Customer Reviews

The Nashville Number System

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Charles does it right ... if you want to understand the Nashville Number System, in plain simple english, this is the book I recommend in my tutorial at GuitarNotes.Com and at my site.

~~Alan Horvath

So, what happens is, you're playin' with a bunch of Nashville dudes, see? They're cuttin' this song, and the big-shot says, "progression is 1, 4, 5 ... the chorus goes: 4, 5, 6minor - three times; fourth time, it goes 4, 5, 1." What do you do? You go, "what key is it in?" 'Course, you should be able to figure that out by a quick listen, and a tap or two on your guitar ... but even if you don't, someone's bound to think you're just lazy, and blurt out, "It's in G, man!" So, okay ... big deal. You can count! You know the song goes G, C, D ... exept in the chorus, which goes C, D, Em - three times, and then C, D, G the fourth time. The cool thing about it, is when the vocalist arrives and he/she can't sing in the key of G! ... it has to be in the key of D! Nothing changes. The progression is still 1, 4, 5, etc. -- only now you're starting from D as #1 and counting. So, now we're gonna play D, G, A ... and the chorus goes G, A, Bm - three times; fourth time is G, A, D. Pretty simple, huh? Everybody can do their private math, quietly, and, in ten minutes when the tape starts to roll, everybody sounds like they knew what was up all the time. The vocalist is very impressed! And, most of all, the guy cutting the checks is smiling.

I wouldn't say much of this book is original, but nevertheless very very useful. Having played with multiple bands over the past 15 years, it would be so helpful for musicians to learn this method to make playing together in different keys / transposing / writing etc be so much easier in a band format.

After reading the book I was a little hesitant about using the number system. The next time I went to the studio to record a new demo of my song I sat with some of Nashville's "A" list players and watched as they quickly and easily charted my song and from reading the book, I was understanding what they were doing. Even they tweeked their first chart of the song
Next time I'll try it myself and let them tweek it if necessary!
Don't be afraid but do get this book and CD to help you understand The Nashville Number System!

This is an excellent book. It is well laid out and includes a glossary to define terms as well as enough examples to get the point across. The CD that is included is a nice companion - it allows you to listen to a song while reading the number chart. The best part is that for each song the author has asked several acclaimed session musicians to chart the song the way he or she would do it in a real session. This is great because it shows that there is variation in the way that real working musicians use this system, and helps you develop your own way. You see everything from a bare bones chart to a more detailed chart that includes lots of conventional notation.
Honestly, you can piece together a lot of information about the number system by doing internet searches, but for very little money the author has put everything you need to know in one place WITH EXAMPLES. the song examples alone are worth the cost. if you are interested in getting into session work and want an idea of what you are walking into, there is no better way than to see 5 different ways of charting the exact same song.
buy it.

although the NNS is designed to simplify how to read or in place of reading STD. music notation, I'm not sure it clarifies it for me. I've mulled over the chord chart and don't see any advantage as opposed to just learning the chords and shapes thoroughly. I play the bass guitar and i haven't seen yet how to apply the System to an advantage. It may be that my skill level isn't up to the level that is needed to use the system effectively. However I'm using the TAB sys. which I've found to be easier than reading STD. music notation. It tells me exactly where to go on the fretboard............

The Nashville Mumber System helps memorize music. It is a well written very informative and concise book. I had heard of the system and now I am applying the system to speed up my memorization of songs and help in the analyst of the structure of tunes.

I bought this book because I wanted to find out what the Nashville number system was all about and how it differed from the numbers that jazz musicians commonly refer to--usually in Roman numerals. Not much, really. I once saw a jazz pianist coach his bassist through a live performance of an old jazz standard that the bassist didn't know by simply flashing fingers at each chord change--and there were more than just three chords in the tune. When a jazz musician says "IV chord," he's saying exactly what a Nashville player says when he says "4 chord." It's just that they got there by different routes.

I found this book fascinating, particularly as to the lengths to which Nashville-using musicians have gone to flesh out the Nashville number system. It's a bit funny, though, because it ends up being almost as complicated as learning formal music notation, if you go the whole way. They just use different symbols for the same things--like a whole note, for example. I'm not sure that it really would be a whole lot easier to become good at Nashville than at reading music notation. But this book is a fascinating and fun read, particularly the various and varied actual handwritten pages of Nashville notation made by experienced musicians.

This is a resource you should have in your library, but it's not comprehensive. I definitely found it helpful recently when I was faced with having to create charts for a session I had scheduled in Nashville, but it lacks a thorough list of the symbols used in that system. I figured out what I needed by browsing through the examples, but that took a lot of time I could have used on something else. Other than that, I think this is the best resource on the market for learning the Nashville system.

The Nashville Number System by Chas Williams is easy to read and understand. It gave me the understanding I needed to be able to
write charts for musicians in the band or studio. Chas provides examples and CD that helps you get through the book in less
than a week. If you are a professional musician and intend to work with Nashville Musicians or studio musicians this book is a
must have. You will not regret buying this book I promise !