You Already Know More Than You Think

This week we’re diving deep into one of the most talked about and misunderstood systems in all of guitar - CAGED. I’ve been a fan of Molly Miller’s teaching for a long time, and her brand new live EP is the perfect excuse to dig into how she thinks about the fretboard. Beyond that, we’ve got a great Question of the Week that I’d love to hear your thoughts on, and the links section is loaded this week with some really useful stuff. Let’s get into it!

If you’ve been reading Six String Sunday for a while, you’ve seen me link to Molly Miller’s CAGED lessons on Pickup Music quite a bit. I think she’s one of the best and most clear teachers on learning the fretboard in that way - she holds a Doctorate in Musical Arts from USC, so the Dr. Molly Miller thing is well earned. She’s toured with everyone from the Black Eyed Peas to Jason Mraz, but the trio is where her guitar playing really shines.

MMT Live from CA just dropped this past week - six songs, all live and under a half hour. Most of the EP pulls from The Ballad of Hotspur, with a Cat Stevens “Wild World” as the closer that’s a cool take on the song. The rhythm section is legit too - drummer Tamir Barzilay has credits with Macy Gray, Larry Carlton, and Jennifer Lopez. This is a fun band to listen to.

Miller’s playing is always moving - her lead lines have real direction to them, they develop and go somewhere rather than just noodling around a scale shape. You can also hear the CAGED thinking in her chord work, the way she moves through changes on the neck makes total sense when you know how she approaches the fretboard.

On this EP I believe she’s running her ‘78 Gibson ES-335 into a modded Fender Princeton Reverb, and that combo sounds fantastic with her playing. If you haven’t spent time with her albums yet, this is a great place to start. And if you want to understand how she thinks about the guitar, her CAGED course at Pickup Music is what you should check out.

Check out this EP and let me know what you think!

Molly Miller is one of the best CAGED teachers out there, and featuring her this week got me thinking about how many players give up on the system early on. Sometimes it just takes the right teacher to make something finally click. So this week’s question is simple:

What’s one guitar concept you avoided for years that finally clicked - and what made it click? Bonus points for letting me know who taught you!

If you’ve ever felt like CAGED didn’t work for you, I’d bet the problem wasn’t the system - it was how you were taught it (see above). Most players learn CAGED as five chord shapes, memorize them, and are still lost on the fretboard. Knowing five shapes isn’t the point. Knowing where you are on the neck at all times is the point. Molly Miller puts it perfectly: CAGED gives you a map of the fretboard. The shapes are landmarks, not destinations.

If you want a solid starting point, learn how octave shapes work across the neck first, then move into CAGED with a focus on targeting the root, third, and fifth degrees. Those root notes are your anchors - they show you where each shape lives, how they connect, and how to move through a key. The shapes are all connected, just like your pentatonic and major scale patterns already are. You already know more than you think.

This week, pick one shape you know cold - probably your E or A shape. Find the root notes, locate the neighboring shape, and spend time on that overlap. Slow and taking time to understand the underlying theory wins here. And remember - CAGED doesn’t have to be your only path to learning the fretboard. Learning the neck from multiple angles makes everything more ingrained. You’ve got this, and as always, I’m here if you need me!

• Why Every Guitar Pick Is The Same - Usually when I link to Marcel Ardans, it’s because he has a well produced video about a bluegrass line or some helpful guitar knowledge to share. This video, he sits down with Hayes Griffin to talk about the enormous influence the 351 teardrop pick has had on the guitar industry. They talk about different shapes, all the different materials that have been used over the years, and much more. I really nerded out over this one. Over the years, aside from the old reliable Dunlop Tortex picks, I’ve been a huge fan of Red Bear and Honey Picks. What are you using?

• What Pro Guitarists Know About Pick Control! - While we’re on the subject of picks, how you hold and control one matters just as much as which one you choose. Shane Theriot kicks off this video letting us know what his pick of choice is, and then gets in to some chromatic and string skipping exercises that’ll whip your picking into shape very quickly if you practice them every day. This is the type of stuff that should become muscle memory for you, and is more of a brain off thing that can be practiced while you’re watching TV or just hanging out. If you want to go deeper into these exercises, Shane has two books called Monster Picking that cover these exact exercises in much more depth

• The Secret to Finding Your Unique Guitar Voice - Tim Lerch stopped by the TrueFire channel to talk about something every guitarist wrestles with - finding a tone that’s actually yours. He starts with visualization, knowing what sound you’re chasing before you start tweaking knobs, which is smarter than most players give it credit for. We’ve been talking a lot about picks this issue, and Tim ties right into that - your physical touch and how you use dynamics are just as much a part of your tone as any piece of gear. He wraps up by making a case for leaning into your physical strengths rather than grinding away at your weaknesses. The result is a tone that can be called uniquely yours. Short video, but totally worth your time.

• Old-School Sounds That Are Easier Than Jazz Chords - Want to get fancier with your chords, but not go “full jazz”? You’re in luck, because Eric Haugen just put out a video all about the augmented chord. After explaining the formula for an augmented chord, he gets into how to use it, what inversions and different shapes are easiest to use, and then wraps it up by showing examples of famous songs that use the chord. Everyone from the Beatles to Bowie has used it, and it’ll always perk up the listener’s ear when you put it in a song.

• The Top 1% of Guitar Players See This on the Fretboard - I believe this is either the first or second time I’m linking to Mr. Elmore’s Music Lab, and this one caught my eye right away. The video covers triads across four string sets - EAD, ADG, DGB, and GBE - which is a really smart way to break the fretboard into smaller, less intimidating chunks. He walks through every triad in the key of G major, how to move between open chords and their triad shapes, and reminds you that knowing the shapes means nothing if your rhythm isn’t working.The best part is that once you have these down, they’re movable to any key - so the work you put in here pays off everywhere on the neck.

• REWIRE YOUR BRAIN With This Practice Hack!!! - I’m sure we’ve all been there before, where we’re working a lick into the ground, and ultimately not feeling like we’re making any progress on getting it clean. Ben Eller brings some science into the mix, and talks about a cool practice hack you should try next time you’re learning something new. Instead of pushing through nonstop, take short, periodic breaks to give your brain time to process what your fingers are doing. Ben says he’s used this approach for years, including when he was preparing after being selected to tour with Machine Head. If you’re struggling to make progress on a difficult lick, this is a technique worth trying.

Even more great links to check out:

• Paul Gilbert on finding melody, his best-ever songwriting & the pedal board behind WROC - I loved this interview with Paul Gilbert and Guitar World. It was a blast seeing Paul on tour with Greg Koch earlier this year, and I’m always excited to hear him play. Few guitarists can make licks sound as melodic and singable as Gilbert. Plus, Paul’s genuine love for everything guitar and music, is inspiring. Paul dives into his new concept album WROC, talks about his approach to slide guitar, and walks through the gear on his latest pedalboard.

• Soloing Secrets - Steve Lukather - Steve Lukather is one of those players I never get tired of talking about, and David Brewster absolutely nails what makes him so special. His phrasing, the bends, the chromatic ideas that made his Toto work and session playing recognizable right away. There are licks to steal here, but the real smart guitarist angle is understanding what makes his playing so effective.

• 5 Ways to Make Your Solos Follow the Chords - Troy Downward walks through five approaches to soloing over a chord progression - pentatonic with chord tone targeting, modes, arpeggios, one-string horizontal playing, and double stops - each one helping you connect your lines to the changes rather than just running scales. He ties it all together at the end with a solo that uses all five, which is a great way to hear how these ideas work in context.

• NYC Street Named for Jimi Hendrix After 56-Year Petition - You know I’ll talk about Jimi Hendrix every chance I can get. After over 5 decades, New York City has co-named W. 8th Street, Jimi Hendrix Way, right in the vicinity of Electric Lady Studios. Let his legacy live on!