About Number Notation Songs
Number Notation
- Inspired by Nashville Notation however far less detailed
- A variation on Roman Numeral Analysis, however, uses Arabic Numerals instead
- All notation elements are contained within square brackets
- Harmonically, [1] [4] [5] are major, [2] [3] [6] are minor and [7] is assumed to be diminished unless otherwise specified
- The [$] is a major flattened 7 – in the key of C you would play a Bb major chord
- Songs in a minor key will often center around the [6]
- Chords that modulate outside of the diatonic key are specified. For example [2M] specifies the [2] chord as major rather than the default minor
- The [!] symbol lets you know you can see the last line of the chart.
Key Features
- A library of song charts that are easy to play
- Designed for modern musicians so they can learn and play new songs as easily as possible
- A song notation system optimised for modern rock/pop songs
- A simple outline of chord progressions integrated with the song lyrics
- Leverages the concept of Functional Harmony
- Common harmonic patterns can be easily identified
- A clean, accessible form of music notation
- Musicians have freedom of expression within the general form of the song
- If you change the key of a song you don’t need to rewrite the chart
- Song charts endeavour to fit on one page
- Charts don’t include rhythmic information
- Encourages creative improvisation within a known harmonic framework
- Assumes access to recordings of the original songs as work tapes.
Developed and maintained by Anthony Artmann.
