Nashville Number System
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The Nashville Number System is an informal method of transcribing music by denoting the scale degree on which a chord is built. It was inspired by the Jordanaires and further developed by Charlie McCoy. The system is similar to the Roman numeral system traditionally used to transcribe a chord progression, but more typically uses Arabic numerals and does not explicitly state the quality (e.g., major or minor) of the chord. By writing chords as numbers, music may be transposed easily. As a simple system of transcription, it can be used with only a rudimentary background in music theory, and may not be as intimidating to learn for musicians unfamiliar with traditional notations. If a set of musicians has basic familiarity, improvisation and jam sessions can be quickly explained using numbers, and chord changes can be communicated mid-song by holding up the corresponding number of fingers. The system is flexible, and can be embellished to include more information (such as chord color or to denote a bass note in an inverted chord) as the user desires.
