The resulting notes make up the chord.Īgain, the C Major scale, with their associated number, is: 1=C, 2=D, 3=E, 4=F, 5=G, 6=A, 7=B, which repeats endlessly (ie. To build a triad, take every other note from the scale you are using (in this simple example, the Major scale). “Why? And how do I know?” Glad you asked!īasic chords are built on triads. A triad is just what it sounds like: three notes. Those would indeed be the correct notes, but the 6 is inherently a minor chord, so it would actually be: C – G – Am – F. The second part of the number system is knowing which numbers in the scale are inherently major chords and which are inherently minor chords.įor example, if we added a “6” to our progression above (1 – 5 – 6 – 4), you might be tempted to play C – G – A – F. Side Note: This is the exact same concept as “do re mi fa so la ti do” - a vocalist would know that no matter what key they are in, “mi” is 3rd note of the scale, “la” is the 6th, and so on. … and know that those notes in a B Major scale would be: B – F# – E So if the worship leader says, “we’re going to do the song in B instead of C”, you can still look at the same chart: No need to write out a new chart for a different key. Therefore, if you know your major scales for each key, you can easily know the notes for any key using the same chart. … you will know that those notes, in the Key of C Major would be: C – G – F. You’re already probably beginning to see how easy this can be! So, if you see a chord sheet that says: So, let’s take the key of C as a simple example. It’s based on one simple principle: the notes in a key’s major scale are numbered one through seven, each of which represents a chord. It allows you to quickly transpose songs on the fly. Transposition isn’t an “extra skill” to have on your resume, it’s a basic skill that all musicians should have.Įnter the Number System. If you learn a song in the key of C, what do you do if the worship leader decides to move it last minute to the key of B? Or if a female vocalist needs to do it in the key of G? As a musician, you need to have the ability to transpose the chords and parts on the fly as need be. While chord names are certainly a quicker way to just jump into playing the song, the Number System is a far more flexible system for the long-term use of the song. One of the most frequent questions we get asked is, “I downloaded one of your chord charts but it just had numbers on it! Why not just put chords?” At The Stone, we employ something called the Number System with our musicians.
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