All right . In this video we're going to be talking about what's referred to as Roman numerals or the Nashville number system , which is a way of playing for musicians where we're not calling out chords , we're calling out Roman numerals or placement of chords .
Okay , so , for instance , if I was going to be in the key of , let's say , we're just going to be in the key of C , so we have no sharps and flats . So if I go to the key of C , I'm playing the notes C , d , e , f , g , a , b and then C . Now you might play that somewhere else on the guitar a certain way , it doesn't matter .
Whatever works for you , but that's what I'm playing C , d , e , f , g , a , b , c . Now each one of those notes generates a chord . So if you're in a major key don't ring me , fossilati , don't Doesn't matter . If you're in the key of G , doesn't matter . If you're in the key of A , doesn't matter . If you're in the key of B , flat , doesn't matter .
What key you're in your first chord in the key of , whatever is always major , okay . So if you're in the key of C , the first chord is C , major . The next note in the key of C , excuse me , would be D , so C D . If you're playing the major scale on the piano , it'd be C to D .
If you're playing on the guitar , you're going from C to D , so the next note is D . The second chord in a major key is always minor . So you get C major , d , minor . Now you can learn the theory behind this , but for now , trust me , because I'm not lying to you okay , the first chord is always major in a major key .
The second chord is always minor in a major key . So for the key of C , major , the first chord is major . Second chord is minor . For in the key of G , the first chord is major . Second chord is minor . For in the key of D flat , the first chord is major , the second chord is minor . That's just the way it is , okay .
So now I'm going to give you a quick shortcut so I don't waste any more of your time here . It is the first , fourth and fifth chords are always major . The second , third and sixth chords are always what we call minor , and the seventh chord is what we call diminished .
And we're not going to worry about the diminished chord right now because , again , we just don't use it very often . We're going to focus on those first six chords . So if we're in the key of C , that means again , if I know my notes , d , d , e , f , g , a , b , c .
That means C would be major , d would be minor , e would be minor , f and G would both be major and then A would be minor . One , four , five would be major , two , three , six would be minor .
Now , this is a really great thing to learn and embed into your brain , because that way when you're talking to people , you know you might get up to jam with somebody or play with somebody , wherever it is . You go somewhere and somebody says , hey , get up and play a song with us , and you don't know that song .
Okay , there are certain songs , like if you're going to play barracuda , by heart , you have to know how it goes right . But if you're going to play Brown Eyed Girl , there isn't a lot to it , there isn't a lot of specifics , you can just get away with kind of strumming .
If you're going to play Old Time Rock and Roll by Bob Seeger , all you really need to know is what are the chords ? Okay , now they could tell you , for instance oh , it's in the key of G , we're going to be using G , c and D . That's perfectly fine .
But there are times where artists will talk to each other in terms of Roman numerals , or what we call the Nashville number system , where somebody will say oh , this song is just a one four five . You know , Old Time Rock and Roll is just one four five , that's all it is .
Because we're not sure what key we're going to play at it , like if we're just going to jam together or maybe there's going to be a different singer or something like that . Maybe we can't do it in the original key of the key of G , for instance , whatever the song is , because the singer has a different vocal range .
Let's say , the song was originally sung by somebody with a lower voice and now you've got a female that's going to be singing it with a higher voice , or whatever it might be right . So we got to be flexible . So we're thinking one four five . Okay , so one four five , g , c , d , a , d , e , whatever .
So you tell me the key you wanted in and let's play this song . Or 1645 , when people say 1645 , what are they talking about ? Well , the 145 is major and the six is minor . So if we were in the key of G , for instance , that means we're playing G , c and D , 145 , with an E minor .
Now if I say 1645 , that usually means I'm playing it in that order of . There's a fly in here of 1645 , but it doesn't have to be in that order . Somebody might say 1564 , or just the chords are 145 and six . Just follow me and you go . Okay . So it's a different way of speaking about music .
Oftentimes is the Nashville number system , are these Roman numerals , and it's something to get used to , because everybody isn't always saying G and C and D , especially if you play in an area where people oftentimes will have different musicians playing in different bands and your singers are being swapped out .
Or you're playing in different bands and you're used to playing something in a certain key and then all of a sudden you have to play it in in a different key . It's nice to know your numerals , your Roman numerals or your Nashville number system , to be able to do that quickly . The other side to this is that you can't always just rely on open chords .
Sometimes you've got to make sure that you know this in bar chord form too . So , for instance , if I was in the key of G , I would have G major , a minor , b minor one , two , three , c major , d major four and five , and then E minor six .
So one , two , three , four , five , six , which are the notes of my major scale , obviously in the key of G , do , re , mi , fa , so la . And then T is my seven , which I'm not worried about right now , and then the octave , but I've got one , four , five and two , three , six .
What's really nice about learning it that way is that way if somebody says , oh , let's play a one , six , four , five in the key of F , you go okay , one , six , four , five . So you can visualize it this way and not just in an open chord format as well , which is really helpful .