
It’s a secret language that will help you become a better musician—even if you live outside of Music City.
Beginner
Beginner
• Develop the skills to quickly and accurately write a chart for a song.
• Learn how to transpose songs to any key.
• Understand basic functional harmony.
Do you want to be able to chart songs lightning fast? Do you want to be able to play your favorite song in any key? Do you want to be able to stand onstage and get through a song you’ve never even heard before and do it justice? If so, the Nashville number system will be your new best friend.
The Nashville number system is a shorthand way to write charts for songs. Everyone in this town uses it. Once you know it and become adept at hearing intervals you can chart songs while listening to them on an airplane with no instrument in sight. And instead of remembering how many sharps or flats are in a key as you’re hollering chords to your buddy during a show, you just shout out or flash the corresponding numbers and throw your cares away.
Disclaimer: It’s much easier to explain these things along with a video so you can actually hear what’s happening. Read this lesson and then watch the video at the end to fully understand how notes turn into numbers.
I could simply write a decoder key to show you how to convert letters to numbers, but there’s a lot of musical information that is implied in this system. So, you need to understand how and why the number system works so you can make it work for you. I want you to use it, by gum! Your life (and mine) will be so much easier if you do.
Let’s start at the beginning.
We have to go back to basics and revisit the foundation of modern music: the major scale, which is also known as the Ionian mode. Music is based around scales. Songs are simply a collection of chords built upon notes within a scale, usually the major scale. In the number system, we’re simply eliminating the letter names of the notes and changing them to numbers instead.
The key of C is so great. On a piano it’s only white keys—no surprises. You can instantly play it. You feel great about yourself. Easy peasy. Using a piano, play a C major scale. Sing the note letters as you play: “C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C.” Play the scale again, only instead of singing the letters, sing these numbers: “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 1.”
When you get back to C, sing the number 1 again. Remember Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music? “That will bring us back to Do!” From henceforth, C will be known as the number 1, as long as you’re in the key of C, that is.
All About Those Chords
To understand the Nashville system, you need to understand which chords are always written as major and which chords are always written as minor. You might have noticed that certain chords in a common progression usually tend to be major and certain chords tend to be minor. For example, if you’re playing a blues in the key of C major, C is a major chord. If someone throws in a turnaround you might find yourself playing an Am to a Dm to a G and back to C. But why?
Let’s play some chords on the keyboard. To make a triad, which is a chord made of three notes, put your thumb on middle C, your middle finger on E, and your pinky on G. That’s a C major chord. Play it loud and strong and enjoy its life-affirming, uplifting major-ness. (Or watch me do it at 4:40 in the video.) Now, take that same finger pattern, pick up your hand and move it up the scale to the note next door, plopping your thumb on D, middle finger on F, and pinky on A. You’re now playing a Dm chord. It’s not as life-affirming. In fact, it’s eerie and a bit melancholy—according to Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel, Dm is the saddest sound in music.
Keep moving this triad pattern note by note up the scale until you get to the C an octave above where you started. As you do, the chord types will change. Here are the triads you’re gonna get if you stay in the scale:
C (C–E–G)
Dm (D–F–A)
Em (E–G–B)
F (F–A–C)
G (G–B–D)
Am (A–C–E)
Bdim (B–D–F)
Ear training tip: Do this all the time and train your ear to really hear the difference between the way major and minor chords sound. Close your eyes and have a friend play the chords for you and see if you can tell the difference between major and minor triads within the C major scale. Keep it up and you’ll be driving everyone crazy naming majors and minors as you hear them on the radio. Fun!
Implied Knowledge
These major and minor triads give us a valuable clue into understanding implications within the number system. When you’re looking at a number chart each number refers to an entire chord. It’s implied that when you see a 1 on the chart it will be a major chord, 2 will be minor, and so on. This follows the pattern we established above, when harmonizing the C major scale using triads:
1 major
2 minor
3 minor
4 major
5 major
6 minor
7 diminished
When you’re writing a number chart, it’s assumed that you understand the inherent major or minor-ness of the chords. The number 2 will have a dash next to it, which means the chord is minor. Remember, in a major scale the second chord in the scale is always a minor chord. The number 1, the first chord of your major scale, won’t have a dash. The lack of a dash implies that the chord is a major chord.
But what if some smarty pants songwriter decides to throw in a major 2 chord instead of a minor 2 just for fun? In the key of C, this would indicate a D major chord and there ain’t no F# in the key of C major. Simple. Just remove the dash and write “2maj” so you’ll know what’s up.
Elton John’s chorus of “Rocket Man” is a brilliant example of how to tastefully use a major 2 chord. In Ex. 1 you can see a simple chart of this tune that uses traditional chord symbols.
Ex. 1
Using the method we described above, you end up with Ex. 2, which is a Nashville-style chart of the identical chord progression in Ex. 1.
Ex. 2
Follow along with this video so you can hear the chords going by along with the chart.
Elton John - Rocket Man (Official Music Video)
Never Rewrite Charts Again
It doesn’t matter what key your song is in—this chart will work. This is the whole point of the number system. If someone wants to change the song’s key, all you have to do is write the new key at the top of your chart. Nothing else on your chart has to change. Ahh. So functional.
What about Minor Keys?
In the number system, there’s no such thing as charting a song in a “minor key.” Because even if you’re in a “minor key,” you’re still playing the same chords within the Ionian major scale. Let me explain.
Every major scale has a relative minor scale that’s based on the sixth degree. For example, the relative minor of C major is A minor. Now, go back to your piano. If you play an A natural minor scale (A–B–C–D–E–F–G) you’ll notice that it has exactly the same notes as a C major scale, just in a different order. You jumped in the same pool from a different angle. You turned a smile upside down into a frown, taking happy sparkly major action and darkening the skies just by starting on a different spot in your scale. When you play the same notes of any major scale but start from the sixth note of that scale, the order in which the whole- and half-steps fall adds up to a natural minor scale. You can hear it.
Since the notes are the same as in the major scale, the corresponding numbers in your number chart are the same. You’re just starting your song from a different spot on the scale. And now everyone’s crying.
If your song is in a “minor key,” you wouldn’t kick off your chart with a 1-. That would completely negate the inherent chord values of the number system, you’d be throwing in major 2s and 3s all over the place, and the whole chart would be a huge mess. Nope. Your song would simply start on the 6-. Same pool, different diving board.
A great place to start understanding all of this is over a 12-bar blues. Most players get their start by learning the blues, and for good reason. The chord progressions have a familiarity to them. Your ear knows what type of chord it wants to hear next, and for the most part you only have to learn three chords.
In the key of C, those chords are C, F, and G. Now to make them “blue,” you gotta throw a b7 in there to make them dominant. You need to indicate this blueness on your number chart, so you write a tiny 7 next to your number, just like you do with a letter chart.
Ex. 3 shows a simple blues progression with chord symbols.
Ex. 3
Here is the same blues progression written in numbers (Ex. 4).
Ex. 4
Changing Keys
What happens if your singer decides to sing the song in a new key? On a letter chart you would have to change every chord. Literally sit there and cross out every chord and write new letters in its place. No bueno.
On a number chart, just cross out that “C” and scribble in the new song key. And forget about trying to rewrite letter charts onstage. I’m in an all-female cover band. We take requests. If someone wants to hear a Tim McGraw tune, it’s unlikely we’re gonna be playing it in the key in which it was originally sung by Mr. McGraw. But if I frantically look up the chords to “Something Like That” on my phone as the drummer is counting it off, all I’ll find are letter charts written in Tim’s original key.
It’s a tremendous pain in my rear to have to transcribe letter charts up or down several steps in real time when I’m out on a gig. If the whole world would adopt the number system, many professional musicians’ lives would be so much easier. That’s why I’m spreading the good word here, folks. Get onboard!
Beat Values
The other thing you’ll notice with number charts is that there’s no staff paper. Staff paper allows the depiction of measures of music, notating rhythms, etc. The number system is a shorthand, so those depictions are either eliminated or implied. With the number system it’s understood that each number written on your chart is given the value of one measure of music. In 4/4 time, that’s a total of four beats per number on the chart.
But what if a chord changes within two beats?
Calm down, we’ve got you covered. In our nomenclature we call a measure of music divided into two or more chords a “split bar.” To indicate that a single measure of music contains multiple chords, you simply underline all the chords within the measure, tying them together in musical matrimony.
Back to the blues! In Ex. 5 I’ve updated our blues in C with a few split bars.Ex. 5
And now, in numbers (Ex. 6).
Ex. 6
If you see two numbers underlined, you split the measure equally between them. In our turnaround at the end of the progression, the C chord gets two beats, the Am gets two beats, then we head to the next measure where the Dm gets two beats and the G gets two beats. Make sense?
What about chords getting one beat within a measure?
Relax, I got you. Say you want to throw some passing chords getting one beat into this blues progression. This is how we do it (Ex. 7 and Ex. 8).Ex. 7
Ex. 8
As you can see, just underline all chords within a single bar. Just write in some tick marks underneath the chords to show how many beats each chord gets. One tick mark equals one beat.
Riffs and Rhythms
This being a shorthand, certain things will be less available. You’re not using staff paper, so notating a specific riff you’d like to remember becomes more difficult. I will freehand draw a staff and write out riffs on occasion if they’re super-essential and I can’t remember them. (If I can remember them, I’ll just write the word “riff” in the spot where it takes place.) As a bassist, I usually just write out the rhythm of the bass part at the top of the chart next to the first chord and that’s enough to carry me through the whole song.
Here’s a chart (Ex. 9) I wrote for the song “Redesigning Women.” Check out my previous PG lesson to watch me write out this number chart in real time as I’m listening to the song. You can compare it to a traditional chart I wrote, which will hopefully help you understand the shorthand even better!
Ex. 9
There are many other symbols used in the number system. Everyone’s shorthand is a little different. The point is to write charts quickly in a way that you can understand (and read from the dirty floor of the club if you don’t want anyone knowing you’re looking at a chart).
Diamonds. A diamond drawn over a number indicates that the chord is to be played as a whole-note and will ring out over all four beats of the measure.
Arrows. Arrows generally indicate pushes (felt as anticipations) and are used the same way that a tie is used to tie two bars together.
Ex. 10 adds a diamond and arrows to our blues in C chart.
Ex. 10
It can take a minute to get the hang of this system, but once you do, you will positively tear through your chart writing. To grasp this system and to train your ear, sing along with your major scales as you practice. This will reinforce the fact that, though the note’s letter names change key by key, their numeric equivalents stay the same, no matter what key you’re in.
When I toured with Amos Lee, all the guitars (and my basses) were tuned down a half-step from standard tuning. The pianos and organs were of course in standard tuning, and then we had horn players on top of that. Trying to tell people what chords to play if you weren’t playing their particular instrument was extremely frustrating if we weren’t speaking in terms of numbers. This system is so handy for people using alternate tunings, for taking requests onstage and needing to be told the progression as it’s literally unfolding, and for changing keys in an emergency situation. It really is a Rosetta Stone for sharing music in the real world of working, professional musicians.
I hope this helps!
Guest picker Ally Venable
Blues rocker Ally Venable joins PG’s editors to imagine what their dream late-night band would sound like.
Question: What’s your dream late-night show band?
Ally Venable - Guest Picker
By FifthLegend from Eagan, Minnesota, United States of America - Thundercat, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=70617212
A: For my late-night show's house band, I’ve assembled a dream team. This ensemble inspires me with their unparalleled musical talents and diverse backgrounds. Chris Layton’s drumming is unmatched and he will provide a solid foundation. I’ll have Jon Batiste on keys. His creativity and energy is boundless. Eric Gales would be on guitar. I love how emotive his music is, and I strive for that type of connection within my playing as well. Finally, I’d have Thundercat on bass. His playing is infused with jazz and funk sensibilities that would tie the whole sound together in an interesting way.
Obsession: My current obsession is shifting my approach to playing—focusing on connection over applause. Instead of chasing technical perfection or crowd reactions, I’m leaning into the emotional and spiritual side of music. It’s about creating moments that resonate deeply, whether it’s with myself, my bandmates, or the audience.
David Saenger - Reader of the Month
A: I love the idea of supergroups and how each of the players would interact. On guitars I would have Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme) and Isaiah Sharkey. My drum and bass combo would be Stewart Copeland (The Police) and Mohini Dey. On keys and sax, I would have Herbie Hancock and Joshua Redman. My male and female vocalists would be Corey Glover (Living Colour) and Liv Warfield (Prince). All of these players are fantastic improvisers and really know how to put on an entertaining show in any genre.
Bassist Victor Wooten
Obsession: My current obsession has been bass. My 12-year-old daughter started playing electric and upright bass about two years ago, and it’s been a blast working with her. I’ve been really focusing on having a solid pocket, and it’s forced me to get better at reading bass clef. I’m taking her to see Victor Wooten next week. Can’t wait!
Jason Shadrick - Managing Editor
Jason Shadrick on the SNL stage.
A: The natural move would be to go for a high-energy party band decked out with multiple keyboards, horns, and vocalists. I’d go a different route. I’d go for a more rootsy vibe with Blake Mills leading a band consisting of Jay Bellerose on drums, esperanza spalding on bass, Bob Reynolds on saxophones, and a rotating guest each week. They could cover lo-fi Americana, funky open-tuned blues, and so much more.
Obsession: This month is slightly less obsession and more reflection as this will be my last issue as Managing Editor for PG. Over the last 15 years I’ve worked on 182 issues, which is kinda mind-boggling. I’ve been lucky enough to do some incredible things during my time at PG, including walking through the host door at SNL and spending a few minutes with Brian May. Never could have imagined it. I am very grateful.
Nick Millevoi - Senior Editor
A: I’ve long said that joining one of the late night bands would probably be my absolute top dream gig. So, if I were choosing my own late-night band, from any era, I would go no further than getting a chance to sit with Paul Schaffer and the World’s Most Dangerous Band or G.E. Smith-era Saturday Night Live Band.
Obsession: The late guitarist Jef Lee Johnson, who spent time in Schaffer’s band, had a heavy resume that included stars of all genres from Billy Joel to the Roots to McCoy Tyner. I got to see him play some low-key gigs around Philly, and each rearranged my molecules. It’s only now, years after his 2013 death, that I’ve become obsessed with his discography. Though much of his work was as a high-level sideman, his albums show the broad range of this masterful guitarist, whose tone, feel, and phrasing conveyed the instrument’s deepest emotional capabilities.
Detail of Ted’s 1997 National resonator tricone.
What instruments should you bring to an acoustic performance? These days, with sonic innovations and the shifting definition of just what an acoustic performance is, anything goes.
I believe it was Shakespeare who wrote: “To unplug, or not to unplug, that is the question. Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of acoustic purists, or to take thy electric guitar in hand to navigate the sea of solo performing.”
Four-hundred-and-twenty-four years later, many of us still sometimes face the dilemma of good William when it comes to playing solo gigs. In a stripped-down setting, where it’s just us and our songs, do we opt to play an acoustic instrument, which might seem more fitting—or at least more common, in the folksinger/troubadour tradition—or do we bring a comfy electric for accompaniment?
For me, and likely many of you, it depends. If I’m playing one or two songs in a coffeehouse-like atmosphere, I’m likely to bring an acoustic. But if I’m doing a quick solo pop up, say, as a buffer between bands in a rock room, I’m bringing my electric. And when I’m doing a solo concert, where I’ll be stretching out for at least an hour, it’s a hybrid rig. I’ll bring my battered old Guild D25C, a National tricone resonator, and my faithful Zuzu electric with coil-splitting, and likely my gig pedalboard, or at least a digital delay. And each guitar is in a different tuning. Be prepared, as the Boy Scouts motto states. (For the record, I never made it past Webelos.)
My point is, the definition of the “acoustic” or “coffeehouse” performance has changed. Sure, there are still a few Alan Lomax types out there who will complain that an electric guitar or band is too loud, but they are the last vestiges of the folk police. And, well, acoustic guitar amplification is so good these days that I’ve been at shows where each strum of a flattop box has threatened to take my head off. My band Coyote Motel even plays Nashville’s hallowed songwriter room the Bluebird Café as a fully electric five-piece. What’s key, besides a smart, flexible sound engineer, is controlling volume, and with a Cali76 compressor or an MXR Duke of Tone, I can get the drive and sustain I need at a low level.
“My point is, the definition of the ‘acoustic’ or ‘coffeehouse’ performance has changed.”
So, today I think the instruments that are right for “acoustic” gigs are whatever makes you happiest. Left to my own devices, I like my Guild for songs that have a strong basis in folk or country writing, my National for blues and slide, and my electric for whenever I feel like adding a little sonic sauce or showing off a bit, since I have a fluid fingerpicking hand that can add some flash to accompaniment and solos. It’s really a matter of what instrument or instruments make you most comfortable because we should all be happy and comfortable onstage—whether that stage is in an arena or theater, a club or coffeehouse, or a church basement.
At this point, with instruments like Fender’s Acoustasonic line, or piezo-equipped models from Godin, PRS, and others, and the innovative L.R. Baggs AEG-1, it’s worth considering just what exactly makes a guitar acoustic. Is it sound? In which case there’s a wide-open playing field. Or is it a variation on the classic open-bodied instrument that uses a soundhole to move air? And if we arrive at the same end, do the means matter? There is excellent craftsmanship available today throughout the entire guitar spectrum, including foreign-built models, so maybe we can finally put the concerns of Shakespeare to rest and accept that “acoustic” has simply come to mean “low volume.”
Another reason I’m thinking out loud about this is because this is our annual acoustic issue. And so we’re featuring Jason Isbell, on the heels of his solo acoustic album, a piece on how acoustic guitars do their work authored by none other than Lloyd Baggs, and Andy Fairweather Low, whose new solo album—and illustrious career—includes exceptional acoustic performances. If you’re not familiar with his work, and you are, even if you don’t know it, he was the gent sitting next to Clapton for the historic 1992 Unplugged concert—and lots more. There are also reviews of new instruments from Taylor, Martin, and Godin that fit the classic acoustic profile, so dig in, and to heck with the slings and arrows!Ernie Ball, the world’s leading manufacturer of premium guitar strings and accessories, proudly announces the launch of the all-new Earthwood Bell Bronze acoustic guitar strings. Developed in close collaboration with Grammy Award-winning guitarist JohnMayer, Bell Bronze strings are engineered to meet Mayer’s exacting performance standards, offering players a bold new voice for their acoustic guitars.Crafted using a proprietary alloy inspired by the metals traditionally found in bells and cymbals, Earthwood Bell Bronze strings deliver a uniquely rich, full-bodied tone with enhanced clarity, harmonic content, and projection—making them the most sonically complex acoustic strings in the Ernie Ball lineup to date.
“Earthwood Bell Bronze strings are a giant leap forward in tone, playability, and durability. They’re great in any musical setting but really shine when played solo. There’s an orchestral quality to them.” -John Mayer
Product Features:
- Developed in collaboration with John Mayer
- Big, bold sound
- Inspired by alloys used for bells and cymbals
- Increased resonance with improved projection and sustain
- Patent-pending alloy unique to Ernie Ball stringsHow is Bell Bronze different?
- Richer and fuller sound than 80/20 and Phosphor Bronze without sounding dark
- Similar top end to 80/20 Bronze with richer low end than Phosphor Bronze
The Irish post-punk band’s three guitarists go for Fairlane, Fenders, and a fake on their spring American tour.
We caught up with guitarists Carlos O’Connell and Conor Curley from red-hot Dublin indie rock outfit Fontaines D.C. for a Rig Rundown in 2023, but we felt bad missing bassist Conor “Deego” Deegan III, so we’ve been waiting for the lads to make their way back.
This time, riding the success of their fourth LP, 2024’s Romance, we caught up with all three of them at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works ahead of their April 30 gig to see what they brought across the pond.
Brought to you by D’Addario
All’s Fairlane
Curley’s go-to is this Fairlane Zephyr, loaded with Monty’s P-90s and a Mastery bridge. It mostly stays in standard tuning and, like his other axes, has Ernie Ball Burly Slinky strings.
Blue Boy
Fender sent Curley this Jazzmaster a couple of years ago, and since then, he’s turned to it for heavier, more driven sounds. It’s tuned to E flat, but Curley also tunes it to a unique shoegaze-y tuning for their tune “Sundowner.”
You can also catch Curley playing a Fender Johnny Marr Jaguar.
Twin Win
Fender Twin Reverbs are where Conor Curley feels most comfortable, so they’re his go-to backline. The amps are EQ’d fairly flat to operate as pedal platforms.
Conor Curley’s Pedalboard
Curley’s pedalboard for this tour includes a TC Electronic PolyTune3 Noir, Strymon Timeline, Boss RV-6, Boss PN-2, Boss BF-3, Keeley Loomer, Death by Audio Echo Dream, Fairfield Circuitry Hors d'Ouevre?, Strymon Sunset, Strymon Deco, DigiTech Hardwire RV-7, Electro-Harmonix Nano POG, and Lehle Little Dual.
Fake Out
Connor Deegan didn’t own a bass when Fontaines D.C. began, and his first purchase was the black Fender Jazz bass (right)—or so he thought. He later discovered it was a total knock-off, with a China-made body, Mexico-made neck, and a serial number that belongs to a Jaguar. But he fell in love with it, and its sound—nasal on the high strings, with cheap high-output pickups—is all over the band’s first record, Dogrel. Deego plays with orange Dunlop .60 mm picks, and uses Rotosound Swing Bass 66 strings.
Deegan picked up the Squier Bass VI (left) for its “surfy vibes,” and upgraded the pickups and bridge.
Also in his arsenal is this 1972 Fender P-bass (middle). (He’s a bit nervous to check the serial number.)
V-4 You Go
Deego plays through an Ampeg V-4B head into a Fender 6x10 cabinet.
Conor Deegan’s Pedalboard
Deegan’s board includes a Boss TU-3, Electro-Harmonix Hum Debugger, Boss TR-2, modded Ibanez Analog Delay, Death by Audio Reverberation Machine, Boss CE-2w, Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI, Darkglass Electronics Alpha Omega Ultra, and Dunlop Volume (X) Mini pedal. A GigRig QuarterMaster helps him switch sounds.
Mustang Muscle
Carlos O’Connell favors this 1964 Fender Mustang, which has been upgraded with a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails pickup since Romance. It’s set up so that the single-coil pickup is always on, and he’ll add in the Hot Rails signal for particular moments.
Ghost of Gallagher
After getting to play a number of Rory Gallagher’s guitars thanks to a private invitation from the guitarist’s estate, O’Connell picked up this Fender Custom Shop Rory Gallagher Signature Stratocaster. The jangly, direct tone of this one is all over tunes like “Boys in the Better Land.”
More Fender Friends
O’Connell runs his guitars, including a vintage Martin acoustic which he picked up in Nashville, through a Fender Twin Reverb and Deluxe Reverb.
Carlos O’Connell’s Pedalboard
The gem of O’Connell’s board is this Soundgas 636p, an imitation of the infamous Grampian 636 mic preamp’s breakup. Alongside it are a TC Electronic PolyTune, Ceriatone Centura, Strymon Volante, Eventide H9, Orchid Electronics Audio 1:1 Isolator, Vein-Tap Murder One, MXR Micro Amp, Moog MF Flange, MXR Smart Gate, and Freqscene Koldwave Analog Chorus. A Radial BigShot ABY navigates between the Twin and Deluxe Reverb.