anybody ever employ this method for mapping the fretboard?
It is so fiendishly simple and yet so genius as a method for mapping the fretboard and practicing scales. You can find your scale within 2 frets of any chord you're playing. I'm sorry if this is widely known in blues and I'm just repeating what everybody already knows, but I've never come across it outside of jazz, and it is one of those things that just clicks in your brain and you go "ahhhh.... that is so simple now you put it like that!"
Anyway, if you'll indulge me, I'll explain the concept. I might add this will be a lot more useful to those who are, as a rule, generally unaccustomed to scales.
Here we go:
CAGED is named after the 5 scales C, A, G, E, D and is based around their major scales played in an open position (in principle) on the fretboard, and so we'd have:
C
--------------------------------------------------------------------0--1--3----
--------------------------------------------------0--1--3--------------
-------------------------------------------0--2--------------------------------
---------------------------------0--2--3---------------------------------------
---------------0--2--3-------------------------------------------------
-----0--1--3-------------------------------------------------------------------
A
-------------------------------------------------------2--4--5---------
---------------------------------------------2--4--5---------------------------
-----------------------------------1--2--4-----------------------------
-------------------------0--2--4-----------------------------------------------
---------------0--2--4-------------------------------------------------
-----0--2--4-------------------------------------------------------------------
G
---------------------------------------------------------0--2--3-------
-----------------------------------------------0--2--3-------------------------
----------------------------------------0--2---------------------------
---------------------------------0--2------------------------------------------
-----------------------0--2--3-------------------------------------------------
-----0--2--3-----------------------------------------------------------
E
--------------------------------------------------------0-------------------------
----------------------------------------------0--2--4-------------------------------
---------------------------------------1--2----------------------------------------
-----------------------------1--2--4------------------------------------------------
-------------------0--2--4----------------------------------------------------------
-----0--2--4--5----------------------------------------------------------------------
D
-------------------------------------------------------0--2--3----------------------
---------------------------------------------0--2--3------------------------
-----------------------------------0--2---------------------------------------------
-------------------------0--2--4--------------------------------------------
---------------0--2--4--------------------------------------------------------------
-----0--2--3------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ok, so practice and map your fretboard, you find the key you want, for example (and ease) D. We'd play the D scale from the C scale fingering which would be transcribed thus:
--------------------------------------------------------------------2--3--5----
--------------------------------------------------2--3--5--------------
-------------------------------------------2--4--------------------------------
---------------------------------2--4--5---------------------------------------
---------------2--4--5-------------------------------------------------
-----2--3--5-------------------------------------------------------------------
which would run into (I run up and back down the scale before moving on, using the root as the pivot) the A scale fingering, the fretted version differs slightly from the open position:
-------------------------------------------------------5--7--------------------
---------------------------------------------5--7--8---------------------------
-----------------------------------4--6--7-----------------------------
-------------------------4--5--7-----------------------------------------------
-------------4--5--7----------------------------------------------------
-----3--5--7-------------------------------------------------------------------
then onto the G fingering:
---------------------------------------------------------7--9--10-------
-----------------------------------------------7--8--10-------------------------
----------------------------------------7--9---------------------------
---------------------------------7--9------------------------------------------
-----------------------7--9--10-------------------------------------------------
-----7--9--10-----------------------------------------------------------
onto the E:
----------------------------------------------------------9--10-----------------------
--------------------------------------------------10--12-------------------------------
---------------------------------------9--11--12--------------------------------------
-----------------------------9--11--12------------------------------------------------
-------------------9--10--12----------------------------------------------------------
-----10--12------------------------------------------------------------------
and finally, the D fingering, finishing CAGED:
-------------------------------------------------------12--14--15----------------------
---------------------------------------------12--14--15------------------------
-----------------------------------12--14---------------------------------------------
-------------------------12--14--16--------------------------------------------
---------------12--14--16--------------------------------------------------------------
-----12--14--15------------------------------------------------------------------------
And so that's the the run for the Major scales. I'm about to go out, but wanted to show the modified run for the blues scales. Obviously, just play the root, flat third, 4, flat 5th, 5th, and dominant 7th of each scale to give you that.
I'm sorry if this has patronised anybody who knows their scales, but as I said, I've never come across anyone mentioning it outside of jazz and it's such an invaluable tool/concept for the pro and beginner alike.