The Nashville Number System


Book Description

The Nashville Number System was originally written and published in 1988 by Chas. He has rigorously updated and edited the book for each of 7 subsequent editions. Featured here is the 2005 printing and 7th edition of The Nashville Number System; expanded with the inclusion of the cd/cd rom, String Of Pearls. By word of mouth, it has become the most recommended source for learning the Number System. The Nashville Number System is used as a text at Berklee College of Music, in Boston, Belmont University, in Nashville, and MTSU in Murfreesboro,TN. SYNOPSISIn the late 50's, Neil Matthews devised a musical number system for the Jordanaires to use in the studio. Charlie McCoy and fellow studio musicians began adapting Matthews' number system into chord charts. The Nashville Number System has evolved into a complete method of writing chord charts and melodies---combining Nashville shorthand with formal notation standards. The Nashville Number System is 130 pages with a step by step method of how to write a Nashville number chart for any song. Included with each NNS book in Edition 7 is the cd, "String Of Pearls". This is a 10 song cd of instrumentals, including, Amazing Grace. I walk you through the details of each song and explain the Number System tools used to write the charts. Now, while listening to the cd, you can see and hear how Nashville number charts work.String Of Pearls is an Extended CD (CD ROM). As well as high quality audio that will play in your cd player, you can insert the disc into your computer and watch animated number charts as you listen to the songs. On the cd rom, there is a click track with each song and a highlight moving from chord to chord in time with the music. You can see exactly how to count each measure in real time with the music. Counting bars is probably the hardest part of the number system to teach. With this cd rom, you will be able to see, hear and feel how these charts work.




Music Theory and the Nashville Number System


Book Description

This book was written for people who play music and write songs but have no traditional music training. My method for teaching music theory fundamentals is geared towards popular music and based on my class at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music, 'The Nashville number system for songwriters and performers.' We will use the piano keyboard as well as the guitar fret board to better understand how music works. We will focus on the common songwriter/guitar chord keys of A, B, C, D, E, F, & G.




The Nashville Number System Fake Book


Book Description

(Fake Book). The Nashville Number System is the standard way for a professional country musician to notate a song. The system has been around since the 1950s, and it rapidly became widespread within the country music community because of how efficiently it can represent music. In essence, a Nashville number chart conveys the harmony, key, meter, rhythm, phrase structure, instrumentation, arrangement, and form of a song all on a single piece of paper. An introduction is included that thoroughly explains how to use the book. Lyrics are not included. This valuable resource gathers together 200 country standards from yesterday's favorites to today's chart-topping hits, including: Achy Breaky Heart (Don't Tell My Heart) * Act Naturally * All the Gold in California * Always on My Mind * Amazed * Battle of New Orleans * Before He Cheats * Before the Next Teardrop Falls * Behind Closed Doors * Bless the Broken Road * Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain * Boot Scootin' Boogie * A Boy Named Sue * Breathe * Coal Miner's Daughter * Could I Have This Dance * Crazy * The Dance * Delta Dawn * The Devil Went down to Georgia * Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue * Elvira * Folsom Prison Blues * Friends in Low Places * The Gambler * God Bless the U.S.A. * He Stopped Loving Her Today * Hey, Good Lookin' * I Hope You Dance * I Walk the Line * I Will Always Love You * In Color * Jesus Take the Wheel * King of the Road * Live like You Were Dying * The Long Black Veil * Lucille * Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love) * Mean * Need You Now * On the Road Again * Redneck Woman * Springsteen * Stand by Your Man * This Kiss * You're Still the One * Your Cheatin' Heart * and more!




The Perpetual Beginner


Book Description

The Perpetual Beginner is part memoir, part musical instruction manual. Relating stories of his experiences as a young musician and music student in 1980's New York, author Dave Isaacs describes the key lessons that shaped his musical life and how they can help any aspiring musician at any age. The title refers to the average music hobbyist with more enthusiasm than skill or time to practice. Many people play for years without developing more than rudimentary abilities, and some become so frustrated by the struggle that they stagnate or quit. The stories in the book and the musical lessons they impart give these "perpetual beginners" the ideas, techniques, and encouragement that will help them begin to progress again. The title also references the Zen concept of "beginner's mind", a way of approaching any endeavor with the openness and zeal of a beginner regardless of experience. Maintaining a beginner's mindset removes many of the self-limiting beliefs and inhibitions that hold many people back, thus enabling the learning process - hence the book's subtitle, "A musician's path to lifelong learning." Author Dave Isaacs is a musician, performing songwriter, and teacher based in Nashville, where he is known as the "Guitar Guru of Music Row".




The Guitarist's Music Theory Book


Book Description

The first music theory book designed for guitarists by a guitarist. The book explains music theory as it applies to the guitar and covers intervals, scales, chords, chord progressions, and the Nashville Number System. The included Audio CD features examples of all the music in the book and also an ear training section. The Music Theory Book was written to help all guitar players achieve a better understanding of the guitar and of the music they play.




Fretboard Theory


Book Description

Do you love sitting at home playing guitar, but find yourself playing the same old things over and over without making much progress? When other musicians invite you to jam, do you worry that you won’t be able to keep up? Are you a veteran guitarist who has played for years, but you’re embarrassed to admit you have no idea what you’re doing? If you want to take your guitar playing to the next level, compose songs like you hear on the radio, and improvise your own music, then you need Fretboard Theory. Fretboard Theory by Desi Serna teaches music theory for guitar including scales, chords, progressions, modes and more. The hands-on approach to theory shows you how music "works" on the guitar fretboard by visualizing shapes and patterns and how they connect to make music. Content includes: * Learn pentatonic and major scale patterns as used to play melodies, riffs, solos, and bass lines * Move beyond basic chords and common barre chords by playing the types of chord inversions and chord voicings used by music's most famous players * Chart guitar chord progressions and play by numbers like the pros * Identify correct scales to play over chords and progressions so you can improvise at will * Create new sounds with music modes and get to know Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian * Add variety to your playing by using intervals such as thirds, fourths, and sixths * Increase your chord vocabulary by using added chord tones and extensions to play chord types such as major 7, minor 7, sus2, sus4, add9, and more * Learn how all the different aspects of music fit together to make a great song * See how theory relates to popular styles of music and familiar songs Fretboard Theory will have you mastering music like a pro easier and faster than you ever thought possible. Plus, it's the ONLY GUITAR THEORY RESOURCE in the world that includes important details to hundreds of popular songs. You learn how to play in the style of pop, rock, acoustic, blues, and more! This guitar instruction is perfect whether you want to jam, compose or just understand the music you play better. The material is suitable for both acoustic and electric guitar, plus it features many references to bass. Level: Recommended for intermediate level players on up. Video Fretboard Theory is also available as a 21-hour video series that is sold separately on the author's GuitarMusicTheory.com website. Visit the website and sign up for email lessons to sample the footage. Fretboard Theory Volume II When you're ready to take your playing to the next level, get the second book in the series, Fretboard Theory Volume II, which is also available as a 12-hour video series.




Music Theory For Dummies


Book Description

Tune in to how music really works Whether you’re a student, a performer, or simply a fan, this book makes music theory easy, providing you with a friendly guide to the concepts, artistry, and technical mastery that underlie the production of great music. You’ll quickly become fluent in the fundamentals of knocking out beats, reading scores, and anticipating where a piece should go, giving you a deeper perspective on the works of others — and bringing an extra dimension to your own. Tracking to a typical college-level course, Music Theory For Dummies breaks difficult concepts down to manageable chunks and takes into account every aspect of musical production and appreciation — from the fundamentals of notes and scales to the complexities of expression and instrument tone color. It also examines the latest teaching techniques — all the more important as the study of music, now shown to provide cognitive and learning benefits for both children and adults, becomes more prevalent at all levels. Master major and minor scales, intervals, pitches, and clefs Understand basic notation, time signals, tempo, dynamics, and navigation Employ melodies, chords, progressions, and phrases to form music Compose harmonies and accompanying melodies for voice and instruments Wherever you want to go musically — as a writer or performer, or just as someone who wants to enjoy music to its fullest — this approachable guide gives you everything you need to hear!







Lies My Music Teacher Told Me


Book Description

A number of musical misconceptions are explored and exploded in this humorous and lucid discussion of the relation between the human perception of music and traditional systems of music education. Drawing on his extensive background in the music world, the author marshals an informal yet rigorous logic to guide the reader through the practical experiences and careful thinking that led him to his conclusions. Updated and refined in the light of reader feedback and more recent thinking, nagging questions such as Why does formal musical training seem not to pertain to musical success?and Why is there such a dramatic disparity between what one is told about music and how one actually experiences it?are re-addressed.Seekers of musical truth stand to profit from this light-hearted assault on the more nebulous assumptions of the musical community.




Pop Music Theory


Book Description

The study of popular music composition is a new field in which the standard rules of traditional music theory do not apply. Learn how to write top 40 hits in every style from alternative rock to country pop. Discover the way chords are constructed and used in pop music, the Nashville numbers system and the role of scales in pop music harmony. Learn how to arrange a lead-sheet chart for a small ensemble so your entire band can learn a song in minutes. No more listening to a cd over and over to figure out a guitar riff when you can learn to recognize chord progressions and easily transcribe music from recordings. You will master the ability to play chord changes for self-accompaniment as well as composition. Finally you will learn how to use the scales for improvisation and "ad libbing" so you can become a soloist with your own unique sound.