Breaking the CAGED System for the Contemporary Guitarist. Improve Your Guitar Playing by Redesigning the Scales

[the is an excerpt from my free UGAR (Underground Guitar Artists Runbook) training series via email. If you are not a member yet and want to get access click here. Modifications have occurred for this online reprint.]

Do you struggle with awkward scale shapes that make impossible to play fast passages and sequences?

In today’s email we’re gonna see how to fix that – keep reading.

Greg Howe is one of my favourite guitar players.

He’s amazing.

I had the chance to see him playing live several times.

Two of them was in 2 years in a row, so I met him before the shows for a private guitar lesson.

I was already at an advanced level at that time.

I was heavily preparing for my Teaching Diploma (LLCM (TD), RGT, London College of Music ) and I was in a good shape.

At that time the concept of playing through the chord changes was what was getting me busy the most.

We started talking about it and playing various examples.

Somewhere in the middle, he made a comment that had a huge impact on me.

He told me,

“Theodore, you’re such a nice player, but my phrases have a better design than yours”.

That was an aha moment…

Design?!

I couldn’t imagine that the term design could exist for musical phrases too!

[This word really resonated with me, probably due to my architectural background]

If we can design our lines, then we can use this powerful tool to create a really attractive style of playing.

I couldn’t wait to return home and explore this point of view further since the time I heard about it.

Till today this perspective consists of one of the central axis of what I practice and teach.

[Thank you Greg!]

But the obvious question is, how can we really design our lines?!

After several years of exploring that concept, I figured out how that can be possible and at the same time how that can be taught.

[I’m an architect, I can teach design, remember?! :-)]

And guess what.

Once again, one of the first steps is solid fretboard knowledge.

Starting tomorrow, I’m gonna break down the very first step:

How to prepare the ground, designing the scales for fast, intervallic and creative playing, moving a step further from the traditional CAGED shapes.

It’s a concept probably all the guitar virtuosos make use of, letting you eventually develop a professional style of playing with beautifully designed lines!