Actually there’s 7 but if you’re happy with 5 that’s great. I guess it’s how you view it but either way all good. As I mention above two pairs of patterns are very similar but I can see how some would discount two of the patterns.
My (late) 2c worth…
CAGED or 3NPS are approaches; ways of seeing, and laying out the scales on the fretboard. They are incidental patterns. Keep the scale structure and sound at the forefront of your learning.
CAGED is great because it helps you see the scale 》chord connection. It has many, many positives for learning.
Plus it can be applied to the pentatonics.
3NPS is great for technique development, legato playing, position changing, shredding etc.
Sure, learn both eventually, if you like. I believe there is much benefit to learning CAGED first though.
Cheers, Shane
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Greg,
The CAGED system, by definition, denotes 5 shapes.
The C shape, A,G,E,D shapes. There’s no viewing it any other way. It is how it appears on the fretboard.
3NPS, sure, you could say 7, but CAGED is only ever 5.
Cheers, Shane
There are only 5.
Here they are using the key of C major in CAGED order
This octave shape
is incorporated within the C shape
.
.
.
.
this links to next octave shape
which is incorporated within the A shape
.
.
.
.
and this links to the next octave shape
which is incorporated within the G shape
.
.
.
.
and this links to the next octave shape
which is incorporated within the E shape
.
.
.
.
and this links to the next octave shape
which is incorporated within the D shape
.
.
.
and then the cycle starts again with the first octave shape
There are only 5 CAGED shapes required.
.
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There are 7 unique shapes in the 3nps system. To learn more about the 3nps system google “Building the Better Guitar Scale” and you can watch a series of videos. You can also purchase a kindle version of the book for peanuts here Amazon.com
There are 5 unique shapes in the CAGED system. I have done my best to explain how the system works in a post above. Do they repeat? Yes, but only in the sense that the shapes link together in the order CAGEDCAGED…
The shapes cycle.
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Exactly. The same is the case for the 7 3nps patterns, except the overlap between patterns is greater.
My personal view: it’s best to start with CAGED patterns as they align with the standard chord and arpeggio shapes all over the fretboard. This is also what Justin teaches.
When you understand that, if you want to learn legato style playing, you may benefit from also learning the 3NPS patterns
Note that I’m talking about legato style playing (check out people like Tom Quayle and John Nathan Cordy on YouTube). You can use legato techniques with any scale patterns.
Also, consider that these patterns are just ways of navigating the notes in the scale. The notes don’t change. If you do look at the 3NPS scales, it’s important to understand how they align with the CAGED patterns so you can link them to chords and argeggios.
Cheers,
Keith
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This topic has become unhelpfully argumentative, not in the spirit of our community ethos, so I am closing it once I make this post.
All the information that @GrytPipe asked for has been provided plus a lot of further useful information.
CAGED = 5 patterns
3NPS = 7 patterns
There is no need to go to any other website. Justin teaches it all.
Here are his thoughts on CAGED vs 3NPS.
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