.b. There's time to look these over and get familiar with the shapes.

In case you didn't notice in the tabs, I noted which of the CAGED chord shapes was used for each of the first five C chords. 

Since they were all C major chords, the first in line is obviously the C shape. This chord is a root inversion, meaning the note order in the chord is 1 3 5, or C E G.

The second C major chord uses an A major shape. You'll notice it has a "/G" in the chord name. This means the foot note of the chord is actually a G note, which makes this a second inversion chord. This means the note order is 5 1 3, or G C E. In fact, any time you use an A major chord shape, it will be a second inversion chord.

The third shape from the CAGED system is the G chord. Using this shape for the C major chord lands the root C note on the sixth string at the eighth fret. You aren't going to see this chord used very often, but when it's necessary, you'll have it in your wheelhouse. This C chord does happen to be a root inversion chord, with notes C E G in the 1 3 5 order.

The fourth C major chord shown uses the E chord shape. It's rooted on the fifth string and uses the five note from the C major scale. Like the A major chord shape, the E shape is a second inversion chord with the note order 5 1 3. But you probably already knew that because of the "/G" in the tabs, right?

The fifth chord shape is the D major shape. Yet again, we have a second inversion chord, and regardless of the major chord you're playing with this shape, it will be a second inversion triad. This C major version is really easy - you only need to finger one string. You basically just strum down from the third string with your index finger on the second string C note (first fret).

While you don't really think about the D shape with this particular version of the C chord, just imagine moving each played note up two frets. You'll see the D major chord falls right into place.

The sixth chord I show in the tabs is a root inversion of C major. It's an easy chord to play - much easier than trying to play a barre chord or that G shape. It's good if you want a more treble sounding chord with higher pitch than say an open C major chord in the first position.

The seventh chord shown is an example of a first inversion chord. That means the note order from the scale is 3 5 1 - in the case of C major it's E G C. You'll also notice it's part of the open C major chord - rooted on the second note of the chord (the three note). This is an interesting shape to me because if you play the open A string (fifth string) with this chord, it becomes an Am7 chord (A minor 7). Clearly this will be a handy shape to know for the future (well, all of them have their merits).

The eighth chord I show is again, a root inversion of the C major chord. This is another one of those really easy shapes to play. It's also part of a barre chord, which I'll show you soon.

Lastly, another C major chord in a first inversion configuration with note order 3 5 1. So the chord is rooted with the E note. Again, this shape is a part of the C major barre chord, but this little triad is handy for nice finger-picking runs (not that the others aren't, but I've used this shape a number of times myself in the past).

What are your questions? Are you beginning to see the all the possibilities you have with these different chord shapes? 

It's still early, so if you're a little foggy on notes and scales and chords and inversions and etcetera, etcetera, no worries. Go back and reread the weekly reviews. Look at the tabs and try them out. I can't tell you how many times a concept didn't make sense to me the first time I read or saw it. The more you see it repeated, the easier it becomes. And the easier the next concept becomes to understand.

Peace~

Dave