FAQ
Why not just learn songs using chord charts or tutorials?
Learning a song using normal chord charts with lyrics and chords does its intended purpose; you learn one song. What traditional chord charts don't teach is the language of music: ear training, form, and theory. Number charts highlight these elements, boiled down to their simplest forms. Learning this language of music greatly increases musical understanding and makes the learning process fast.
Learning songs by ear is an incredibly important skill. It's also important to have names for the sounds we learn to recognize so we can quickly learn more music or use the same sounds in an original song, etc.
These charts are confusing/I'm not cut out to read numbers. What should I do?
The great thing about music is that there are hundreds of songs that use the same 3-4 chords, just in different orders. Getting a lot of practice with the same key (same 4 chords and numbers) is essential to using numbers.
Stick to these keys at first:
Guitar- Key of G G=1, C=4, D=5, Em=6m
Piano/Bass- Key of C C=1, F=4, G=5, Am=6m
You'll want to get a lot of practice with this one set of chords- 20, 25, 40 charts, as many as you can stand- before moving on to any other chords. The truth is that music is like a language and it takes immersion, daily use, and playing along with other people and recordings for these concepts to stick.
How are charts organized throughout the site?
Charts are recognized a few ways on Chordal.
For guitar:
Charts are grouped together by key form (charts that can be played with G chords or C chords and sometimes the use of a capo).
Within both of those key forms are three smaller groupings: 4, 5, and 6+ chord charts.
On each of these 4, 5, and 6+ chord pages, charts are organized by genre, then order of difficulty.
For piano and bass:
Charts are grouped together by their key; there are twelve different pages of charts for all twelve keys.
On each of these pages, chords are listed in order of 4, then 5, and finally 6+ chord charts.
In each of these areas, charts are organized by genre, then order of difficulty.
For all charts:
4 chord charts contain only the 1, 4, 5, and 6m chords in one key, in any order. Many of these charts have less than 4 chords (many tunes use just 1, 4, and 5- some even only two chords!).
5 chord charts contain only the 1, 2m, 4, 5, and 6m chords in one key, in any order. Again, many of these charts have less than 5 total chords, but always contain the 2m.
6+ chord charts contain chords besides the 1, 2m, 4, 5, and 6m- as well as all the chords in 4 and 5 chord charts. For example, the remaining diatonic 3m or 7 dim. chords and any of the common non-diatonic chords from outside of the key (the b7, b6, b3, b2, 4m, 5m, 3, 2, and 6 chords, etc.) might be used in these charts. Just like before, these charts can include less than 6 chords. Many songs here are mostly made up of well-known chords (like 1, 4, 5, and 6m), but will feature at least one of these extra chords. The harder the difficulty of the chart, the more complex and foreign the chords usually are. This means that learning these specific harmonies takes some dedicated practice and use of the resources on the site.
Are Nashville Numbers the same as Roman Numerals?
Essentially, yes. Roman Numerals have been used for hundreds of years as a great way to harmonically analyze music, (traditionally, classical music). They indicate harmonic function within a key even better than numbers can and are essential in learning general music theory. But as a means of performing and quickly reading music, numbers are superior and work well for chord progressions found in most popular music.
Are there songs that don't work with number charts?
Yes. Some styles of music and songs have many chords outside of the key, chords that don't behave predictably, or songs based mainly on riffs. Songs like this are more easily learned through more traditional means. 95% of popular music, however, greatly benefits from thinking in numbers.
When I attempt a chart, it doesn't sound like the original.
Chordal charts are meant to be a basis and starting point to learn countless songs. Learning the specific licks, strumming, melodic parts, and rhythms will come with time. Chordal is all about general knowledge of the song, which is far more empowering than specific knowledge with no context. Of course, the specific also matters and that's where tutorials, lead sheets, tabs, and transcriptions can be helpful. The end game with Chordal is that with enough ear training (one of the main benefits of using number charts), you'll be able to hear the general chords and the specific details. More specific musical info is also notated in most of the advanced charts. Check out the resource Turning Numbers Into Music for more info on how to add musical style and detail to number charts.
How am I supposed to not get lost without the lyrics?
Feeling the beat and paying attention to the underlying chord progressions are essential skills as a musician. While it might seem daunting at first, performing a song without the aid of lyrics on a chart is not only possible, but ideal. Sung lyrics are rarely on the beat, so they never serve as good indicators of where to play chords. For practical purposes many singers combine lyrics and chords in a traditional chord chart when performing, which is sometimes needed. Lyric-free charts just work on strengthening concepts of rhythm and form.
I learned to play a song differently than a Chordal chart indicates.
The more popular a song is, the higher the chance that the chords are correct for it online (as there are more chances that someone with a good ear can correctly hear the chords). That being said, chord charts online, tutorials on YouTube, and other unofficial methods of learning can be wildly inaccurate. Chordal charts strive to be as accurate as possible, but sometimes there can be multiple correct ways to notate a chord, different versions of songs, or there is an error that hasn’t been caught yet in a chart. It's also important to remember: some details on Chordal charts are left out for ease of reading and learning purposes (see the next FAQ for more on this).
Why are some charts extremely detailed and some not?
Chordal charts are primarily for teaching and empowering people to deeply understand harmony as well as train the ear to hear chords with great accuracy. To further this cause, the minimal number of details that are musical necessary are added. For example, popular music often features chords like add9, sus4, sus2, major 7th, etc. Writing out progressions like 1, 4add9, 5sus4, etc is redundant because those sounds can often be inferred from the common practice of the style. 1, 4add9, 5sus4 becomes plain 1, 4, 5. Awareness of the style means we can play more complex forms of those chords automatically if it will sound appropriate (for more, check out Turning Numbers Into Music). Rhythms and strum patterns can also be inferred. The details that can't be inferred are however included in more advanced charts.
Are number charts the only way professional musicians read and learn music?
Definitely not. Number charts are used heavily in Nashville (of all places) and elsewhere by professional musicians for learning and performing many kinds of popular music. Professional musicians also read:
Sheet Music- Everything, notes and chords, is notated. This is the only way genres such as classical music are taught.
Lead Sheets- Chords are written out on measures, mixed with melody notes and sheet music. Form is clear and concise. Used in jazz bands, church bands, and in Broadway musical books. These are a vast improvement over chord charts in terms of detail.
Chord Charts- Traditional lyrics with chords above them. Though they often lack too much clarity for professional musicians, the rhythm of the chords can usually be correctly inferred. Found in mass quantities online (often with inaccurate chords).
Playing by Ear- Reacting appropriately by what’s going on around them, learning off the cuff as you’re playing a song.
By Rote- Rehearsing and going over parts, being shown how to play something by somebody else and relying on memory and muscle memory to replicate it. For simple and small amounts of music this can be effective.
Which method musicians use heavily depends on:
The Instrument- Guitarists often prefer chord charts where pianists might prefer sheet music or lead sheets.
The Genre of Music- The more academic the genre (jazz, classical, etc), the more likely sheet music is used. Genres like rock, hip-hop, and pop are often learned by rote or chord charts.
The Desired Level of Professionalism- Of course, not everything has to be on a professional level, specific, and concise. Groups that just want to have fun or play a low stress gig might not worry about detailed arrangements, or even having any music at all. Musicians that do want to be more professional, for whatever reason, can greatly benefit from learning how to be more intentional and exact when they are learning music.
It’s important to remember that number charts can be used for performance purposes, but they are mainly a means to an end to achieve greater musical understanding and fluency.
How is the difficulty rating of a song calculated?
Overall difficulty, complexity of the numbers and harmony, nuances, sight-readibility, and speed of song are all taken into account when rating the difficulty of a tune. Tunes with a higher difficulty might still be simple to play but just not as simple to conceptualize the numbers, but that’s the point.
Where can I submit corrections?
Here. This goes for the form of charts and also the chords.
I'd like to make my own charts, how can I get started?
Chordal charts are created with 1Chart for iPad.