Position 1 vs CAGED positions
The CAGED system takes its name from the five open chord shapes C-A-G-E-D: each shape, once barred and moved along the neck, naturally frames one of the five boxes of the matching pentatonic scale. Learning all five CAGED positions makes it possible to play the same scale across the whole neck, not just one area.
Why Guitarshelf currently covers only position 1
Position 1 (tied to the E shape of the CAGED system) sits closest to the low E string and is the easiest to locate relative to the root note — which is why it serves as the entry point in nearly every method, Guitarshelf included. The other four positions (D, C, A, G shapes) remain outside the current catalog: they aren't inherently harder, but they require memorizing where they overlap with position 1 so they aren't learned as five disconnected, isolated scales.
The catalog's E minor pentatonic scale — position 1 corresponds to the E shape of the CAGED system.
Position 1 isn't "the real" scale
Position 1 is nothing more fundamental than the other four: it's an entry point, not the reference shape the others are derived from. The five CAGED positions are five windows onto the same scale, overlapping in pairs along the neck. "Knowing position 1" doesn't mean knowing the scale — just being able to play it within one four-fret zone.
Practical tips and common mistakes
- Learn the positions by their overlap zones, not in isolation: the end of position 1 is the start of position 2. Memorising them separately gives five disconnected scales.
- Anchor each position on the root, not on the lowest playable note: it's the root that tells you which fret matches which key.
- The name "CAGED" follows the chord shapes (C-A-G-E-D), not the order of the positions along the neck: scale position 1 corresponds to the E shape, not the C shape.
- Don't leave position 1 until it's fluent both ways and on every string: widening too early spreads the work thin without consolidating any one zone.