The CAGED Method is a tried and tested system that allows guitarists to play chords, scales and arpeggios in different positions on the fretboard. It is very normal as a guitarist to spend most of your time playing in the open position especially in the first few years of picking up the instrument.
However to really progress on the guitar there comes a point when you need to push your playing to the next level and break out of your comfort zone by exploring the rest of the neck.
Let us look at the dominant 7th chord. These chords feature a minor 7th over a major triad. They are widely used in jazz, and seen in sequences such as ii7-V7-Imaj7.
G dominant 7th - E Shape
First up lets look at the E Shape, which is featured in lots of blues songs…
G dominant 7th - D Shape
Next up the D Shape. This resembles the D7 open chord you may have played before, however we are playing it in the key of G minor.
G dominant 7th - C Shape
Now we have the C shape, again a very popular chord in jazz and blues.
G dominant 7th - A Shape
Then we get the A shape, a nice inversion of this chord which you will see in many songs in all different keys.
G dominant 7th - G Shape
Finally we get the G shape. An inversion on the bottom four strings that will give you a different inversion to use over a dominant 7th chord.
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