Introduction to Guitar By Numbers

So what is guitar by numbers? If you are old enough to remember the legendary 1960’s movie “The Sound Of Music” starring Julie Andrews, then you certainly remember the main theme song from it that went, Do a deer, a female deer, ray, a drop of golden sun…. This classic song was based on a system of sight reading that dates back several hundred years to the Elizabethan period called the shape note system. So why do we care about this old movie and it’s trite little song? We care about it because when you sing Do Re Mi Fa So LA Ti Do, you are singing the major scale, and the major scale is at the heart of the Guitar By Numbers System.

In the late 1950's, Neal Matthews, who was a member of the Jordanairres, the vocal backup group for Elvis Presley, took the shape note system we mentioned earlier, and came up with a way for his group to learn vocal parts more quickly. This system he created eventually became the Nashville Number System, further developed by Nashville session ace Charlie McCoy during the early 1960's. Charlie was the musical director of the old Hew Haw television series.

I created the Guitar Number System after having spent a number of years playing music in Nashville where I used the Nashville Number System everyday. In the process of using this system to write and read chord charts, I realized how much easier it was than using traditional chord charts that used alphabet letter chord symbols. I was working in situations that required having to instantly transpose keys and/or to chart songs quickly to be able to back up recording artists. I realized the Nashville Number System used formulas for scales and chords. I saw that these formulas, because they were numbers and not letter names could be applied to every chord and every key, greatly minimizing the amount of information that had to be learned. I thought that if I could teach beginning guitar students this number system, it would make learning the guitar so much easier because it would cut down on the amount of material they would have to learn and give them the ability to make decisions about music very quickly when they had to in live situations.

So the Learn Guitar Number System was born.From that point all I had to do was figure out how to structure it and teach it to others. What I came up with is presented in the next sections below and the following Hub Pages. The lessons will follow sequentially with links from one to the next. The first step is to make sure you understand the major scale because the major scale is what the Guitar Number System is based on. If you understand the major scale, go directly to the section about the Nashville Number System. Before long, the guitar will feel like an old friend.

As I start here explaining the major scale, you’ll see I use the piano keyboard for illustration purposes, even though this is a guitar course. This is because 1) I know many of you have experience on the piano and are familiar with it and 2) I think it is easier to remember lessons taught on the piano because of the contrast of the black notes against white notes plus the fact that the notes are divided into 12 note equal segments that repeat all the way up the keyboard. The guitar fretboard is less forgiving. Other than the fret markers, all the frets look the same and tend to run together when you are just starting out. When I do explain something with the piano, I will also show you the same idea on the guitar. So if you have a piano handy, it might help you to be near it when studying these lessons. If you don't have one, don't worry, I will have a graphic of the piano in the lesson. All important terms are bolded and italisized. I’ll go slowly step by step. So let's get started.

First, I teach everything assuming you are a total beginner and you know nothing. If you already know something I’m covering in a lesson you are welcome to skip ahead.

The first 2 points I want to make are very basic. First of all, music only uses 7 members of the alphabet. The first 7 letters. A - B - C - D - E - F - G These are the only alphabet letters you will ever see representing a note in music. There are no Q, L, T or Z notes.

Secondly, all chords and scales are built with a series of half steps and whole steps. On the piano, a half step is the distance from one note to the next, whether it is a white note or a black note, it makes no difference. A whole step, is a combination of 2 half steps. It is the distance between 2 notes where there is 1 note in between them. It could be from 1 white note to the next white note with 1 black note in between, from 1 white note to a black note with 1 white note in between, or from one black note to another black note with a white note in between. The pictures below show half steps and whole steps illustrated on the piano and the guitar.

Now that we know about half steps and whole steps it’s time to learn about the major scale. Look at the piano keyboard below. I have labeled the C major scale, the C on the far left being the name of the key (C), and is called the root or tonic. Each letter of the scale including the root C note is called a scale degree. (1^st scale degree, 2^nd scale degree etc.)

The major scale is a series of 7 notes progressing in order from one C to the next. The second C, is the 8^th note and is called the Octave. So the major scale in the key of C is C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C.

The formula for the major scale is 2 whole steps, a half step, 3 more whole steps and another half step. The formula is often noted like this, WWHWWWH. In the Guitar Number System, a half step will be noted by a 1, and a whole step will be a 2, representing the steps or notes that compose them. So the Guitar Number System formula for a major scale is 2-2-1-2-2-2-1.

So what do you do with this formula and how does it make learning the guitar easier. I’m going to tell you so pay attention here, it’s important. With this formula, you can create the major scale in any key. Whatever key you want to play in, go to the note that is the name of the key, and apply the formula. For instance, if you are playing in the key of G, start on the G note and use the formula. Starting with G, go up 1 whole step (2), another whole step, 1 half step (1), 3 more whole steps and 1 more half step. Now you have created the major scale in the key of G (G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-G). Wait a minute you say. Why does the F have a # sign by it? Well, that has to do with key signatures which we will get to shortly. That’s what’s so great about the Guitar Number System. You can just play without having to worry about things like key signatures. It’s very liberating. For now, take a few minutes and practice this method in other keys. When you are confident that you understand it, go on to the next section.

When you are confident that you understand the major scale, go on to the next lesson about the Nashville Number System. Please note, the Guitar Number System and the Nashville Number System are both based on the major scale, so please make sure you totally understand it before  going further.