The Number System

I had to write the following essay for my English class about a week ago. It occurred to me some of you might like to learn a bit about the number system as well. BEWARE. If you have no interest in learning about the number system, don't waste your time reading. Thanks and have a great day.



The Number System
Since I was three years old, I have been an avid student and fan of the guitar. Before I could fit my arms around a regular guitar, I had a small plastic green one that I dragged everywhere. In my sixteen years of playing, I have won many competitions and awards for my abilities. The number system, as I have learned over the years, is an essential factor in one’s ability to perform at a professional level.

It is a bit difficult to give a quick written lesson when there isn’t a guitar to help exemplify what I am referring to. When playing songs in different keys, musicians need a chart that will allow them to easily transpose the songs: the number system. Instead of writing chord names, numbers are used- 1, 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 (mostly). If you are in the key of C, for instance, C=1; D=2; E=3; F=4; G=5; A=6; B=7; C=8. If you will notice, after I got to “G”, I immediately went back to “A”. This is because there are only eight notes in a given key: Doe Rae Me Fa So La Ti Doe. Therefore, one would proceed from A through G, and then start over for the continuing notes in the next octave.

In music, chords are determined by these numbers. A major chord is made up of a 1, 3, and 5. Assuming the key of C: 1=C; 3=E; 5=G. (In other keys, the use of flats and sharps would be needed in determining the correct intervals, but that would takes many pages to explain. This knowledge will not be needed for the key of “C”.) A major chord sounds somewhat happy and full. A minor chord, on the other hand, is made up of 1, flat3, and 5. (If you will notice, the only difference between a major chord and a minor is the third being brought down by a half step) In the key of “C”: 1=C; 3=Eflat; 5=G. In contrast, a minor chord will sound a bit dark and bluesy: “Man’s World”, by James Brown, is a prime example of a minor keyed song.

The beauty of the number system is that a musician can very easily transpose between every key using it. If a song were charted out in letter form, the musician would have to take a much longer time recharting it in the new key. With numbers, he can immediately determine the new chords. For example, “II, V, I” is an extremely common progression in music. “Night and Day” is a perfect exemplification of this progression. In the key of “C”, II=Dminor; V=G; I=C. If the singer determines that she would rather sing in the key of “A”, the musician can easily adapt: A=1; B=2; C#=3;D=4; E=5; F#=6; G#=7; A=8. Therefore, II=Bminor; V=E; I=A.

This method may seem to be a bit complicated at first, but ultimately it proves to be extremely useful in the studio and on stage. The most difficult part of learning the number system is being able to memorize what the thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths, are in every key. This ability, unfortunately, only comes with repeated practice. It is helpful to go up a fifth in every key: C; G; D; A; E; B; F#; C#. Next, go up a fourth in every key: C; F; B flat; E flat; A flat; D flat; G flat; C flat. These intervals, after many weeks of practice, will eventually become second nature.

Let me know if you have any questions or confusion to share with me. Thanks