Stage Pads guide
The Nashville number system, with a converter
In the Nashville number system each chord is written as its place in the key: in G, G is 1, C is 4, D is 5 and Em is 6m. The band can then play the same chart in any key the singer needs, because the numbers don’t change.
Chords to numbers
How the numbers work
Count up the major scale from the key: the key itself is 1, the next note 2, and so on to 7. The chords built on those notes in a major key are 1, 2m, 3m, 4, 5, 6m and 7° (diminished). A minor chord carries an m (or a dash), a seventh a small 7 (5⁷).
A chord with another bass note is written with a slash: in G, D/F♯ is 5/7, the 5 chord with the seventh note in the bass. A chord from outside the key keeps its flat or sharp: B♭ in G is ♭3.
Why bands use it
A Nashville chart is the same in every key. If the worship leader’s voice needs the song a tone lower on Sunday, nobody rewrites anything: 1 4 5 is still 1 4 5. Players also start to hear songs as shapes (the 1 to 4 to 6m to 5 move that so many songs share), which makes new songs quicker to learn.
The chords in every key
The table gives the six chords most songs use, in all twelve keys.
| Key | 1 | 2m | 3m | 4 | 5 | 6m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | C | Dm | Em | F | G | Am |
| D♭ | D♭ | E♭m | Fm | G♭ | A♭ | B♭m |
| D | D | Em | F♯m | G | A | Bm |
| E♭ | E♭ | Fm | Gm | A♭ | B♭ | Cm |
| E | E | F♯m | G♯m | A | B | C♯m |
| F | F | Gm | Am | B♭ | C | Dm |
| F♯ | F♯ | G♯m | A♯m | B | C♯ | D♯m |
| G | G | Am | Bm | C | D | Em |
| A♭ | A♭ | B♭m | Cm | D♭ | E♭ | Fm |
| A | A | Bm | C♯m | D | E | F♯m |
| B♭ | B♭ | Cm | Dm | E♭ | F | Gm |
| B | B | C♯m | D♯m | E | F♯ | G♯m |
Numbers in Stage Pads
On Stage Pads’ stage, the 1 2 3 button shows any chart in numbers, from the key it’s being played in, so the chart, the pad and the numbers always agree.
Questions
What is a 4 chord?
The chord built on the fourth note of the key’s scale. In G that is C, in D it is G, in E it is A.
How are minor keys numbered?
Many players number a minor-key song from its relative major, so a song in E minor is charted as 6m in G. Others count from the minor key itself (1m). Stage Pads counts from the key the song is in.