{"id":3330,"date":"2014-09-24T16:03:26","date_gmt":"2014-09-24T21:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/?p=3330"},"modified":"2014-10-09T17:25:54","modified_gmt":"2014-10-09T22:25:54","slug":"5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Reasons to Switch From Chords to the Nashville Numbers System"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Screenshot<\/a><\/p>\n

by Eric Barfield<\/em><\/p>\n

As worship leaders, we\u2019re constantly transcribing, modifying and adapting chord charts for specific musicians and singers each week. It\u2019s a lot of hard work, and often requires a small forest\u2019s worth of paper for printing out all new charts every time there\u2019s a modification.<\/p>\n

What if there was a way to write a single chart that clearly spelled out the rhythm of the chords, was instantly transposable to any key, and was easy enough to teach inexperienced musicians in a few minutes? Enter the Nashville Numbers System.<\/p>\n

For those of you like me that didn\u2019t know how it works, the Nashville Numbers System is based on the simple concept that it\u2019s possible to\u00a0notate a 7 tone major scale using just the numbers 1-7, adding dashes for minors. Here\u2019s why switching to the Nashville Numbers System makes your job as worship leader easier:<\/p>\n

1. It\u2019s fast. Really, really fast<\/b>. I was working up a difficult Latin song the other day, and I was able to\u00a0transcribe in realtime using just numbers things that would have taken twice as long if I was using chords.<\/p>\n

2. It allows you to see where the chord change is accurately.<\/b>\u00a0Rather than posting the chords above the\u00a0lyrics and relying on a musicians knowledge of how the melody goes, it simply says that each chord written\u00a0lasts a measure, unless underlined when it\u2019s only worth a half a measure. For more detailed switches, you\u00a0simply make notes next to the chord (for instance, if the chord switches on the 4th beat, I\u2019ll underline the two\u00a0chords and put three dots to remind myself).<\/p>\n

3. It makes it stupid-easy to transpose.\u00a0<\/b>Since the system isn\u2019t reliant on anything other than positioning, If\u00a0you know your scales and chords, you can instantly switch to any key. No more mad transcribing to drop\u00a0everything a half step for a finicky singer.<\/p>\n

4. It\u2019s perfect for modern music.\u00a0<\/b>While I wouldn\u2019t recommend using this system for jazz or classical, it\u00a0works especially well with modern music styles that are mostly in major keys with few extensions.<\/p>\n

5. It\u2019s easy to teach.<\/b>\u00a0In fact, it\u2019s so simple if you write me, I\u2019ll send you a free and easy how-to e-book on\u00a0how it works\u00a0just shoot me an email here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Eric Barfield is a full time keyboardist and producer based in Nashville, TN. Eric’s\u00a0career has included his music being placed in films and commercials, working at\u00a09,000 member Grace Church, and performing onstage with a variety of artists including Dove-award winning singer Steve Reischl, American Idol finalist Joe Banua, and jazz legend Joe Bozzi. Eric lives with his\u00a0beautiful wife, Sarah, and their two Siberian Huskies in East Nashville.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Eric Barfield As worship leaders, we\u2019re constantly transcribing, modifying and adapting chord charts for specific musicians and singers each week. It\u2019s a lot of hard work, and often requires a small forest\u2019s worth of paper for printing out all new charts every time there\u2019s a modification. What if there […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6533,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[29,28,124],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arrangements","category-leading-worship","category-rehearsal"],"yoast_head":"\n5 Reasons to Switch From Chords to the Nashville Numbers System - Loop Community Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Reasons to Switch From Chords to the Nashville Numbers System - Loop Community Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Eric Barfield As worship leaders, we\u2019re constantly transcribing, modifying and adapting chord charts for specific musicians and singers each week. It\u2019s a lot of hard work, and often requires a small forest\u2019s worth of paper for printing out all new charts every time there\u2019s a modification. What if there […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Loop Community Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/loopcommunity\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-09-24T21:03:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-10-09T22:25:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Screenshot-2014-09-24-15.58.43.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@loopcommunity\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@loopcommunity\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Loop Community\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Loop Community\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/loopcommunity\",\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/loopcommunity\",\"http:\/\/youtube.com\/loopcommunity\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/loopcommunity\"],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog-assets.loopcommunity.com\/uploads\/2019\/05\/pHIuip7h_400x400.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog-assets.loopcommunity.com\/uploads\/2019\/05\/pHIuip7h_400x400.jpg\",\"width\":400,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"Loop Community\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Loop Community\",\"description\":\"Tracks for worship made easy.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog-assets.loopcommunity.com\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Screenshot-2014-09-24-15.58.43.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog-assets.loopcommunity.com\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Screenshot-2014-09-24-15.58.43.png\",\"width\":495,\"height\":474},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/\",\"name\":\"5 Reasons to Switch From Chords to the Nashville Numbers System - Loop Community Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-09-24T21:03:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-10-09T22:25:54+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"5 Reasons to Switch From Chords to the Nashville Numbers System\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/#webpage\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e60e1d37ad192f6d1cf70b6cc472deb2\"},\"headline\":\"5 Reasons to Switch From Chords to the Nashville Numbers System\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-09-24T21:03:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-10-09T22:25:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/#webpage\"},\"wordCount\":473,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog-assets.loopcommunity.com\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Screenshot-2014-09-24-15.58.43.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Arrangements\",\"Leading Worship\",\"Rehearsal\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e60e1d37ad192f6d1cf70b6cc472deb2\",\"name\":\"Loop Community\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/36d22443779aef40710875b438b3af09bb5ed4a3fe4005cd7ef740985f747954?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/36d22443779aef40710875b438b3af09bb5ed4a3fe4005cd7ef740985f747954?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Loop Community\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/loopcommunity.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/author\/loopcommunity\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"5 Reasons to Switch From Chords to the Nashville Numbers System - Loop Community Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"5 Reasons to Switch From Chords to the Nashville Numbers System - Loop Community Blog","og_description":"by Eric Barfield As worship leaders, we\u2019re constantly transcribing, modifying and adapting chord charts for specific musicians and singers each week. It\u2019s a lot of hard work, and often requires a small forest\u2019s worth of paper for printing out all new charts every time there\u2019s a modification. What if there […]","og_url":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/","og_site_name":"Loop Community Blog","article_publisher":"http:\/\/facebook.com\/loopcommunity","article_published_time":"2014-09-24T21:03:26+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-10-09T22:25:54+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Screenshot-2014-09-24-15.58.43.png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@loopcommunity","twitter_site":"@loopcommunity","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Loop Community","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Loop Community","url":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/","sameAs":["http:\/\/facebook.com\/loopcommunity","http:\/\/instagram.com\/loopcommunity","http:\/\/youtube.com\/loopcommunity","https:\/\/twitter.com\/loopcommunity"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/#logo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/blog-assets.loopcommunity.com\/uploads\/2019\/05\/pHIuip7h_400x400.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog-assets.loopcommunity.com\/uploads\/2019\/05\/pHIuip7h_400x400.jpg","width":400,"height":400,"caption":"Loop Community"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/#logo"}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/","name":"Loop Community","description":"Tracks for worship made easy.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/blog-assets.loopcommunity.com\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Screenshot-2014-09-24-15.58.43.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog-assets.loopcommunity.com\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Screenshot-2014-09-24-15.58.43.png","width":495,"height":474},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/","name":"5 Reasons to Switch From Chords to the Nashville Numbers System - Loop Community Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2014-09-24T21:03:26+00:00","dateModified":"2014-10-09T22:25:54+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"5 Reasons to Switch From Chords to the Nashville Numbers System"}]},{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/#webpage"},"author":{"@id":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e60e1d37ad192f6d1cf70b6cc472deb2"},"headline":"5 Reasons to Switch From Chords to the Nashville Numbers System","datePublished":"2014-09-24T21:03:26+00:00","dateModified":"2014-10-09T22:25:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/#webpage"},"wordCount":473,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog-assets.loopcommunity.com\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Screenshot-2014-09-24-15.58.43.png","articleSection":["Arrangements","Leading Worship","Rehearsal"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/5-reasons-to-switch-from-chords-to-the-nashville-numbers-system\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e60e1d37ad192f6d1cf70b6cc472deb2","name":"Loop Community","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/36d22443779aef40710875b438b3af09bb5ed4a3fe4005cd7ef740985f747954?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/36d22443779aef40710875b438b3af09bb5ed4a3fe4005cd7ef740985f747954?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Loop Community"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/loopcommunity.com"],"url":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/author\/loopcommunity\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6533"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3330"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3330\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loopcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}