In one of my earlier articles in this series, I mentioned that when it comes to arranging, reharmonization, etc., it is very good to know the Nashville Number System (NNS), which I will refer to here as the number system. If you are unfamiliar with the number system, this article will lay out the basics of how it relates to chords and can be helpful in learning to expand on hymns and create arrangements.

Though popular as a type of "shorthand" for Nashville studio musicians, the number system is actually found in proper piano theory as well. If you go through a piano theory course, it is likely you will come across it somewhere. The only differences between the NNS and proper piano theory is that NNS uses Arabic numerals and proper theory typically uses Roman numerals and some of the symbols might differ between the two. Overall though, they come from the same idea. In this article, we will use the Arabic numerals to make things simpler to understand.

I am assuming in this article that most of you already know the basics of how to build chords, how to create scales, and other basic piano theory concepts, so I will not go in-depth on these things. I am mostly focusing on building off of that foundation you already have so that you can begin to apply the number system. If you are new to piano theory and need a more in-depth article on it or if you need a refresher, I would suggest reading this article from Sweetwater.com: The Nashville Number System Demystified.

The Basics of Chords

Instead of using chord names like C, D, E, etc., the numbers system labels notes as numbers. Which number is assigned to which note or chord depends on what key you are playing in. For example, if you are in the key of C, the C in the C scale would be numbered "1" because C is the first note that C scale. The D would then be number 2, E would be 3, F would be 4, etc. So, the C scale using the number system would look like this:

C   D   E   F   G   A   B

1   2    3   4   5   6   7

This can be applied to every key or scale in music. If you are playing in D, you would number each of the notes in the D scale the same way as shown above.

D   E   F♯  G   A   B  C♯

1   2    3   4   5   6   7

In this case, if someone asked you to play a 1 chord in the key of D, you would play the D chord, and if someone asked you to play a 5 chord, you would play the A chord.

The number system is also helpful in learning how to build chords. For any given chord, you can label the root of the chord "1" and build any chord using the following templates. For example, if you want to build a major, minor, diminished, or augmented C chord, label the C as "1" and then use the C scale to determine what notes the other numbers will end up being. Remember that minor notes are always lowered a half-step (made flat) and augmented notes are always raise a half-step (made sharp).

A major chord is always made of a 1, 3, and 5

For the C chord, these would be C, E, and G

A minor chord is always made of a 1, minor 3, and 5

For the C chord, these would be C, E♭, and G

A diminished chord is always made of a 1, minor 3, and minor 5, often with a major 7 or minor 7 added

For the C chord, these would be C, E♭, and G♭, and often B or Bb

An augmented chord is always made of a 1, 3, and augmented (or sharp) 5

For the C chord, these would be C, E, and G♯

Special Symbols

Even minor, augmented, and diminished chords have their own shorthand symbols in the number system. Some musicians will put the symbol after the number rather than before, but I have seen it done both ways.

Major chords: If you see a number without any symbol attached to it, you always assume it to be major. Sometimes, for added clarity, song charts will add a triangle symbol to the chord to remind the player to play it major.

Minor chords: A minor chord is signified by a minus sign attached to the chord. For example, a -3 (or 3-) in the key of C would be an Em.

Augmented chords: To signify an augmented chord, a plus sign will be added to the chord. For example, a +7 (or 7+) in the key of G is an augmented F♯ chord.

Diminished chords: A "°" symbol signifies a diminished chord. For example, a °2 (or 2°) in the key of D would be a diminished E chord. Almost always this chord is intended to be played with a seventh added. Unless signified, you would assume this to be a minor seven. If the "°" symbol has a angled line struck through it, you leave the seven off of the chord.

Adding a seventh: Oftentimes you will find a small seven attached to some chords. This signifies that you should add the seventh of the given chord to what you are playing. For example, a C chord with an added seventh would mean you should add a B to the chord. Unless it explicitly says in the music to play a major seventh (M7), you always assume you should play the minor seventh, which would in this case make the B a B♭.

Inversions: If a chord is being played over a non-traditional bass note in the number system, it will look much the same as it does when just using chords. For example, assuming you are in the key of C, if a chord chart says to play G/F, using a number chart this would look like: 5/4.

Using this system may seem complicated at first, but it saves a lot of time when having to transpose a song to a new key. If you have a song written out in numbers, you don't have to re-write an entire chord chart to transpose it, you simply begin playing in the new key using the numbers.

How this Applies to Arranging

This may not seem like it applies much to arranging, but learning the number system made a huge difference for me. It allowed me to think about chords in a unique way and try out many different keys for any given song I was arranging. Being able to think in terms of numbers instead of chords helped me to think more quickly about which chord should come next in a song and made playing by ear much easier.

The number system does take a bit of work to get used to, but if you can learn to use it proficiently, it could open up a whole new world of chord options in your arranging as you can experiment with chord progressions in different keys. Playing an arrangement in a different key can help you hear your arrangement differently and come up with new or unique ideas you might not have come up with otherwise. I have found that using the number system helps make transposing much more efficient in these cases.

Conclusion

I hope this article has been helpful to you and has explained the basics of the Nashville Number System well! If you are looking for more articles on learning to arrange, you can read more from our arranging blog series here: How to Begin Arranging Hymns. If you have any questions or suggestions, please reach out to us on our contact page. We would love to hear from you!