In the last post we looked at a bit of music theory and how you can number chords. This time, we're going to look at the numbering thing a little more deeply (really helpful), how to apply this to the songs you play, and how to practice it all.
Different approaches to theory have slightly different takes on numbering systems. Really, they just tell you if a chord is major or minor. Here are the two most popular (both can be really useful to understand):
1) Traditional Numbering System
This method uses Roman numerals. Uppercase/big for major chords, lowercase/small for minor chords."°" is diminished if you ever use it (not often in pop music). So the chord progression,
| C | F | G | Am |
(or with numbers: one, four, five, six) would be,
| I | IV | V | vi |
with traditional numbering. See how the lowercase "vi" stands for minor 6? Make sense? So all the chords in the key of C would look like this then:
C Dm Em F G Am B diminished
I ii iii IV V vi vii°
Here’s another method:
2) Nashville Numbering System
Nashville numbering uses plain old numbers. A minus sign "-" tells you a chord is minor. A small circle "°" is diminished (if you ever use it). So again, the chord progression
| C | F | G | Am |
would be,
| 1 | 4 | 5 | 6- |
with nashville numbering. Notice that "-" on the 6- that tells you its minor? That's how it works. All the chords in the key of C then would look like this:
C Dm Em F G Am B diminished
1 2- 3- 4 5 6- 7°
Do you get the idea? Again, your chords take on number names. Certain chords are major and certain ones are minor and that is where the traditional or nashville systems can help you. Its very helpful to think this way.
Let's try a common chord progression for a song. Something with chords like this (key of C):
| C | Am | F | G |
Can also be thought of like this:
| I | vi | IV | V | (using the traditional method)
or
| 1 | 6- | 4 | 5 | (using the nashville method)
You'll hear musicians talk all the time about "the one chord" or "the five chord" etc.. They are just talking about the numbers associated with the chords.
Try this one (key of G):
| G | | C | | Em | | D | | *(answers at the end of the post)
So, take your chord charts for the next couple months and write the numbers that correspond to the chord nearby until you don't have to think about it any more. It will happen faster then you may think. Even just think about it as you encounter charts. Or, just focus on one song a week (of course you can do more) and work out the numbers for the chords. You'll find it starts to come easily as most sections of songs repeat over and over again.
This is the first step. Do what you can. With consistent work it will become second nature and be very, very useful. Trust me. The next step would be to use it while playing to change the key of a song by sight without having to write the chords out. More on that later.
Practice up and let me know if you have any questions!
PA
P.S. If you haven't already, check out the rest of the series here.
*Answers:
Traditional: | I | | IV | |
| vi | | V | |
Nashville: | 1 | | 4 | |
| 6- | | 5 | |