PRESENCE - Volume 46
Inspiration For Guitarists
Don’t Play Changes (Yet)
One of the biggest traps I see intermediate guitarists fall into is trying to play the changes before they’re actually ready.
I get questions about this constantly.
My YouTube comments are full of phrases like:
“How do I play the changes?”
“How do I target chord tones?”
“How do I chase the chords?”
Those are good questions—but they’re often being asked too early.
Before worrying about playing changes, you need to ask yourself a more important question:
Do I have the foundation to support that skill?
Because when you strip it down, playing changes really comes down to just two things:
Keeping the chord progression running in your head while you’re soloing
Seeing and playing CAGED shapes all over the neck
That’s it.
Which means the real work isn’t learning fancy note-targeting concepts.
It’s getting really good at CAGED!
A Quick Challenge
Let’s say the song is in C major (or the relative minor, A minor).
If you’re playing pentatonic shape 1, you’d be at the 5th fret.
Now ask yourself:
Can you find a C CAGED shape without moving your hand?
How about D minor?
E minor?
F?
G?
A minor?
If that feels shaky, that’s not a theory problem.
That’s a CAGED fluency problem.
Being able to instantly locate those chord shapes—right where you’re already playing—is the skill behind playing changes.
That’s exactly why I put so much emphasis on CAGED.
Why Most Guitarists Get Stuck Here
A lot of players tell me they’ve “learned” the CAGED system.
But here’s the truth:
Most people have studied CAGED…
Very few have actually practiced locating CAGED shapes in real time.
That’s why I built an entire practice section in my course around this exact skill—because knowing the system and usingthe system are two very different things.
If playing changes is a goal of yours, CAGED practice needs to be a priority.
And Here’s the Permission Slip
You also need to hear this:
You don’t have to play the changes.
Seriously—you can let yourself off the hook.
Many great guitarists aren’t consciously targeting chord tones at all.
They’ve just developed a strong instinct for the sound of the pentatonic scale, and they trust their ears and intuition to guide them.
You can always come back to playing changes later—
after the foundation is solid.
That’s how progress actually sticks.
YouTube Videos On Playing Changes Using CAGED-
Rock On
— Dustin
P.S. - Course Update
For those of you inside my course, I’ve changed all of the “Play Along With Me” videos in the Pentatonic Jam Room to the new upgraded Interactive Video Tab system. It’s now way easier to see EXACTLY what I’m playing in real time.