The C-shape major arpeggio
The CAGED C-shape major arpeggio, a moveable shape worked here in G major where it lands at frets 7-10.
A CAGED arpeggio is a chord shape exploded into single notes: every root, third and fifth that sits under the hand in one position. The C-shape takes the open C chord, makes it moveable, and lights up all of its chord tones. Worked in G major it sits at frets 7-10, with its root on the A string at fret 10, the B string at fret 8. Slide the whole shape to a new fret and you play the arpeggio of a new key, the same fingering throughout.
All 10 arpeggio shapes →Three views of the C-shape major shape
Left: the anchor chord that gives the shape its name. Centre: the full arpeggio with every chord-tone (R, Δ3, p5) lit across the neck. Right: the same shape with finger numbers for the picking hand to learn.
4-note variations
Four-note subsets of the C-shape major shape that work as picking patterns, sweep-able cells and lick scaffolding. Each one is a tiny piece of the same arpeggio.
3-note variations
Triadic subsets across one string set at a time. These are the seeds of chord-melody lines, sweeps and arpeggio etudes. Each card shows a triad on three adjacent strings inside the shape.
Why this shape
The C-shape major shape is one of the five CAGED forms. Its name comes from the open C chord shape; barre that shape, make it moveable, and the arpeggio is simply the chord with every chord tone in the position filled in (the root, the major third and the perfect fifth).
Worked in G major it lives at frets 7-10. Because each CAGED shape shares notes with its neighbours, you can run this shape and then shift into the next one along the neck without a seam, which is what turns five separate boxes into one connected fretboard.
How to practise
Three short drills that lock the C-shape major shape into your hands. Three minutes each, total nine minutes a day, and the shape is yours in a fortnight.
Isolate the shape
Pick every arpeggio note ascending then descending at 60bpm for a minute, then 70, then 80. Let the roots ring a touch longer so your ear locks onto the G tonic.
Roots first
Play only the gold roots (the A string at fret 10, the B string at fret 8) back and forth, then add the third and fifth around them. Knowing the roots is what makes the shape moveable to any key.
Connect to a neighbour
Run this shape to its top note, then slide your hand to the adjacent CAGED shape and play it descending. Loop for three minutes until the join feels like one line, not two boxes.
Where it shows up
Because the C-shape major keeps its roots in a fixed place, it is a reliable map for outlining a major chord in this region of the neck: arpeggiated intros, lead fills over the G chord, and chord-melody lines that keep the third and fifth close to hand. Move the same fingering to another fret and it serves any key.
Related shapes
The C-shape major shape sits inside the CAGED system, so it shares notes with its neighbours. Hop to the next one along the neck.
More songwriting tools
This shape is rooted in the same chord you can audition in the chord builder. For the full reference on the underlying chord (voicings, theory, progressions, songs that use it), open the G major chord page. To hear how the G major fits inside a key, browse progressions in G major. All free, no signup.