Keith Allen and the C - A - G - E - D  system

One of the big innovations that came out of the Blue Bear school was a system of teaching and learning guitar that has since become known as the “C-A-G-E-D” system and makes up a big part of the universe of guitar instruction these days, whether it’s referred to as C-A-G-E-D or not. It was developed by Keith Allen and other members of the BBW staff as part of a series of courses taught as “The Fingerboard Revealed”.

I think a big part of what made Blue Bear a ‘school’ and not just a collection of teachers, was the shared concept of a bigger picture of music that encompassed all genres of music. This created a community of people who were passionate about learning not just to play an instrument, or becoming a ‘rock star’, but also knowledge about all kinds of Music and the talent, skills, and craft necessary to actually pursue a career in music. 

For guitar players, that meant in addition to private lessons there was also a required group class called “The Fretboard Revealed” that dealt in the bigger picture of what makes up the basics of music theory and how that applies specifically to guitar. For me, that class opened the doors wide and allowed me to grow and explore far beyond just learning a bunch of chords and licks, but the ‘why’ underneath and how to move it around and use it in any key, any style. Not only that, it made it so much easier to learn different instruments (I also play pedal steel, dobro, lap steel, etc.), and applied to songwriting, arranging, and performance.

Later on Keith Allen worked with Scott Morrison and Castalia Publishing to produce The Guitar Poster in 1980, which became a fixture on the wall of every guitar player I knew and spawned posters for keyboards, bass, etc. Castalia is still going strong and produces excellent educational materials expanding on Keith’s early work.

In addition to being a great educator, Keith was also a stellar player who worked in countless bands including Steve Miller, Maria Muldaur, Bonnie Hayes, Norton Buffalo, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Robin & the Rocks, Ned Selfe, Nina Gerber, Mumbo Gumbo, Peter Welker, etc. Keith’s playing ability would have likely led to much bigger things, but he decided family was just as important and so he stayed mostly local and declined on taking long tours that meant months away from home. He passed away in 2004 but his legacy lives on.

 FOOTNOTES:

Copy of Guitar Magazine article:

https://www.castaliapub.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Keith-Guitar-article-1.pdf

LINK TO CASTALIA website:

https://www.castaliapub.com/origins-of-the-c-a-g-e-d-system/

Lovely info and press about Keith Allen:

https://www.castaliapub.com/keith-allen-music-education-master/

 From Quora: What is the earliest published mention of the CAGED system for guitar?

 https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-earliest-published-mention-of-the-CAGED-system-for-guitar