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If you are planning to go into a studio with one or more songs to record, or if you desire to be a session player, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with how the Nashville Numbering System works. Based on principles of music theory, this system is a quick and easy way to notate what chords background musicians should base their rhythm and lead instrumentation off of.
There’s a lot more to the Nashville numbering system than how it guides the session musician. The history of its invention is quite interesting, originating with a band that created the background music for many famous recording artists including the King of Rock and Roll himself. Read on to learn the history of the Nashville numbering system and find out exactly how the Nashville numbering system works.
The Nashville Numbering System: An Aid to Playing by Ear
The Nashville Numbering System: An Aid to Playing by Ear (Hal Leonard Studio Series) - Neil Matthews, Ju., an original member of The Jordanaires, explains the Nashville Numbering System they developed in working with musical legends like Elvis Presley
- Teaches the Nashville Numbering System with stories, vintage photos of country and pop stars, and quotes
- 2nd edition showcases 12 songs: Beautiful Brown Eyes * Blue * Boot Scootin' Boogie * Crying in the Chapel * Green Green Grass of Home * He Stopped Loving Her Today * Heartbreak Hotel * (Hey, Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song * I Fall to Pieces * King of the Road * Make the World Go Away * Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to Be Cowboys.
History of the Nashville Numbering System
Beginning in the mid-fifties, the Jordanaires worked with the legendary King of Rock and Roll Elvis Presley, providing the background vocal tracks for his countless chart-topping hits. In their 14 years working together, the Jordanaires were the opening act for all of Elvis’s concert tours and sang backup for him during his live performances. The band was comprised of Neal Mattews Jr., Hoyt Hawkins, Gordon Stoker, and Ray Walker. Because of their work with Elvis, the Jordanaires became a go-to group to sing backup for other artists represented by Capitol Records such as Patsy Cline.
A Music Problem That Needed Fixing
As far as their studio work went, these session singers were required to sing to tracks that didn’t have written arrangements, and the studio execs expected recording sessions to play out quickly and efficiently. Sometimes they were required to do as many as four different recording sessions in one day. As Neal Matthews, Jr. shared in his book The Nashville Numbering System: An Aid to Playing by Ear:
“Needless to say, the early four-a-day sessions were hectic as we struggled to remember words, intervals, arrangements, and vocal parts. We were forced to rely on hand signals, eye contact, whispering, punching each other, or any other form of communication necessary in order to help each of us to get the job done while keeping our wits together.”
The group’s challenge was to find a compromise between writing out a full vocal arrangement, which is very time-consuming, versus fleshing out an arrangement by ear and committing it to memory in about 45 minutes. Matthews developed an idea based on solfege. Instead of Do-Re-Mi…he assigned each note a number–1-2-3…What is interesting is that he was unaware that he’d stumbled on something that had already been invented–at least 400 years prior!
| Do | Re | Mi | Fa | Sol | La | Ti | Do |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
Traditional music theory assigns each note of the scale a number but notates it in Roman numerals. Below is an example of a C scale with corresponding numerals. If a three-note chord is built off of each letter, upper-case Roman numerals represent major chords, while lower-case numerals represent minor chords.
| C | D | E | F | G | A | B |
| I | ii | iii | IV | V | vi | vii° |
A Solution That Made Sense
The Nashville numbering system, or “Nashville shorthand” as some dubbed it, was already being used loosely by musicians here and there. Basically, the numbers in any given scale run in the same sequence from 1 to 8 (or 1). This set of numbers works for any scale. See the chart below for some different keys as they relate to the Nashville numbering system (noting that column 1 is the key: Key of C/G/F/D/A).
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 (1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | D | E | F | G | A | B | C |
| G | A | B | C | D | E | F# | G |
| F | G | A | Bb | C | D | E | F |
| D | E | F# | G | A | B | C# | D |
| A | B | C# | D | E | F# | G# | A |
Column 1 represents the key you are playing in. The keys shown are keys of C, G, F, D, and A.
The letters in bold are the standout chords that occur most often in any basic popular song, whether it be country, folk, bluegrass, or pop/rock. In other words, no matter what key a musician is required to play in, he/she will most often play the 1, 4, or 5 chord.
How the Nashville Numbering System Works–A Breakdown
Let’s look at a very simple children’s classic for a breakdown of the Nashville numbering system–Mary Had a Little Lamb.
There are 8 measures in the above song. Measures 1 and 2 would be marked with a number “1” to represent the chord G. Measure 3 would be marked with a “5” for the D chord, and measure 4 would be “1.” Measures 5 and 6 would be “1,” measure 7 would be “5,” and measure 8 would be “1.” If we wrote the words out as a more simplified lead sheet, it would look like this:
① Mary had a ① little lamb, ⑤ little lamb, ① little lamb, ① Mary had a ① little lamb whose ⑤ fleece was white as ① snow.
While the above would be the notation for a singer who has to harmonize the melody by choosing notes in a 1 or 5 chord, an instrumentalist could chart the song even more simply:
Chorus: 1 1 5 1 1 1 5 1
How Chords Are Stacked
Major Chords
A basic chord like “1” is a major chord, consisting of three notes that are stacked, where every other letter is skipped. In a C scale, for example, we’d build a basic chord as C-E-G. The “4” chord would start on the 4th note of the scale–F. An F chord would be spelled F-A-C. The “5” chord would start on G and be spelled G-B-D.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | D | E | F | G | A | B |
| E | A | B | ||||
| G | C | D |
Minor Chords
Basic minor triads are built off of three of the scale degrees we have not looked at yet–2, 3, and 6. In the Nashville numbering system, these chords would be followed by a dash: 2-, 3-, 6-.
| 1 | 2- | 3- | 4 | 5 | 6- | 7* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | D | E | F | G | A | B |
| F | G | C | ||||
| A | B | E |
Seventh Chords
Seventh chords can often appear even in basic country songs and such. The most common is the V7 chord, as the seventh has a strong pull to resolve to the I chord. In the Nashville numbering system, a 7th chord would be notated as the chord number plus a subscript 7: 5⁷. It bears noting that the other chords can also be built as 7th chords, but will either be “major” 7th chords (1△, 4△) or “minor” 7th chords (2-⁷, 3-⁷, 6-⁷).
| 1△ | 2-⁷ | 3-⁷ | 4△ | 5⁷ | 6-⁷ | 7* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | D | E | F | G | A | |
| E | F | G | A | B | C | |
| G | A | B | C | D | E | |
| B | C | D | E | F | G |
Notation For Other Chords
Using a “1” chord as a basis, below is a list of different types of chords as they would appear in Nashville shorthand:
- C major sixth: 1⁶
- C minor sixth: 1-⁶
- C major ninth: 1⁹
- C minor ninth: 1-⁹
- C suspended fourth: 1sus4
What About the 7?
As you may have noticed in all the above charts, the last column “7*” has not been addressed. In any key, the 7 chord is a diminished chord. In the key of C, the 7 chord is spelled B-D-F. This chord is rarely used in standard tunes in the country, folk, or other basic genres. However, look what happens if we stick a “G” in front of those letters–G-B-D-F. Look familiar? That’s the spelling of a G7 (or 5⁷) chord. The diminished chord is so closely related to the 5⁷ that it’s almost a throw-away in basic songs, as the 5⁷ is a much more solid, strong chord choice in a chord progression like 5⁷-1.
Where’s the Beat?
Basic popular songs are typically in 4/4 time, meaning there are 4 beats in a measure. A couple of other time signatures you may run across are 3/4 (waltzes), or 6/8. For this lesson, we’ll only look at 4/4 time. Your measure of four beats would be represented by one number representing 1 chord. If you see a sequence 1 4 5 1, that would be interpreted as four measures, with each number representing one measure.
- Measure 1–1 chord
- Measure 2–4 chord
- Measure 3–5 chord
- Measure 4–1 chord
However, not every song is so straightforward. Some measures can have more than one chord change in them. In Nashville shorthand, 2 chord changes in a single measure would be represented by a slash (/). For example, if you have a measure with two chords in it (such as a 1 and 4) you would show it as 1/4.
Charting a Song
Below is a sample chart representing the Beatles’ classic song “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” First, you’ll see the lyrics with their basic chords, and then a chart for instrumentation.
Verse 1
G D
Oh yeah, I’ll tell you somethin’
Em B7
I think you’ll understand
G D
When I say that somethin’
Em B7
I want to hold your hand
Chorus
C D G Em
I want to hold your hand
C D G
I want to hold your hand
Nashville Notation:
1 5 6- 3⁷
1 5 6- 3⁷
4/5 1/-6
4/5 1
Putting It All Together
Our purpose here is not to give you an in-depth course on music theory. In college, there are entire semester-long courses on the details of music theory. This guide should help you understand how to apply what you already know about basic music theory in relating it to the Nashville numbering system. The system can certainly be more complex than what this article has spelled out. Hopefully, you are on your way to a basic understanding.
For more details on it, I highly recommend clicking the link below to check out the book The Nashville Numbering System: An Aid to Playing by Ear by Neal Matthews Jr., a pioneer of the method. It takes a deep dive into the system by breaking down popular old tunes, even one or two by Elvis Presley himself.
To become an expert on the Nashville Numbering System, you can purchase The Nashville Numbering System: An Aid to Playing by Ear by Neal Matthews Jr. at Amazon.com below.
The Nashville Numbering System: An Aid to Playing by Ear (Hal Leonard Studio Series) - Neil Matthews, Ju., an original member of The Jordanaires, explains the Nashville Numbering System they developed in working with musical legends like Elvis Presley
- Teaches the Nashville Numbering System with stories, vintage photos of country and pop stars, and quotes
- 2nd edition showcases 12 songs: Beautiful Brown Eyes * Blue * Boot Scootin' Boogie * Crying in the Chapel * Green Green Grass of Home * He Stopped Loving Her Today * Heartbreak Hotel * (Hey, Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song * I Fall to Pieces * King of the Road * Make the World Go Away * Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to Be Cowboys.
*This post may contain Amazon affiliate links or affiliate links from other companies, which means The Musically Sound earns a percentage of sales from any qualifying purchases at no additional cost to the buyer. Learn more on our Private Policy page.
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