A few of my advanced students have dreams of working in Nashville as studio musicians. Nashville uses a method called the Nashville Number System. The Nashville Number System is a shorthand method of writing musical arrangements that was developed by Nashville studio musicians based on the degrees of the scale (do, re, me, fa, sol, la, ti ..). It is a powerful tool in the written communication of music.

I am starting to teach this method which is well known in the recording industry. The Beatles, during a recording session in England, hired a Nashville pianist and asked if he wanted them to play the song for him to become familiar with it. The pianist looked at their arrangement and started jotting down notes. The Fab Four noticed that the pianist was jotting down numbers instead of chord changes and notes. To their surprise, he told them he was ready to record. He played it through the first time perfectly. The pianist was using the Nashville Number System.

Recording time is very expensive and this method cuts down on costs significantly. I am anxious to see how my students take to this method.

Rick