I just watched the video.
The instructor uses the phrase F-shape and that is definitely not correct.
It is an E-shape.
It is (like the full 6-string barre chord that it is derived from) a movable shape. So he is 100% correct to show that the same shape at different frets becomes different chords.
Fret 1 = F
Fret 5 = A etc.
The F on the upper row is a natural note taken as the root of a major chord.
The F on the second row of the grid within the inner cells (and all other Fs within) are errors. There is no F-shape.
Okay … you need to read from the left column to the inner cells of the grid to the upper row.
Note how the inner cells contain only the letter names A, C, D, E or G … the CAGED system. Only those five shapes can be called shapes and are the basis of barre chords (or the form of other actual chords if a capo is used).
Very important.
The upper row of the table shows only natural note names A, B, C, D, E, F, G. It does not contain sharps or flats.
At fret 1 there is only one of the CAGED shapes that gives rise to a chord whose root is a natural note.
E-shape → F major
At fret 2 four of the CAGED shapes result in chords whose root notes are natural notes.
G-shape __> A major
A-shape → B major
C-shape → D major
D-shape → E major
And so on.
The table contains errors - your thinking does not.
I will raise an alert with a view to having it corrected.
List the chords in the song that you wish to transpose with a capo. (For minor chords, just use the major shape as a starting point)
Find those chords in the grey “Original Shape” row.
Under each of these chords, search down the rows of “Capoed Shapes” fora row that contains a capoed chord for each of the original shape chords (there may be more than one row like this. Minor chords must have an equivalent shape )
Substitute the capoed shape where the original shape is played in the song.
For me, this is complicated - I have to write down the capoed chords and pencil them onto a lead sheet before I can play in the capoed position. I certainly can’t do it in my head on the fly.
If this is helpful, mods should feel free to update the website with this.
An example would probably help as well, but I don’t have time to provide that at the moment.
I think that part the confusion results from the implication that F is a shape (as in CAGED). In this chart, I suspect the idea was that all the ‘chord shapes’ below the grey line are chords that you learn as a beginner in order to play many songs in the open (no capo) position. F (mini or otherwise) is one of them, albeit not a general (CAGED) shape. Armed with these ‘shapes’ (aka beginner open chords) and a Capo you can play along with some original recordings even though that recording wasn’t played in a key that works with open position chords. Another use of the chart is to play the same target chords but in a different position on the neck producing a different sound, but in the same key.
One nitpicky inconsistency is that F is treated as ‘chord shape’ until Capo12. It is then omitted. Capo12 would be the same as Capo0 (no capo). Perhaps having a Capo0 row and showing F on Capo12 along with adding a note about how F is used in this chart might help.
I do tend towards the opinion that Justin has created a graphic and a system that creates confusion in using the name F shape.
I will raise this with him.
My preference would be a chart with no F contained in any of the inner cells at all or to redesign it and label / describe it differently.
One thought is redesign showing only the 8 essential beginner chords.
But neither Justin’s chart nor this new one I made address the real life situation. The lesson concerns two people playing the same song so they are likely to be playing diatonic chords. Hence there is a need for a chart or a diagram that shows how a group of diatonic chords can be played in different ways when a capo is used.
Aha - see next post. Someone has already addressed this issue.
My actual preference is actually for something I created … please forgive me straying away from humility here but I am quite pleased with these diagrams / charts / tools I created.
Richard, I really like your re-design - great use of shading and color (too bad I only have a monochrome printer
Also, for including the minor chords, which threw me for a loop when I started using the original chart.
The problem I see with this is that beginners would not be able to use the chart to capo away from difficult chords like F and B (or even C - yes, that’s difficult for many beginners).
But perhaps that’s a different use case from “capo for two”.
If a song contains F and / or B and is uses a diatonic progression - which is likely if classed as a beginner song - then the chances are that F and B will not be the only difficult and / or barre chords.
F is diatonic to the keys of :
F → F, Gm, Am, Bb, C, Dm
C → C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am
Bb → Bb, Cm, Dm, Eb, F, Gm
B is diatonic to the keys of:
B → B, C#m, D#m, E, F#, G#m
E → E, F#m, G#m, A, B, C#m
F# → F#, G#m, A#m, B, C#, D#m
Hi, I’m not following the words “front” and “back” as they relate to the open chord shapes. I can find the root note of the chord and somehow the C made intuitive sense to me but after that I’m lost, so it feels like I’ve only got half the tools here. Does this refer to relative position up and down the neck from the root note fret? (Then what happens with a D, when the root note is an open string?) Or is it something else? I know the note names but am not seeing a pattern here that to me says front or back. Any clarification is appreciated so I can watch again without just having my brain say “WHAT? WHAT?” the whole time.
When we say “front”, we mean that the scale of a given position is further down the neck (= to the right) in relation to the root note.
When we say “back” or “behind”, we mean that the scale of a given position is closer to the nut (= to the left) in relation to the root note.
Let’s take the C major scale as an example. This image shows the five positions. Have a look at the five positions and note the overlap that occurs between them.
The top position is Position 4, based on the A chord shape. We have the root note C on the third fret of the fifth string. The A chord shape within that position is in FRONT of that root note.
The next position is Position 5, based on the G chord shape. We have the root note C on the eight fret of the sixth string. The G chord shape within that position is BEHIND that root note.
The next position is Position 1, based on the E chord shape. We have the root note C on the eight fret of the sixth string. The E chord shape within that position is in FRONT of that root note.
The next position is Position 2, based on the D chord shape. We have the root note C on the tenth fret of the fourth string. The D chord shape within that position is in FRONT of that root note.
The last position is Position 3, based on the C chord shape. We have the root note C on the fifteenth fret (= third fret) of the fifth string. The C chord shape within that position is BEHIND that root note.
If you analyze all other keys, you’ll come to the same conclusion.
The scales in position 1 (E shape), position 2 (D shape) and Position 4 (A shape) are in FRONT of the root note.
The scales in position 3 (C shape), and Position 5 (G shape) are BEHIND the root note.
Position 1 (E shape) and Position 5 (G shape) share the same root note position. The former is in FRONT of the root, the latter BEHIND the root note.
Position 3 (C shape) and Position 4 (A shape) share the same root note position. The former is BEHIND the root, the latter in FRONT of the root note.
There is no difference when the root note is an open string. E.g. the D major scale in position 2 (D shape) is in FRONT of the root note. Et cetera.
I don’t know if the app videos are different from the website videos, but in the app video for this lesson (A Capo for Two) Justin uses these terms to talk about how to figure out which chords are going to work with various capo positions. The terminology started popping in at about 8:30 in the video.
Thanks so much to you and @Jeff for responding so fast…I really didn’t know what to expect my first time posting. This seems like a great community.
I have just watched the video again.
Behind and in front of are used to desribe where most or all of a chord shape can be found relative to the lowest root note.
Behind is towards the nut. Lower.
In front is towards the body. Higher.
Can the Open Chord Shapes Cheat Sheet chart please be made available for this lesson in a Resources Tab as a downloadable PDF?
Justin mentions something about this in the video but it isn’t available.
Cheers.
Like many have said, this is a fantastic lesson to help better understand the fretboard. While I haven’t jammed with somebody using a capo or played with my looper, I did experiment with a song I’ve been noodling on - “Lean on Me”. I put a capo on the third fret and found the C, G and F chords used in the song. What was really fun was incorporating the prior lesson of linking the chords - finding the bass notes to link the C and F chords in the song. My challenge right now is I’m so used to playing the open chords that I have to fight the instinct to finger a traditional G chord shape for the G vs. going to the E shape to play the G. This is my first attempt so I’m sure it will come with practice - but for now I am super excited that I was able to take it to the next level by linking the chords.
Apologies if this has been asked before (not read all the discussion) but this lesson seems to assume that you have someone to jam with. How do we do this if we don’t?
