C shape — a movable form of the open C major (x32010). The C shape roots on the 5th (A) string. The full barre is an awkward stretch, so it is most often used as a partial grip or for its upper voicing.
- Choose a key — the five shapes are placed up the neck for whatever key you pick
- Start with a familiar shape using the stepper — often the E or A shape
- Find the highlighted root notes that anchor the shape, then play the chord tones around them
- Step up the neck to the next shape and see how it shares notes with the previous one
- Turn on "All shapes" to see how C, A, G, E, and D tile the entire fretboard in your key
- Tap any note to hear it, or press "Play shape" to hear the voicing one note at a time
About the CAGED System Visualizer
Guitar Tool Hub's free CAGED system visualizer maps the five movable chord shapes — C, A, G, E, and D — across the full fretboard in any key. Step through each shape one at a time or show all five at once to see how they interlock and tile the neck. Root notes are highlighted so you can anchor each shape, and every note plays on tap in acoustic, electric, or classical voicing — each sampled from a real guitar. It's the fastest way to stop thinking in isolated chord grips and start seeing the whole neck as one connected map.
- 01All five CAGED shapes (C, A, G, E, D)
- 02Every shape in all 12 keys
- 03Root notes highlighted on each shape
- 04Step through shapes or show all five at once
- 05Major scale & pentatonic boxes around each shape
- 06Tap any note to hear it played
- 07Play the whole shape with one click
- 08Standard tuning · acoustic, electric & classical sounds
- 09Free — no account needed
Frequently Asked Questions
The CAGED system is a way of organizing the guitar neck around five movable chord shapes — derived from the open C, A, G, E, and D major chords. Every major chord can be played in five places up the neck using these shapes, and they always connect in the same order, which lets you visualize the entire fretboard from a few familiar grips.
Pick a key, then use the stepper to move through the five shapes in the order they appear on the neck. Each shape highlights its root notes and chord tones. Tap any note to hear it, or press "Play shape" to hear the whole voicing. Turn on "All shapes" to see how the five shapes overlap and tile the neck, and "Full neck" to extend the board so each shape repeats an octave (12 frets) higher.
The five shapes are named after the five open major chord forms they come from: C, A, G, E, and D. For any key they always follow each other up the neck in that fixed cyclic order (C → A → G → E → D, then repeating an octave higher). Only the starting position changes from key to key.
Yes. Turn on the scale overlay to display the major scale or major pentatonic box that surrounds the active shape. The notes are clipped to the shape's fret position, so you see exactly which scale fingering CAGED ties to that chord shape — the foundation of connecting chords and lead lines.
The same five reference points apply to minor chords, arpeggios, and other scales too. This visualizer focuses on the five major chord shapes plus their major scale and pentatonic boxes, which are the foundation; once you see those clearly, minor and modal patterns lock onto the same root positions.
Standard tuning (E A D G B E). The CAGED system is built around the shapes of the standard-tuning open chords, so the positions shown assume your guitar is in standard tuning.
Yes — completely free. No account, no download, and no payment required.