The Nashville Numbering System: An Aid to Playing by Ear (Hal Leonard Studio Series) [Paperback]

Jr., Neil Matthews (Author)

Book Description

Series: Hal Leonard Studio Series | Publication Date: December 1, 1984

For many years, musicians in Nashville have used a system of numbers, rather than standard musical notation, in playing and singing and at recording sessions. Neil Matthews, Jr., one of the original members of Elvis Presley's back-up vocal quartet The Jordanaires, invented the system and also wrote this book, which teaches the whole system and also includes quotes, stories and photos of country and pop stars. The second edition features 12 songs to play: Beautiful Brown Eyes * Blue * Boot Scootin' Boogie * Crying in the Chapel * Green Green Grass of Home * He Stopped Loving Her Today * Heartbreak Hotel * (Hey, Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song * I Fall to Pieces * King of the Road * Make the World Go Away * Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to Be Cowboys.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation; 2 edition (December 1, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881883352
• ISBN-13: 978-0881883350
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 8.9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,146,983 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Right down the middle, June 10, 2007

By 

Daniel Leo Simpson "ScorePerfect" (San Francisco Bay area) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Nashville Numbering System: An Aid to Playing by Ear (Hal Leonard Studio Series) (Paperback)

Hmmm...one review with 1* and another with 5*'s. What's a person to think?

I certainly can understand the 1* point of view. I do not understand the 5* statement about this being the "first book..." considering the fact that you can find most of the substance of this book through any good Internet search engine. As I looked through the book (I already know the Nashville numbering system) I thought, "Ok, you could really explain this in about 5 pages which isn't enough for a book so they added all this 'filler' to make it enough pages worth printing and charging a decent price". The filler does not make the book bad. You just need to understand that it is there going in to your purchase of it.

The book comes from a position of Neal Matthews Jr.(one of the Jordonaires of the back-up band to Elvis Presley) having solicited from his industry buddies how he (Matthews) came up with the system in addition to less than 10 examples of the system - all with very basic chord progressions. So in this sense the book could be more aptly entitled "The History of The Nashville Numbering System with Easy Illustrated Examples".

Also, the book is sprinkled with pictures of what young country fans now would consider "the old-timers"; there is no copyright on this book but one picture of Loretta Lynn is dated 1982 and the book definitely has an "old feel" to it's look and content (hey, look at that picture of B.J. Thomas with a huge Afro! - yeah, a little dated I'd say...). Producers mentioned, well-known in their day no doubt (and certainly an important part of Nashville country music history), would be unknown (and unimportant) to the average player today who's main interest in buying the book is to learn the system.

Although the system is explained and illustrated, there certainly could have been many more examples included of tunes actually using the system. I counted 8 songs, again all "old"; two Elvis Presley songs, "Green, green grass of home", "Another Somebody Done somebody wrong song", "Mamas don't let your babies...," "King of the Road" etc.

Unfortunately, these examples all use the basic I-IV-V chords. Current country songs, (while there are great songs currently being written with only three chords), are typically using more and more color chords not in the key. Bridges which modulate to chords outside the key etc.

The substance of the system certainly is explained and illustrated, but I think the lack of examples and the out-dated content is what might turn some people off who are really buying the book for the sole purpose of mastering the system. There is a chapter on studio lingo - but if it was studio lingo of 1982, well that's 25 years ago!

Bottom line: Keep this book as a historical record of the evolution and explaination of the system, but come out with a NEW edition with LOTS more current examples of current tunes that go "outside the I-IV-V box" like Rascal Flatts songs (What Hurts The Most), Montgomery-Gentry songs etc., to reflect the current studio atmosphere of what's really being experienced in Nashville in this post-2000 century.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not worth the money, April 1, 2006

By 

G. Miller (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Nashville Numbering System: An Aid to Playing by Ear (Hal Leonard Studio Series) (Paperback)

This book is practically worthless. It is half filled with idiotic quotes from famous musicians about how wonderful the number system is. The Nashville numbering system is such an easy concept that you do not need any book, especially this one, to learn it. The author does not do a good job explaining the notations used in the examples. I cannot recommend this book to anyone.

5.0 out of 5 stars By the numbers, October 13, 2011

By 

Robert E. Eggers - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Nashville Numbering System: An Aid to Playing by Ear (Hal Leonard Studio Series) (Paperback)

Great! Short and to the point. I've loaned it to friends I play music with and use it with all beginners. Thinking by the numbers helps with ear training and being able to anticipate changes.
If you have ANY questions about the Nashville Number system buy this book