NASHVILLE NUMBER SYSTEM CHART PDF FULL
NASHVILLE NUMBER SYSTEM CHART PDF DOWNLOAD

This system is now a staple in Nashville recording sessions. They would often do different recording sessions a day, and so had to be able to quickly learn, remember, and perform a high volume of songs. He used scale numbers to communicate vocal parts with his group, the Jordanaires, as well as numbers for chords to show the session musicians which chords to play. It allows musicians of all different backgrounds to be able to play together easily, and saves time in both writing out and reading charts.ДЇormally trained musicians understand the numbered scale degrees, as do many self-taught musicians, even if they cannot read fully-notated music. However, the reason that the NNS is so brilliant is that it is both sophisticated and straightforward. Numbered scale degrees have been around since the 18th Century, where Roman numerals were used to represent chords. The Nashville Number System is not a system that utilizes entirely new information, but rather is a method of organizing our current understanding of music theory. If the musicians are technically proficient, which most session players are, the band should be able to play it almost right away in the new key. The band would simply apply the scale degree numbers on the chart, to the new key. Various symbols are also used, either to explain a performance mechanic or to identify a particular chord further.

NASHVILLE NUMBER SYSTEM CHART PDF FULL

How long each chord is held for, whether a full bar or half bar, is determined by the spacing of the chords on the written chart. The band would then play those chords for the first section of that song. So the chords would be C major 1A minor 6F major 4and G major 5. In a major key, the 1, 4, and 5 chords are all major, while the 2, 3, and 6 are all minor, and the 7 chord is diminished.ДЄs we know from above, chords 1, 4, and 5 are all major, but chord 6 is minor. The scale then repeats again from the first degree C. In C Major, those scale degrees would be as follows. The numbers 1 to 7 are representative of the notes of the scale, in ascending order. In any major or minor key a collection of notes that sound good togetherseven notes make up the scale for that key. There was no lyric sheet, so we just had to hear the songs beforehand and trust our intuition/memory.To recognize what the numbers and symbols mean on a chart, we will first have to have some basic understanding of music theory.

Major and minor are denoted by symbols more common to jazz charts (- is minor and ? is Major) Diamonds surrounding the chords mean they are вЂњfootballsвЂќ (whole notes). Notice some of the additional markingsвЂ¦ if two chords are underlined, that means that they take up one bar (two beats each). It was an album release party for a wonderful album recorded in Nashville by local Portland area artist, Debra Arlyn). HereвЂ™s an example chart (PDF) from a gig I did last year. ItвЂ™s a very straight forward system, but there are a few things that you might have to get used to. Other times, they may be written to the side and you just have to hear the tune through to know what the harmonic rhythm is, or use your intuition and cues from the band leader.

Often, the numbers will be written on the lyric sheet with the numbers written above the lyric relating to the change. ItвЂ™s all in relation to the tonal center. All chord relationships are based on the tonic scale.ДЇor example, if the song is in G Major and the progression was: So, like the Roman numeral system, it is basically just a way to notate songs, regardless of key. IвЂ™ve known about it for a while but have only come across it when reading original charts from a recording session there. The good news is that itвЂ™s pretty much the same as the classical (or jazz) Roman numeral system.ДЄs youвЂ™ve probably guessed by now, it is primarily used in Nashville, hence the name.

NASHVILLE NUMBER SYSTEM CHART PDF DOWNLOAD

Are you aware of any music I could download that uses this system?ДЄ: What youвЂ™re referring to is the Nashville Number system. I have become aware of lead sheets using numbers 1, 4, 5вЂ™ 1/5). Q: I am classically trained, so IвЂ™m used to Roman numerals to designate chords (I, IV, V7, etc.).

Nashville number system chart pdf