How to Connect CAGED, Triads, and the Pentatonic Into One Fretboard System
CAGED (see [[what-is-caged:the article on CAGED]]), triads (see [[guitar-triads-explained:the article on triads]]), and pentatonic positions (see [[connecting-pentatonic-positions:the article on connecting positions]]) were each covered on their own, but on the neck they describe the exact same five zones - just with a different emphasis each time: the chord shape, the three notes inside it, or the five scale notes around it.
The same neck zone - three different views
Any one of the five CAGED positions physically contains: an open or barre chord shape (CAGED), that chord's three notes with no doubling (a triad), and the full pentatonic position surrounding those same notes (see the article on connecting chords and scales). That's not three separate facts about the neck - it's one area, viewed from three angles.
Why see all three layers at once
A solo built purely on the pentatonic, with no sense of where the chord itself sits, can physically land on a triad note at any moment, but the guitarist won't know it ahead of time (see the article on targeting chord tones). Seeing all three layers at once makes it easier to deliberately decide when to play a chord tone and when to play a neighboring scale degree.
Where to start: one position, three layers
Take one familiar CAGED position and find, inside it, first the three triad notes, then the full pentatonic around them - don't move to the next position until you can see all three layers confidently in this one zone, with no pause to remember them.
Neighboring positions connect the same way pentatonics do
Just like pentatonic positions (see the article on connecting positions), neighboring CAGED zones physically overlap - the last notes of one zone become the first notes of the next. Once a pair of neighboring zones is mastered as a whole, not just the scale or just the chord within them, you have a ready-made route for a solo across the entire neck.
This is a synthesis, not a new topic
None of the three parts gets re-taught from scratch - the lesson combines what's already learned into one map, it doesn't add new material. If any of the three topics (CAGED, triads, or the pentatonic) still isn't solid, it makes more sense to shore that one up on its own first, then come back to combining them.
Try it in practice
Open chord trainer