If you look at the 'G' chart, you'll see the 7 chord for G is F#dim, but the dominant seven chord is achieved by adding a Flat 7 note ro the G chord. If you inspect the regular chart, for the key of G, for example, the F chord is nowhere to be seen - but in bluegrass, it is frequently used in songs such as "Little Maggie"and numerous others. M=major -ğor positions 2,3 and 6, when these chords are actually Major.ī7 - I've added an eighth column to the chart, just for us bluegrass people. M = minor - Note that the 2,3 and 6 chord positions are *assumed* to be minor chords (m), so if you see 2,3,or 6 on a chart, play the minor. Here are some of the notation rules which are in use: In the chart below, we've expanded our table io include most of the common keys used in bluegrass music (and left out the Flat Keys that occupy the space between Bb and B, but the same rule applies for *all* Major keys. This follows the pattern we established above, when harmonizing the C major scale using triads. It's implied that when you see a 1 on the chart it will be a major chord, 2 will be minor, and so on. Music is mathematics! So now, we can develop "Implied Knowledge" rules. You can repeat this test, starting from any note position and the results will always lead to the same result. Here are the triads you're gonna get if you stay in the scale: Keep moving this triad pattern note by note up the scale until you get to the C an octave above where you started. Now, take that same finger pattern, pick up your hand and move it up the scale to the note next door, plopping your thumb on D, middle finger on F, and pinky on A. To make a triad, which is a chord made of three notes, put your thumb on middle C, your middle finger on E, and your pinky on G.
Let's play some chords on piano keyboard. The NNS is a simple statement of the relationship between the chords associated with the key arising from the root note. Although the black keys are also used as roots to create chords, they are not necessary for the understanding of the NNS. There are 5 black keys, interspered among the seven, so we end up with 12 notes in an octive. There are just seven of them in one octive. They are the white keys on a piano keyboard. These notes are the fundamental roots used in the creation of chords. The source of the NNS is rooted in the intervals of the notes comprising the familiar sequence we all learned at a young age. (This general rule tends not to be as true in bluegrass as in other genres.). If someone throws in a turnaround you might find yourself playing an Am to a Dm to a G and back to C. For example, if you're playing a song in the key of C major, C is a major chord. You might have noticed that certain chords in a common progression usually tend to be major and certain chords tend to be minor. To understand the Nashville system, you need to understand which chords are always written as major and which chords are always written as minor. The proof is in the pudding! Here's a demonstration. And instead of remembering how many sharps or flats are in a key as you're hollering chords to your buddy during a show, you just shout out or flash the corresponding numbers and throw your cares away. Once you know it and become adept at hearing intervals you can chart songs while listening to them on an airplane with no instrument in sight.
The Nashville number system is a shorthand way to write charts for songs.