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Who can decipher this? Nashville Number System

tb-player

tb-player

Why so serious?
Mar 6, 2019
6,706
29,954
East Coast, USA
#1
A Nashville session cat I follow on IG posted a photo of a session chart on his story. I’m a musical staff guy so initially, it was hieroglyphics to me.

Granted, I understand numbers and use them often when playing live. I typically chart with numbers when I’m under the gun. But his is formatted in such a way that I’m not exactly sure what’s happening. It seems way more concise than my number charts.

I found a couple of sites that talk about the format of these charts. I also checked the TB archives, but it was mostly basic explanations. Curious if anyone here is familiar with a chart like the one I saw.
 
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#2
Here’s the chart. Any thoughts?
4201B17D-B16C-44F4-A89C-B5767660B756.jpeg
 
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#8
We can only see the beginning of each line so there isn’t full context, but the “fractions” are inversions to the chords—and the underline or “( )” are showing more than one chord within a bar.

For example, if this were in the key of G, the first line we see here (1st ending, bar 27) is 2 bars with 2 beats for each chord, G G/B C G/B

The second line we see (2nd ending bar 49) are several chords in a specific rhythm over 1 bar — G G/B A- G

3rd line we see the 1st bar is D/F# G G/B E- in a specific rhythm over 1 bar

Again, we can’t see the full lines—but this is a good example of how something more rhythmically complicated is charted. Specific rhythms can be written in next to the chords (or a shorthand of the rhythm). More often, “pushes” are written in (look like this >) meaning the chord change is anticipated.

We usually listen to a demo or someone shows/sings the rhythm. The chart just needs enough information to keep it all organized, which is often simple shorthand that something different is happening rhythmically. In this case, it looks pretty involved, so someone wrote a really detailed chart to help the session move smoothly.
 
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#9
TheOldFlatwound said:
We can only see the beginning of each line so there isn’t full context, but the “fractions” are inversions to the chords—and the underline or “( )” are showing more than one chord within a bar.

For example, if this were in the key of G, the first line we see here (1st ending, bar 27) is 2 bars with 2 beats for each chord, G G/B C G/B

The second line we see (2nd ending bar 49) are several chords in a specific rhythm over 1 bar — G G/B A- G

3rd line we see the 1st bar is D/F# G G/B E- in a specific rhythm over 1 bar

Again, we can’t see the full lines—but this is a good example of how something more rhythmically complicated is charted. Specific rhythms can be written in next to the chords (or a shorthand of the rhythm). More often, “pushes” are written in (look like this >) meaning the chord change is anticipated.

We usually listen to a demo or someone shows/sings the rhythm. The chart just needs enough information to keep it all organized, which is often simple shorthand that something different is happening rhythmically. In this case, it looks pretty involved, so someone wrote a really detailed chart to help the session move smoothly.
Click to expand...
Are there any resources you would recommend to learn more about this? I can’t stop thinking about it.
 
#11
It's a sort of musical shorthand we use here, and depending on the session leader or producer, often the charts may have little spots here and there where it's written out where they want a certain figure or phrase.

As Flatwound said there's usually a songwriter's demo or the writer there to tell how he wants it run down, and the chart is just the map of the song form and the chord changes. We're all on the same page, so now you hit PLAY for us and RECORD for the guy behind the glass.

For me, the greatest thing about The Number System: It UTTERLY breaks you of thinking in terms of keys, and instead, hearing in terms of intervals.

Ever go across several bands, and a later band plays a song you played with the first band in A, and now these new guys play their version of it in E-flat and you feel a little strange the first few times? Numbers break you of any preference for this or that key, or this or that part of the fingerboard. They call out C or F# or whatever it's going to be, get in the right spot, and off you go. I learned a lot faster how to get around my five playing Number charts than any other way I could have thought up. And it helps your ear-training a lot as now if you make your own charts, you learn to hear intervals quick, and then you can couple that heard change with what your fingers are doing.

Far better than those idiot tabs. It does not replace true written charts, but in an environment with players dealing in one of several similar styles playing one of several kinds of music, IF everyone is on the same page, you can get a lot done fast.
 
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#12
Drove me bananas when I first got down there, but I eventually learned to use it. Dirty little secret, some guys will make their own charts and use their own little symbols and shortcuts within the number system. I still do it to this day when I'm going to a session, but my notes are for me only, and no one else can understand them. Good thing they don't need to.
 
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#13
tb-player said:
Are there any resources you would recommend to learn more about this? I can’t stop thinking about it.
Click to expand...

There are several books out there that would cover the basics.
From there, just put it into practice with songs you know and are learning.
It’s really effective for learning harmony—and very valuable for song learning and getting music prepared for gigs.
 
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#14
JW56789 said:
It's a sort of musical shorthand we use here, and depending on the session leader or producer, often the charts may have little spots here and there where it's written out where they want a certain figure or phrase.

Far better than those idiot tabs. It does not replace true written charts, but in an environment with players dealing in one of several similar styles playing one of several kinds of music, IF everyone is on the same page, you can get a lot done fast.
Click to expand...

I found the Nashville number system to be easy to use if the song is relatively simple. But that hieroglyphics up there takes awhile to get my head around as I'd rather have a chart. I love charts and iRealPro. Switching keys is never really an issue for me because the intervals are always the same.

But yeah, tabs are the devil's work.
 
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#15
Mechanical said:
I found the Nashville number system to be easy to use if the song is relatively simple. But that hieroglyphics up there takes awhile to get my head around as I'd rather have a chart. I love charts and iRealPro. Switching keys is never really an issue for me because the intervals are always the same.

But yeah, tabs are the devil's work.
Click to expand...
+1 on the tab-hate. Just the worst.

I’ve been DMing the guy who posted the chart. He said this particular chart is indicative of gospel arrangers who are looking for very specific harmonies. As a bassist, he said he pays attention to the bottom note and the rhythm. Makes perfect sense to me.
 
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#16
tb-player said:
A Nashville session cat I follow on IG posted a photo of a session chart on his story. I’m a musical staff guy so initially, it was hieroglyphics to me.

Granted, I understand numbers and use them often when playing live. I typically chart with numbers when I’m under the gun. But his is formatted in such a way that I’m not exactly sure what’s happening. It seems way more concise than my number charts.

I found a couple of sites that talk about the format of these charts. I also checked the TB archives, but it was mostly basic explanations. Curious if anyone here is familiar with a chart like the one I saw.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you and me both. I wouldn't have the slightest idea of what to do with that "chart". I use my own self taught, hack Nashville number-esc system which is largly listing the chords as the number of their root note in the major (or minor scale if it's in a minor key). I assume they are some kind of major chord variant unless I put a small "m" after the number which means that it's some kind of minor chord variant. I write the number down for each measure it's played. A simplified example could be something like this (for a 12 bar blues) ...

111144115415

I play mostly blues, soul and r&b so what I do most of the time is assume a 12 bar and only annotate where it varies from the basic pattern with all kinds of semi-standard terms like "quick 4", "long 5", church changes on the turnaround, rhythm changes, sharp 5/5 turnaround, 2-5-1 turnaround, hang on the one until the vocals come in, etc, etc. I use my bastardized Nashville number-esc system mostly for sub gigs where I'll write down all kinds of crib notes for myself in order to deliver as professional a performance as possible and then they'll call precious few of the songs we talked about and instead throw mostly curve balls at me all night. Da blues ... ya gotsta love it!!!
 
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#17
I've used the number system on a few country gigs where I didn't have the time to properly learn the songs. I found it to be quite useful. But I've never seen a chart like what the OP showed.
 
#18
The chords that look like fractions e.g. 1/3 indicate slash chords in Nashville notation. So if you’re in C, 1 1/3 would be a C with an E below it. C would be the 1 and the /3 would be read as E since it’s the third degree of the scale. As bassists we get lucky and only have to voice the low note, but it’s really important for the harmony that you do play the 3 in that example and NOT the 1. My guitarist brother reminds me all the time what a luxury it is to only worry about where the bass note is moving!
 
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#19
EdwardofHuncote said:
Drove me bananas when I first got down there, but I eventually learned to use it. Dirty little secret, some guys will make their own charts and use their own little symbols and shortcuts within the number system. I still do it to this day when I'm going to a session, but my notes are for me only, and no one else can understand them. Good thing they don't need to.
Click to expand...
I do that as well. I originally got familiar with the system from a book, which I still use on occasion as a reference. But when I use it, I'll use a few of my own symbols and shortcuts as well to make it easier on me. If anyone else tried to read it, they might not be able to understand it. A steel guitarist once tried to take a peek at my charts to help himself since he had nothing to go by. I told him that he was welcome to look, but they might not be much help to him, since it was for bass only. The great thing about the number system is that there is not just one way to do it.
 
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