Music Theory — Blog

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)

| 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!

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 | |

We've been looking at lots of things relating to your guitar playing. Well, we're going to take a little trip into some music theory that will serve as a huge resource for your playing. Its a practical, simple concept that will unlock chord progressions for you, help you transpose (change keys) on the fly and use a capo and not feel like you’re cheating.

Have you ever heard someone in rehearsal say something like "let's end on the four chord," or "let's not do those chords, let's do one, five, six, four instead"? A lot of people shy away from music theory, but trust me, this is useful and really easy once you get it. Here goes:

Think about a scale in C. Here are the notes: C D E F G A B

So far, so good? In music theory, the notes get numbered like this:

C D E F G A B

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

So, C is the first note in the key of C. D is the second, E is the third and so on. What would be the fourth? F, right? Good.

Well, the chords you play in the key of C are based on those same notes and take on the same numbers. So your chords (in C) get numbered like this:

C Dm Em F G Am Bdim*

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

*diminished (you don't play diminished chords much in basic pop music)

So, just like above, a C chord in the key of C is called the “1” chord. The “2” chord is D minor in the key of C. E minor is the “3” chord and F is the “4” chord, etc. All the chords in C would numbered like this:

C = the 1 chord
Dm = the 2 chord
Em = the 3 chord
F = the 4 chord
G = the 5 chord
Am = the 6 chord
B = the 7 chord

Does is make sense then how someone might say “let’s play 1, 4 and 5 in C” and that it would mean playing C, F and G? The numbers just associate with the chords in the key. And its relative to whatever key you are in. For example, C in the key of C was the “1” chord but in the key of G, it would be something else because in the key of G, G is the “1” chord. In the key of G the chords would be numbered like this:

G = the 1 chord (in G)
Am = the 2 chord
Bm = the 3 chord
C = the 4 chord
D = the 5 chord
Em = the 6 chord
F# = the 7 chord

So in the key of G a chord progression like G – C – D – Em would be what numbers (answer at the bottom of the post)?

Chew on it for a little while. Start thinking about your chords in terms of numbers. In the next post we’ll take it a little further to look at how you can use this with songs and the different numbering systems (traditional and Nashville) that are used.

Try it out on some songs and let me know if you have any questions! You can find part two, here.

* G – C – D – Em = 1, 4, 5 and 6 in the key of G.

For the Church Guitarist - Understanding Chord Progressions (Part 2)

For the Church Guitarist - Understanding Chord Progressions (Part 1)

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