As a lead guitarist knowing the basic number system for Western music is essential for soloing, playing in a band, or writing your own songs. But don’t worry, this is a very simple concept. You will instantly be able to figure out any chord and any key just by using the numbers of one through seven. So, what is this so-called number system?
What You Will Learn
- how the number system works
- how to learn the number system
- what are half and whole steps
- how to figure out the major scale of any key with a simple formula
- the seven chord names assigned to the seven notes of the major scale
- putting it all together
- how to use the number system in a minor key
How The Number System Works
The number system or Nashville number system as it is also known was invented by Neal Matthews when working in the studio with The Jordanaires. Further developed by Charlie Mccoy, it is used widely as a simplified system of chord notation.
Think of the number system as a universal language for musicians. Instead of entire chord structures being written or called out by the lead singer, simple charts with the basic numbers of one through seven are used instead. This means that any member of the band can read any chart or hold up any finger numbering from one to seven. The band will instantly know what the next chord is no matter the key as each finger corresponds to a different chord type.
How To Learn The Number System
there are only three things that you must know in order to learn the number system. What half and whole steps are, the basic formula, and the chord types assigned to each of the seven notes of the major scale.
There are only 7 notes to learn… That’s right, if you can count to seven then you can learn the number system. See elementary school was not so bad after all! 😊
Half And Whole Steps
Half and whole steps are the basic building blocks of music. A half step means move up or down one note, and a whole step means move up or down two notes, or two half steps. Using the guitar as an example, if we were on fret 5, to move up a half step you would move to fret 6. To move a whole step from the fifth fret you would move to fret 7. Simple as pie huh?
The Major Scale Formula
the major scale and its chord structures make up about 95% of all of those pop songs you are tired of hearing on the radio. Most chords in Western music come from this scale.
The major scale is a seven-note scale or eight-note if you count the next octave. You can figure out the major scale of any key by knowing a simple formula. This formula is whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. Or whole whole half, whole whole whole half.
This formula is independent of the instrument and will work on piano bass, guitar, etc.
let’s construct a major scale for the key of C major. Starting on C, go up one whole step to D, another whole step to E, a half step to F, a whole to G, a whole to A, a whole to B, and a half step to C to get your final octave. Notice that all we did to get the scale was to use the formula whole whole half, whole whole whole half.
The formula for the major scale is completely independent of the starting note. As another example let’s construct a major scale for G major. If we know the major scale formula, we will know that the notes are G, A, B, C, D, E, F sharp, and back to G.
To learn the number system correctly you will want to memorize this formula. Whole whole half, whole whole whole half. Use it to figure out the major scale of other keys.
Names And Chord Types Of The Notes
As mentioned before there are only seven notes in the major scale not counting the top octave. They are numbered from 1 through seven with this simple numbering system. Each of these numbered notes has a chord type assigned to it. Just like the formula for creating a major scale, these chord types always correspond to the same number no matter the starting note.
Let’s go back to see major for example. Once again, the notes are C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. Starting from C major, each note has an assigned number and cord type. C is the “one” chord and is always major. D is the “two” chord and always minor. E is the “three” chord and always minor. F is the “four” and always major. G is the “five” chord and always major. A is the “six” chord and always minor. And B is the “seven” chord and always diminished And C is major because it is your starting note one octave higher. So, from C to C we have the chord types of major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished, and back to major again. Notice this directly corresponds to our whole whole half, whole whole whole half formula.
The different chord names come from the harmonization of the major scale using the same formula that we previously discussed. If we know the formula of whole whole half, whole whole whole half, and apply this formula to the 3 notes of a C major chord, we then have a D minor chord. If you continue to take this up the scale you will see how this works and where the other chord types come from.
Putting It All Together
so, let’s put this together into something incredibly useful. If we know our scale formula whole whole half, whole whole whole half, and the chord types of major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished and back to major, that are assigned to those notes, we can figure out the chords of any key given to us and map those to numbers one through seven.
For example let’s figure out the 1, 4, and 5 chords of C. We know that C is the one chord and is major because it is our starting chord of C major. We also know that the four and five chords are major. So, to figure out what chord is your 4 and 5 chords you just count the notes of the scale up to 4 and 5. So the 4 chord of C major is F major and the Five is G major. Now do you see how important knowing your scale formula and chord types are?
How about finding the two and three chords of D major. Using the formula, we go up one whole step to E, and another whole step to F sharp. We know that the two and three chords are always minor, so the two and three chords of D major are E minor and F sharp minor.
So if you memorize the formula and the cord types assigned to each scale degree, you could play in any key by knowing the chord numbers. You could be playing in the key of F major and someone could hold up four fingers. You would automatically know that the next chord is B flat and it is a major chord as it is the fourth degree of the F major scale.
What About The Minor Keys?
so what if you start a song in the key of A minor? Well, to keep it simple I always think in major to keep from rearranging the numbers and chords. I would think of A minor as being a 6 chord and the relative minor to C major. So instead of starting on the one chord, I think in terms of starting on the six chord.
Keeping that in mind allows me to use the major scale formula in minor keys just as I wood in major keys. So, in this case A minor is the sixth chord of C major with C major still functioning as the one chord.
If you were to look at a chart for a song using the number system, you would see that the chart is always notated in a major key. So, if the song was in C major and started on A minor, the starting number would be a six instead of one. The charts are always notated in this way to avoid confusion and rearranging the numbers.
Wrapping It Up
The number system has been an essential part of my development as a musician and plays a key role when I sit down to play or compose music. As you can see it is a simple system for charting out songs, figuring out different keys, and quick communication with other musicians either live or in the studio.
If you have yet to learn this simple numbering system, I would encourage you to do so. It is an essential building block for learning music theory and will take you a long way in playing with other musicians and your own compositions.
If you are looking for a excellent resource, check out this book from Amazon. You will learn how to communicate affectively with other musicians, understand how basic scales and chords work together, see common chord patterns through chart analysis, use chord extensions and invertions, and how to read and write Nashville charts.
If you have any questions leave a comment and I will be glad to answer them for you.
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