presents the Nashville Number System for worship teams 1. WHY THE NASHVILLE NUMBER SYSTEM?... 2 SOME DISCLAIMERS... 2 2. BASICS OF THE NNS... 3 PRACTICE EXAMPLE #1... 4 3. SLASH CHORDS... 5 PRACTICE EXAMPLE #2... 5 4. SPLIT BARS... 6 PRACTICE EXAMPLE #3... 6 5. ACCIDENTALS & ADDITIONS... 7 PRACTICE EXAMPLE #4... 7 6. STRUCTURE: 1 ST & 2 ND ENDINGS... 8 7. RHYTHM: PUSHES... 9 8. JAZZY CHORDS... 10
1. Why the Nashville Number System? Learning the NNS means that a single chord chart can be applied to any key. Think about it - no more panic scribbling out chords and writing new ones when the worship leader says "let's drop to Bb", or forgets to change capo position. There are many more benefits which we ll notice along the way, but that's the main one for now. Some disclaimers 1. Experienced music theoreticians will read some of the things here and protest "except..." and "unless..." There are always exceptions to the rules (just to jazz things up), but I aim to provide a clear and practical guide specifically for church worship teams, so I'll frequently gloss over those exceptions. They can be dealt with in more detail later. 2. I assume a certain amount of knowledge, and I also assume a certain amount of ignorance. If you're confused, ask me a question. If you're insulted, move along; this isn't the guide you're looking for. 3. Yeah, I know the Roman Numeral system. This isn't that. Right then, on we go. 2
2. Basics of the NNS Within any song, there is a normal range of specific chords available. These are defined by the song s KEY. For example: Key of G G Am Bm C D Em F#* v * This chord is a "half-diminished" chord, but we're going to ignore that for now. The NNS uses a position number for each of these chords, like this: Key of G G Am Bm C D Em F# n 1 2m 3m 4 5 6m 7 v A minor chord is indicated by a following dash. Therefore this chord sequence: G C Em D appears like this: 1 4 6m 5 A word about timing In these charts we re assuming a time signature of 4/4 unless otherwise stated, with each chord making up a whole bar. Therefore this chord sequence is 4 bars long, with a change of chord on the first beat of each bar: 1 4 6m 5 3
Practice Example #1 Play this chord sequence in as many keys as you can comfortably play on your instrument: 1 4 6m 5 This chart will help (it's also in an image file in this pack that you'll want to keep visible throughout this guide): n 1 2-3 - 4 5 6-7 Key of C C Dm Em F G Am B Key of G G Am Bm C D Em F# Key of D D Em F#m G A Bm C# Key of A A Bm C#m D E F#m G# Key of E E F#m G#m A B C#m D# Key of F F Gm Am Bb C Dm E As you play this in different keys, you ll start getting used to two things: 1. where the numbered chords are positioned physically on your instrument in relation to each other; 2. how the relationships between chords sound the same, whichever key they re in. 4
3. Slash Chords Let s switch to the key of D for our examples: Key of D D Em F#m G A Bm C# n 1 2m 3m 4 5 6m 7 You ll have seen many instances of a chord written like this: D/F# where a D chord is played with the note F# emphasized in the bass. These are written in the same way in the NNS, so: 1/3 In most songs you'll come across, that tricky seventh chord of the scale is almost always played as a 5 with a 7 in the bass: 5/7 Practice Example #2 Try this in as many different keys as you can. 1 5/7 6m 4 5
4. Split Bars We ll stay in the key of D for our examples. Key of D D Em F#m G A Bm C# n 1 2m 3m 4 5 6m 7 When there are two chords in a bar, sharing two beats each, you ll see them underlined like this:!<$ ^M<% What if you get a chord that just lasts one beat? You double underline that section of the bar:!< 5 v In this example, the 1 is played for three beats, the 4 for the last beat, and then 5 for a whole bar. Practice Example #3 Try this sequence in as many keys as you can:!<$ ^M<%!< 5 6
5. Accidentals & Additions Now we re getting to those occasional fruity chords that don t really belong to the key you re playing in. These are called accidentals. Key of G G Am Bm C D Em F# n 1 2m 3m 4 5 6m 7 For example, the verse of I Will Worship when played in the key of G has a flattened 7 chord (F). We ll also see how to display chord additions like a minor 7 and suspended 4 th. G I will worship (I will worship), with all of my heart (all of my heart) F C G Am7 Dsus4 I will praise you (I will praise you), with all of my strength (all my strength) Let s see how this looks using the NNS: 1 1 ;7 ;7 4 4 1 @MU<%SR Practice Example #4 Let s try playing this in as many keys as we can. We ll also bracket the section with repeat signs rather than writing it out twice. [1 1 ;7 ;7 4 4 1 @MU<%SR] 7
6. Structure: 1 st & 2 nd Endings Sometimes there are long chord sequences that are repeated but with slight variations on the second endings. Rather than write those two sequences out in full, we can use a combination of repeat symbols and indicate two different endings. For, example, this sequence: 4 5 1/3 1/3 4 5 6m 6m 4 5 1/3 1/3 4 5 1 1 would appear like this: [4 5 1/3 1/3 4 5 z6m 6m] Z1 1 Using a combination of symbols, we've managed to reduce the written number of bars from 16 to 12, making it easier to navigate and to see repeating patterns. 8
7. Rhythm: Pushes Every once in a while you get a "push". If you count the bar out loud as "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and", a pushed chord is played on the "and" before the beat. These are displayed with a < above them like this: ^M<$\ 1\ In this example, the push comes before the 3 rd beat. The second bar is also pushed to the last "and" of the previous bar. Here's another example: ^M< \ 1 In this example, the push comes before the 4 th beat. The second bar is played "straight" (i.e. no push). 9
8. Jazzy Chords Of these, the most likely to turn up in a worship song is the Major 7, but some of the others might come up too. For these fruity chords, you'll need to know the following symbols: Major 7 1 3 5 7 j Augmented 1 3 #5 g Half Diminished (minor 7 flat 5) 1 3 5 7 f Diminished 1 3 5 7 d If you're feeling brave, try these out: 6mu 2mu 5u!J<!U 4j 7f 3u 6mu 10