Nashville Number System
The chart and converter used by professional session musicians to write chord sheets that work in any key.
Key
Nashville Number Chart — Key of G
| Degree | Nashville | Chord |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | G |
| 2 | 2m | Am |
| 3 | 3m | Bm |
| 4 | 4 | C |
| 5 | 5 | D |
| 6 | 6m | Em |
| 7 | 7dim | F#dim |
Converter
Non-diatonic chords are preserved unchanged.
Enter chord names above to see the Nashville numbers for the key of G.
What Is the Nashville Number System?
The Nashville Number System (NNS) is a shorthand notation used by professional session musicians to write chord charts using scale degree numbers instead of specific chord names. Instead of writing “G, D, Em, C” for a progression in G major, you write “1, 5, 6m, 4.” The numbers represent the chord's position in the key: 1 is always the tonic, 4 is always the subdominant, 5 is always the dominant. The same chart works in any key without rewriting. A session player can read “1, 4, 5” and instantly play the right chords in whatever key the artist calls.
Nashville Number System Chart — How the Numbers Work
In any major key, the scale has 7 degrees, each corresponding to a Nashville number. The default quality of each degree is determined by the major scale structure: degrees 1, 4, and 5 are major chords; degrees 2, 3, and 6 are minor (written with a lowercase “m”: 2m, 3m, 6m); and degree 7 is diminished (7dim). A major chord is written as just the number (1, 4, 5). Minor and diminished chords include the quality suffix. The chart above shows all 7 diatonic chords for any key you select.
Nashville Number System Guitar — Practical Use
Guitarists use the Nashville Number System to learn songs faster, communicate quickly with other musicians, and transpose songs on the fly. When a band decides to raise a song's key from G to A mid-rehearsal, a player reading the NNS chart doesn't need to rewrite anything — the numbers stay the same, only the root key shifts. This is why the NNS became the standard in Nashville session recording, where musicians sight-read new material quickly and play in multiple keys in a single session. Use the converter above to write your own NNS charts from chord progressions, or use our Chord Transposer to move specific chord sheets between keys.
Nashville Number System vs. Roman Numerals
The NNS is closely related to Roman numeral analysis used in music theory (I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, vii°). The key difference is notation and practicality. Roman numeral analysis uses case to indicate major versus minor (uppercase I = major, lowercase ii = minor), while the NNS uses plain numbers with quality suffixes (1, 2m). The NNS was designed for fast handwriting in session environments; Roman numerals are used in academic and compositional contexts. Both systems describe the same harmonic relationships. The reference table above shows both so you can translate between them freely.
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