The Nashville Number System

The Nashville Number System is a text on how to write chord charts using numbers instead of chord letters. With numbers, a chord chart can be played in any key without re-writing the chart. The key changes, but the numbers stay the same. You can write a number chart of a song from the radio and not need to know the key. As well, when a song modulates, the numbers stay the same.

This book teaches basic music theory so you can understand how the number system works. With this information, you can write a very simple chord chart ...or a detailed arrangement of your song.

Included are number charts of 7 country standards; each song’s chart handwritten by some of Nashville’s most influential musicians. The musicians wrote charts from the same recordings. For example, Charlie McCoy(Hee Haw), Jimmy Capps(Grand Ole Opry), Lura Foster(Prime Time Country), Barry Beckett(Producer), Eddie Bayers(Studio Drummer) and Brent Mason(Studio Guitarist) all charted songs such as the Patsy Cline single, “Crazy”, and the Elvis single, “Heartbreak Hotel”. These are to show the different, yet all valid styles of writing a Nashville number chart. New in Edition 6 is the cd, “1511”. This is a 9 song cd of original instrumental material. Charts for each song are found in the book. As well, Chas walks you through the intricacies of each chart and explains the Number System tools used to chart each song. Now, while listening to the cd, you can see and hear how Nashville number charts work.