For those of you who are familiar with the pareto principle more commonly called the 8020 rule, it is the 20% of music theory that gets 80% of use in music we hear every day, whether its country, pop, rock, ccm, and especially contemporary worship. Roman numerals are often a better indication of the chord we are playing, so. They can be written quickly and sightread easily after a bit of practice. Featured here is the 2005 printing and 7th edition of the nashville number system. He has rigorously updated and edited the book for each of 7 subsequent editions. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the nashville number system fake book. They all differ in name but the chord function is always the same. In the equal temperament tuning system their are 15 key signatures.
In the late 50s, neil matthews devised a musical number system for the jordanaires to use in the studio. Guitar pdf blue prints i went on a hunt a while back for accurate 59 les paul blue prints and what a nightmare that was at any rate i eventually purchased a set and i had the opportunity to compare them to a real deal 1958, 1959, 1960 gibson les paul standard guitar okay. Nashville number system lesson 3831 guitar lessons. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. The nashville numbering system for chords and how it works. The nashville number system allows you to quickly jump into unfamiliar music even without knowing standard notation. The nashville number system music theory for musicians. This system of using numbers to represent chords is known as the nashville number system. Erich andreas has been playing and teaching guitar for nearly 30 years. The nashville number system is a simple way of naming chord functions as numbers rather than their formal letter name. Heres your personal introduction to the most versatile song charting system ever created, the nashville number system. The 10 best guitar lessons in nashville, tn with free.
For fun our guitar player is a berklee grad hes always trying to educate me on modes etc. To teach my own bands the nns, i created a high quality, printable, easytolearn version of it for learning the system yourself, and for handing out to your fellow musicians. The nashville number system was originally written and published in 1988 by chas. Lets say for example that you always play a certain song in eb, but you. The nashville number system is a systematic organization of numbers that show the functional harmony of the chords in a song. Also discussed are roman numeral chords, diatonic harmony and the major scale and how you can utilize these to learn songs quickly and effectively. Online bass lessons the nashville number system bass. For a better understanding you should check out the nashville number system ebook. Xd love it too much music chords, recorder music, guitar chords, hard music. You have to do 10 times as much work if you dont know how to use the nashville number system. The number shows how a chord relates to the notes of a.
The nashville numbering system is a form of music notation where the chords are represented by numbers instead of letters. The nashville number system guitar chord dial 331149760296. Hence, some good ol boys in nashvagas invented this quick and handy system. Qualities of the chords major or minor no music reading is necessary to use the nashville number system dial a. The table shows the chords of the c and g keys and their scale degree in roman numbers i,ii. The nashville number system fake book kindle edition by. The nashville number system nns is numbers applied to basic music theory for modern music. Now everybody knows it as the nashville number system. The nashville number system simply explained how music. The nashville numbering system is a method of denoting chord letter symbols by using roman numerals, and its one of the most important concepts taught in guitar lessons, really useful when dealing with chord progressions here below you find a chart with the nashville numbers for the keys of c and g. How the nashville number system revolutionized recording. The nashville number system is a simple method of learning chord functions based on scale degrees.
Guitar pdf blue prints i went on a hunt a while back for accurate 59 les paul blue prints and what a nightmare that was at any rate i eventually purchased a set and i had the opportunity to compare them to a real deal 1958, 1959, 1960 gibson les paul standard guitar okay so the plans i bought were worth the money. I was told, at a steel guitar semminar, that the number system is universally used and that nashville didnt invent it. I imagine what occurred was, the need to try a number of different keys on any given song, in any given session, was the mother of invention here. If youve recorded in nashville, youve run into the nashville number system. Know your 1, 2m, 3m, 4, 5, 6m chords by rote in each key, and youll. You need the nashville number system worship with guitar. The nashville number system is chord shorthand based on the chords of the seven harmonic degrees tables 38 and 39 above. The nashville number system is a method of transcribing music by denoting the scale degree on which a chord is built. Nashville number system pdf free download as pdf file. After a couple of semesters at berklee college of music, in 1979, i moved to nashville.
The second part of the number system is knowing which numbers in the scale are inherently major chords and which are inherently minor chords. In this lesson, well introduced the most common elements of the system. Nashville number system decoded guitar lessons truefire. This approach came about in the 1950s as the studio crew known as the a team was recording around the clock in studios like the quonset hut and rca studio b with artists like elvis, brenda lee, roy orbison, marty robbins, and countless other country, pop. Nashville number system music theory guitar, music.
Understanding the number system austin stone worship. The nashville numbering system can be a very helpful tool when you need to either learn, change or teach a song in a hurry. The numbers are organized in lines and rows so that the form and chords of a song can be easily played and quickly learned. The table shows the chords of the c and g keys and their scale degree in roman numbers i,ii,iii, iv,v, vi, vii. It resembles the roman numeral and figured bass systems traditionally used to transcribe a chord progression since as. As the name suggests, it originated with nashville studio musicians who needed a quick and easy way to transcribe songs and to modulate seamlessly between keys. So instead, ive gathered up some online tools, books and videos to help you understand how the nashville number system works. Chas williams i play guitar, slide guitars and dobro.
Some songs refer to their key as specifically major or minor, but others use both the major and relative minor as key centers, in an even enough proportion where it can be hard to say whether the i chord or the. Well discuss the benefits of using the nashville number system used by many session players around the world. I did my best to keep up and play the guitar part as we began the tune. View and download fender deluxe nashville tele diagram online. Nashville number system pdf chord music musicology scribd. Country rhythm nashville number system sizzling guitar licks. Then for minor you would typically just put a after the number. Yt070 how to understand the nashville number system. Learn to pick and strum this cakeeating classic on your uke. Music notation is made simple with this shorthand system which puts chords into numbers 1 through 7 and streamlines the page. The nashville number system makes it possible for any player to play the correct chords of a song in any key, simply by numbering the chords according to their harmonic degrees. The nashville numbering system is a method of denoting chord letter symbols by using roman numerals, and its one of the most important concepts taught in guitar lessons, really useful when dealing with chord progressions.
By writing chords as numbers, music may be transposed into different keys easily. I learned the nashville number system while working in steve bivins writers nights bands and doing demo sessions. By using the number system and writing the progression as 1, 4, 5, 1, and anyone who is familiar with the nashville number system can play the correct progression in any key. The tool crib 11 free guitar plans, 20 guitar building. The nashville number system explained ducks deluxe. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the us or from the uk, depending on stock availability. The nashville number system fake book kindle edition by hal leonard corp. The nashville number system is a way of describing music chords by denoting the scale degree on which a chord is built. The 1 chord is major, the 2 and 3 chords are minor, the 4 and 5 chords are major, the 6 chord is minor and. Nashville number system discussion in general instruction bg started by caeman, aug 26, 2009. The number system handles chord inversions a chord with the lowest note other than the root of the chord by displaying the number of the chord being played, then a followed by the scale number that is being played as the bass note. Also on the front is the colorcoded quick check reference grid of the nashville number system which goes up to the 9.
Piano chords chart the chord wheel hal leonard theory improvise transpose keys. Free the nashville number system nns chart for bands. Sep 7, 2012 nashville number system chart for all keys. The nashville number charts are a standard way to write out chord progressions and arrangements for songs that do not require reading music. Figure 2 shows a list of a few symbols that you will eventually see in nashville number system charts. Here below you find a chart with the nashville numbers for the keys of c and g. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Download the free high quality, printable, easytouse pdf chart below. The nashville number system online guitar lessons at. Its a brilliant system that allows players to change keys to accommodate any moody singer immediately. Nashville number system helpful chart for playing chords.
In this video lesson, james talks about the nashville number system, and how this piece of music theory can be applied to your playing. If you dont have a good grip on functional major key harmony the. While i could explain it here, there are quite a few resources that can do it much better. For instance a guitar player might be teaching his band a new song and will yell out play a 1, 4, 5, 4 in the key of c. C 1 d 2 e 3 f 4 g 5 a 6 b 7dim keep in mind that they key signature and all accidentals flats and sharps are applied. Collected symbols crashaccent played on the on downbeat nns download grid charts. Nashville number system chart for all keys music chords, guitar chords, music guitar. Musicians read the chart and interpret it musically in their own way based on their experience. Next time youre recording or learning a song, write a number chart. He has taught 100s of students for s of hours, has authored several books on the. This makes 2, 3, and 6 minor, indicated using dashes and the seventh chord occurring diatonically is a diminished chord. No matter what youre looking for or where you are in the world, our global marketplace of sellers can help you find unique and affordable options. Nashville number system and chart your guitar sage.
There is a better way to make music together as a band, and its called the nashville number system nns. As country songs became more elaborate, so, too, did the number system, thanks to mccoy and his knowledge of music theory. Eventually, youll be able to read them without thinking so you can get down to just playing. Learn the nashville number system rockin with the cross. Check out jamplay to improve your guitar playing, guaranteed. However, it has become more widely known and used because of its use in nashville and thus the nashville number system indentity. Its a printable pdf with the chromatic scale wheel, a scale interval list, all the caged chords, and the notes of the guitar neck in standard tuning. Etsy is the home to thousands of handmade, vintage, and oneofakind products and gifts related to your search. Download the music theory chart that goes with this lesson.
Includes free pdf download with chord diagrams and. It was developed by neal matthews in the late 1950s as a simplified system for the jordanaires to use in the studio and further developed by charlie mccoy. For example, if we added a 6 to our progression above 1 5 6 4, you might be tempted to play c g a f. Check out this free nashville number system chord chart. For minor 7th or minor 9th you would add 7 or 9 other chords types. The nashville number system by chad williams steel. Numbers chart nashville number system with images number. With the nashville number system, the number chart represents the chord progression of the song. Most musicians using this system play by ear so interpretations vary, sometimes greatly. The nashville number system spiralbound july 1 2005. About erich andreas nashville number system decoded underlying.