Is This Music Or Algebra?

Hey, what’s with all these numbers on my chart?  There are usually chord symbols – What Gives?

For those who may not be familiar with music theory, there is a reason behind the madness.  Let me take a little of your time and you may see what all the fuss is about. 

One of the first reasons is FLEXIBILITY.  Many of the songs we sing for worship were written for gifted vocalists, often with a range out of the reach of a congregation.  Therefore, most songs must be lowered to be sung comfortably by the congregation.  This would often require two charts, one in the original key and one transposed.  However, if the chart is written in numbers one chart can be used no matter what key it is played.    This may be a little confusing if you don’t understand the numbers.  (Refer to:   CHARTS for more information.)  As you may have now realized, you can use one chart for EVERY key.  Therefore you can change the key around as often as needed to best fit in with the rest of the song set.  This also eliminates the need for “duplicate” copies of the same song. 

The second reason is RELIABILITY.  If your band is used to keeping their own chart books (highly recommended), they don’t have to transfer notes from one chart to another because of key.  This makes remembering the song much easier for everyone in the band.  The notes that you took weeks ago will still be there, even if you are playing in a new key.  By using the same charts over and over a consistency is created within the band and promotes the unity of the music.

The third reason is PAGE SPACE.  I think we all dislike any chart that is more that one page.  For this reason alone, the form of the number chart is almost invaluable.  The chart is broken into sections like:  Intro, Verse, Chorus, Turn Around (T/A) and Tag etc..  The form is noted on the side of the chart.  I – Intro, V – Verse etc.. the form just goes down the side of the page to help everyone have a “roadmap.”  This roadmap can be changed on the “fly” to accommodate extra choruses, verses and becomes very flexible when worshiping.  This all normally fits on one page quite easily.  Eliminating page turns often eliminates mistakes.

The fourth reason is MEMORIZATION.  When the chart is broken down into sections, it becomes much easier to memorize the song.  When a song is memorized in numbers, it is memorized in every key.  This adds to the comfort of players and their abilities.

The fifth reason is SHAPES.  Form can often be related to the shape of a song, but instrumentalists, especially guitarist and bassists, have shapes they use all the time.  Sometimes this is referred to as the box, home row etc..  For this reason alone, we have trained more bass players than any other method I know.  The reason is simple.  Music is built on harmonic relationships.  On fretted instruments, these relationships are repeated over and over.  If you are playing bass for instance, once you know where one is, you know where all the notes of the song are and can easily find them. 

As you may imagine, the lists of advantages go on and on and for us these outweigh the advantages of other charts.  There are a few short falls, the biggest of which is often there are no lyrics on the chart.  Most players agree they would rather have a one-page chart over having all of the lyrics.

Remember:

“Practice does NOT make perfect.  PERFECT practice makes perfect.”

God Bless,

Greig

“Hold tightly to God and loosely to everything else.”