Who can decipher this? Nashville Number System

[SteveCS]

I reached out to the player. We DM’d about the chart. The 1/3 is actually a 1 over 3 or a 1 chord with a 3rd in the bass (ie: C/E or F/A… etc). Add the rhythms and a decent ear, and thus chart makes a lot more sense.

So tonic chord in first inversion or Ib in roman, with 5/7 being dominant chord in 3rd inversion or Vc in roman.

 

[Pacman]

Do you have specific questions? One reply has basically answered, unless you need more detailed responses. This is a pretty detailed NN chart, but it's not that oddball...


edit - this is also in the wrong forum. Moved to General Instruction

 

[Afc70]

Fractions are very common in the Nashville number system. It isn’t that hard once you get accustomed to using the system. But, as mentioned before, some people have their own little notations, which could cause some confusion, but overall it’s still a solid, reliable, proven system.

 

[jnewmark]

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.

I sort of do the same thing myself - my own personal chart with my own " musical notations". I'm not in Nashville, and I know about the Number system, but, where I am, I usually get a " demo " recording of whatever they want me to play bass on. Typically, this will be a scratch vocal track, with ( hopefully ) percussion and keys. Sometimes I'm free to come up with a bass line, others I'm given a rough idea of how they want the

bass to go, and finally, sometimes a bass " pattern " they want me to follow ( Johnny Rawls typically does this ). Making my own " charts ", helps me tremendously better than just giving me a chord chart to follow. Saves so much time, and, time is money in the studio, as we all know. Here's a typical " roadmap personal chart" that I used.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

So tonic chord in first inversion or Ib in roman, with 5/7 being dominant chord in 3rd inversion or Vc in roman.

In some other thread we had an argument about the Tonic (just one sharp in the key signature) of a very simple Robbie Williams song, Rock Dj.
I wonder how someone would notate that song in the Nashville number system.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

I sort of do the same thing myself - my own personal chart with my own " musical notations". I'm not in Nashville, and I know about the Number system, but, where I am, I usually get a " demo " recording of whatever they want me to play bass on. Typically, this will be a scratch vocal track, with ( hopefully ) percussion and keys. Sometimes I'm free to come up with a bass line, others I'm given a rough idea of how they want theView attachment 4582546 bass to go, and finally, sometimes a bass " pattern " they want me to follow ( Johnny Rawls typically does this ). Making my own " charts ", helps me tremendously better than just giving me a chord chart to follow. Saves so much time, and, time is money in the studio, as we all know. Here's a typical " roadmap personal chart" that I used.

It's (probably) understandable for you but not for me.
I don't see any TEMPO marked/notated.
A notation as, Riff and/or Bridge and the note letters without any rhythmic structure means nothing to me.
Drum kick pattern without the rhythmic structure means nothing to me, etc...

 

[jnewmark]

It's (probably) understandable for you but not for me.
I don't see any TEMPO marked/notated.
A notation as, Riff and/or Bridge and the note letters without any rhythmic structure means nothing to me.
Drum kick pattern without the rhythmic structure means nothing to me, etc...

Understandable. But, as I said, its personal to me, and I have had a demo track to listen to beforehand, so I am very familiar with things like tempo, rhythmic structure, before the session begins. I typically am playing with a scratch vocal also, which helps. But yeah, its not something I would hand to another bass player and expect him to understand it. But, works for me.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

I sort of do the same thing myself - my own personal chart with my own " musical notations". I'm not in Nashville, and I know about the Number system, but, where I am, I usually get a " demo " recording of whatever they want me to play bass on. Typically, this will be a scratch vocal track, with ( hopefully ) percussion and keys. Sometimes I'm free to come up with a bass line, others I'm given a rough idea of how they want theView attachment 4582546 bass to go, and finally, sometimes a bass " pattern " they want me to follow ( Johnny Rawls typically does this ). Making my own " charts ", helps me tremendously better than just giving me a chord chart to follow. Saves so much time, and, time is money in the studio, as we all know. Here's a typical " roadmap personal chart" that I used.

This is almost exactly what I do! It is what I do, just in my own weird syntax... my own little roadmap of a tune... that's hilarious!

 

[SteveCS]

...
the “fractions” are inversions to the chords.
...

...
...what he meant by 1/3. As a bass player, it is his own notation to indicate that he only plays the root and the third on a major chord.What we typically call a "double stop"
...

Fractions as a way of notating inversions looks most plausible - a variation on figured bass - rather than limiting the bass line to two notes. Also, in most parlance, double-stop is two notes played together, which I'm sure is not what is being indicated here. Getting the right bass note is far more important than playing a double-stop that still has the (not required) root in the bass.

 

[jnewmark]

This is almost exactly what I do! It is what I do, just in my own weird syntax... my own little roadmap of a tune... that's hilarious!

Yep. I find that having something written in my own personal, music road map, works for me a lot better than anything else. Having an idea of where its going by having a demo to listen to beforehand, is also a big help.

 

[enricogaletta]

Here’s the chart. Any thoughts?
View attachment 4581290

The numbers you see in the Nashville chart system always referring to the key chord, so the numbers are just the notes of the scale you have to play on the bass, for example Key C, you see [1] [3] [1] [5], basically it mean first bar play C, second bar play E, third bar again C and fourth G.
If you have more numbers in one bar, usually the beat lenght of each chord is marked with slashes or using a squared paper.
The notes you see below is to let you understand that in a certain bar you have to play a specific rhythm pattern, for example dot eighths.
Hope this helps.
Cheers

 

[themarshall]

And just to be sure: There are plenty producers, arrangers, and the musicians here who play to straight, written standard notation charts. More of this as time goes on.

You have to remember, the Number System has its roots in the earlier days where you had terrific yet unschooled musicians who came here from all over, a slower, innocent world with cats in from literally out in the country. Brilliant players that would have been utterly lost having to read real charts, and so the Number System was a way for everyone to grasp what was wanted.

And there are a zillion small variations on just how it's written out, as a lot of the previous posts have pointed out.

Showing a pretty big modern urban bias here. Pre-information age, there were plenty of self-taught folks who learned by books, too. There’s a pretty well established history of sheet music being a form of home entertainment. If anything, the interwebz and youtoobe have allowed for a rise in accomplished dilettantes - something I’ll admit to myself.

Regarding the utility of the Nashville number system, it also means you can transpose without new charts, and “one size fits all” - bass or treble clef, no 8va, etc., more or less any instrument.

 

[noeinstein]

It started out as a way for non-readers to quickly notate simple material, but has evolved into a highly sophisticated way of writing charts. I was thrown into it when I started playing steel guitar shows and have much respect for it. This book lays it out pretty well:

https://www.amazon.com/Nashville-Number-System-Chas-Williams/dp/0963090666/ref=sr_1_5?crid=FNNRSIJ6YMBG&keywords=nashville+number+system+book&qid=1644734751&sprefix=nashville+number+system+book,aps,37&sr=8-5

I recommend this book, but had no idea it was this expensive now. I’m going to treat my copy better.

Also, there are several good YouTube videos.

 

[tb-player]

These two videos should help give you a crash course on Nashville Numbers:

Great videos! His content is on point. Really fun channel.

 

[Snarf]

It looks to me like someone snuck in a little (pseudo) standard notation to indicate some rhythmic info.

There's nothing pseudo about that. Slash rhythms, extremely common in chord charts and numbers charts alike.

 

[TomB]

I recommend this book, but had no idea it was this expensive now. I’m going to treat my copy better.

Also, there are several good YouTube videos.

LOL! My copy of “The Nashville Number System” still has the $23.95 sticker on it .
It’s a helpful book at times. And yes, OP’s chart is stylized, like most such charts I’ve seen.

 

[Lobster11]

There's nothing pseudo about that. Slash rhythms, extremely common in chord charts and numbers charts alike.

Thanks -- I didn't know that.

 

[JW56789]

Showing a pretty big modern urban bias here. Pre-information age, there were plenty of self-taught folks who learned by books, too. There’s a pretty well established history of sheet music being a form of home entertainment. If anything, the interwebz and youtoobe have allowed for a rise in accomplished dilettantes - something I’ll admit to myself.

Regarding the utility of the Nashville number system, it also means you can transpose without new charts, and “one size fits all” - bass or treble clef, no 8va, etc., more or less any instrument.

The only urban bias I have is I don't have to drive an hour to the next grocery store. I meant that by and large, these master players (and not all of them) in the early postwar years in country music were guys that came to town, often with an artist, and became legends without traditional institutional training. And remember, Nashville was urban alongside of a lot of the little towns out there, but for years, Nashville had a grand total of one tall building 'till the mid-60's, a third the size and light years away from today's latter-day 'It City'.

 

[KaseOfBass]

Here's a decent video to explain the basics with some examples.

 

[Acoustic356]

Here’s the chart. Any thoughts?
View attachment 4581290

I shared this with my band members today... the we played it... in the key of Bb because it's gospel friendly... lol