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6.4.1
“HARMONIC
DEGREE”:
JUST A
FANCY
NAME
FOR “CHORD”
In harmony, Roman numerals represent whole chords,
which are named after their roots. Here’s how scale degree Arabic numbers
and chord Roman numerals are related:
• A
chord with scale degree 1 as its root is called the I chord (the “one chord").
For example, in the key of C major, the chord C major is the I chord (the “one
chord”).
• A
chord with scale degree 4 as its root is called the IV chord (the “four chord”).
For example, in the key of C major, the chord F major is the IV chord (the “four
chord”). Etc., etc. So far, so good.
Now for the important part.
The relationship between harmony and melody begins with the
identification of the seven harmonic degrees. As you’ll see in a minute,
this is the basis of the Nashville Number System.
So . .
. what’s a harmonic degree? Just a technical name for “chord.” These chords are
the triads (three notes, separated by intervals of a third) whose roots are the seven individual scale
degrees of a given diatonic scale.
6.4.2
THE
SEVEN
HARMONIC
DEGREES
Have a look at Table 38 below. Each vertical
column shows which three notes (scale degrees) form a triad (a chord, or
“harmonic degree”), each built on a different note of the diatonic scale:
TABLE 38 The Seven Harmonic Degrees (Also
Known As Triads or Chords)
Notes That
Comprise Each
Chord
|
The Seven Chords
|
5th Note Up From Root
(Interval of a third)
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
3rd Note Up From Root
(Interval of a third)
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
1
|
2
|
Root of Triad
(Scale Degree)
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
Chord (Harmonic
Degree)
|
I
|
II
|
III
|
IV
|
V
|
VI
|
VII
|
An example is coming up in a minute. For now, bear in mind that
each Arabic number represents a note of the major scale. So, in the
key of C major, for example, 1 = C, 2 = D, 3 = E, etc. Each Roman
numeral represents a chord. So, for example Roman number I = the
chord C.
As you study Table 38 with considerable diligence, forsaking
even a trip to the Wrong Ranch Saloon for a double Wild Turkey,
you will notice that the chords with roots 1, 4, and 5 are shaded
lightly, whilst chords with roots 2, 3, and 6 are marked with darker
shading. And out there on the right, the chord with root 7 bears the
darkest and scariest shading. The reasons for these shading
variances will become blindingly clear in a minute.
Also, notice that scale degree I (8) is missing. In harmony, unlike
melody, scale degree I (8) has no meaning because the notes of a
chord, including the chord root, apply universally to any and all
octaves equally. Again, this will become clearer as you fight your
way through this chapter with masochistic but admirable
determination.
As
you’ve discovered, chords consist of “third” intervals stacked atop each other.
In any diatonic scale, if you select any note as a starting point, you will
always get an interval of a third simply by skipping one note of the diatonic
scale.
For
example, in the key of C major, if you start on the note D and skip to the note
F, you get an interval of a minor third (three semitones). If you start on F and
skip to A, you get an interval of a major third (four semitones). Remember, even
though one interval is a major third and the other is a minor third, both are
still considered to be “thirds.”
Everywhere along the scale, skipping one note gets you an
interval of either a major third or a minor third.
So, any triad will consist of...
• A
root note, which can be any note of the scale, plus
• The third
note up from the root (skipping over the second
note), plus
• The
fifth note up from the root (skipping over the fourth note).
6.4.3
AN
EXAMPLE:
THE
SEVEN
HARMONIC
DEGREES
IN THE KEY
OF C MAJOR/A
MINOR
Using the key of C major as an example, you can
find out exactly which chords are this key’s seven “harmonic degrees” (just a
fancy name for “chords”), and which notes make up those chords.
To start, here’s the scale you’re dealing with
(Figure 43):
FIGURE 43
C Major Scale
And here are the seven harmonic degrees (chords) in the key of
C major, showing which three notes comprise each triad (Table 39
below):
TABLE 39 The Seven Harmonic Degrees (Triads or
Chords) in the Key of C Major / A Minor
Notes In
Each
Chord
|
Names of the Seven Chords
|
|
C
Major
|
D
Minor
|
E
Minor
|
F
Major
|
G
Major
|
A
Minor
|
B
Dim.
|
5th Note
|
G
|
A
|
B
|
C
|
D
|
E
|
F
|
3rd Note
|
E
|
F
|
G
|
A
|
B
|
C
|
D
|
1st (Root)
|
C
|
D
|
E
|
F
|
G
|
A
|
B
|
Chord
(Harmonic
Degree)
|
I
|
II
|
III
|
IV
|
V
|
VI
|
VII
|
Why
“C Major / A Minor” in the title of Table 39? Because in harmony, the major and
relative minor keys are so intimately related that they share the same “harmonic
scale,” sometimes called the
scale of harmonic degrees, as you’ll see shortly.
You’ll
note that, of the seven triads in Table 39 above:
• Three are major triads (major chords)
• Three are minor triads (minor chords)
• One is a diminished triad (diminished chord)
For
example, the notes that make up the chord with root C consist of an interval of
a major third (C – E) on the bottom and a minor third on top (E – G). So it’s a
major triad (C, E, G).
The
notes that make up the chord with root D consist of a an interval of a minor
third (D – F) on the bottom and a major third on top (F – A). So it’s a minor
triad (D, F, A). And so on.
Now
it’s becoming clearer how chords add a “third dimension,” a sense of depth and
color to music.
Speaking of color, in Table 39 above, shading identifies the
chord types. The major triads are lightly shaded, the minor triads
medium-shaded, and the diminished triad darkly shaded.
One of
the first things you’ve probably noticed about the chords that make up the seven
harmonic degrees is that three of them, the three major chords, C major, F
Major, and G major, are the same three chords you find in 87 gazillion popular
songs. The famous “three basic chords” that everybody learns to play on the
guitar pretty soon after first picking up the instrument. (And, for a lot of
guitar pickers, the only chords they ever learn.)
• These three chords, C, F, and G, happen to collectively
contain all seven notes of the C major scale and its relative
minor, the A natural minor scale.
• Same
goes for the three minor chords—they also collectively contain all seven notes
of the A natural minor scale and its relative major, the C major scale.
6.4.4
THE
NASHVILLE
NUMBER
SYSTEM
OF CHORD
NOTATION:
WHY
IT’S
IMPORTANT
AND HOW
IT
WORKS
A lot of session players in Nashville do not read music. So they use
a system of chord notation that originated in Europe in the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Starting in the 1950s, Nashville
players began adapting it for their own needs. Now everybody
knows it as the Nashville Number System.
The
Nashville Number System is “chord shorthand” based on the chords of the seven
harmonic degrees (Tables 38 and 39 above). The Nashville Number System makes it
possible for any player to play the correct chords of a song in any key, simply
by numbering the chords according to their harmonic degrees.
The advantage?
Once a lead or lyric sheet is notated using the Nashville Number
System, performers can use it to play or sing the song in any key.
Players do not have to re-notate lead sheets every time someone
decides to try out the tune in a different key. Which happens an
awful lot.
The Nashville Number System works like this:
• Each chord of the seven harmonic degrees (Tables 38 and
39 above) gets notated on the lead sheet according to the
number of the chord’s root.
• You can (and should) use Roman numerals to represent the
chords, but in Nashville they usually use Arabic numbers
(which is a bit confusing, since Arabic numbers apply to scale
notes as well).
• For
the minor triads, add a lower case “m” to the number.
• For
the diminished chord, add the symbol “º”. Add other symbols as needed for
different extensions of chords such as ninths.
Table 40 below shows the Nashville Numbers for all seven
harmonic degrees.
TABLE 40 The Seven Harmonic Degrees (Triads or
Chords): The Nashville Number System
|
Harmonic Degrees (Chords)
|
|
I
|
II
|
III
|
IV
|
V
|
VI
|
VII
|
Nashville
Number
|
1
|
2m
|
3m
|
4
|
5
|
6m
|
7º
|
What They
Call It
|
“the one chord”
|
“the two chord”
|
“the three chord”
|
“the four chord”
|
“the five chord”
|
“the
six chord”
|
“the seven chord”
|
Chord is
Always ...
|
major
|
minor
|
minor
|
major
|
major
|
minor
|
dimin-ished
|
Now, the above chart is not exactly right. In Nashville, all
Nashville Numbers are considered to be major chords unless you
specify otherwise.
So,
for example, if you say, “Play the two chord,” the Nashville session player will
play the two major chord unless you say, “Play the two minor chord.”
If you
say, “Play the seven chord,” the session player will play the seven major
chord unless you say “Play the seven diminished chord,” or “Play the seven minor
sixth chord,” or “When can we take a break and grab a beer?”
In the remaining discussion of harmony, the Nashville Number
System applies. However, only Roman numerals are used for chords, not
Arabic numbers. For example, the Nashville Number of the “seventh” of the chord
built on scale degree 5 is notated as V7 (instead of 5 - 7).
When referencing a specific key, such as the key of C,
alphabetic letters replace Roman numerals to identify chords. Like
so (Table 41):
TABLE 41 The Seven Harmonic Degrees: Modified
Nashville Number System
Harmonic
Degree
|
I
|
II
|
III
|
IV
|
V
|
VI
|
VII
|
Modified
Nashville
Number
|
I
|
IIm
|
IIIm
|
IV
|
V
|
VIm
|
VIIº
|
Example:
Chords in
Key of
C/Am
|
C
|
Dm
|
Em
|
F
|
G
|
Am
|
Bº
|
One other thing: It's standard in "normal" chord notation to:
• Capitalize
the letter of the root chord (“A” for A major, instead of “a”)
• Use a capital M for a chord with a major seventh interval, as
AM7 (A major seventh)
• Use a lower case m for a chord based on a minor triad, as
Am7 (A minor seventh)
When using Nashville Numbers, always capitalize the equivalent
Roman numerals.
For
example, in the Nashville Number System, the chord Am7 in the key of C major/A
minor becomes "VIm7" (“six minor seventh” or "the minor seventh of the six
chord") in the Nashville Number System. The chord AM7 in the key of C major/A
minor becomes VIM7 (“six major seventh” or "the major seventh of the six
chord").
Some
people use lower case Roman numerals to signify “minor”. That is, vi = minor and
VI = major. For instance, they'll write in an e-mail to a friend: "yesterday i
was working on a chord progression in the key of c and i was playing a vi chord
..."
Now, would that be the chord A minor or the chord A major?
Don’t
do this. Do not use lower-case Roman numerals, ever. It
only breeds confusion.
Always use capital Roman numerals when using
Nashville Numbers.
Note,
however, that there’s no "world standard" on this issue, as there is, for
example, in tuning musical instruments, where "Concert A=440 Hz" is the
recognized world standard. So if you insist on using lower case Roman numerals
for minor chords, Marshal McDillon will not arrest you. But you might get
confused.
The Oldest Jordanaire
Neal Matthews is credited with devising the Nashville Number
System. For some 47 years, until his death in 2000, Matthews
sang tenor as a member of The Jordanaires, who gained
international fame as background vocalists for Elvis Presley, Jerry
Lee Lewis, Patsy Cline, Marty Robbins, Johnny Cash, George
Jones, Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Neil Young, and
hundreds of other great songwriters and performers.
The Jordanaires are still performing today. The oldest Jordanaire,
the legendary counter-tenor Little Willy Jim Bob Peabody, cut his
first record in 1886, at the dawn of the age of wax cylinder
recordings.
In 2006, Peabody celebrated his 120th year in show business with a backing
vocal performance on Celine Dion’s cover recording of the Metallica classic, “So
What.” Dion’s husband and manager, Rene Angelil, had to hire extra security for
the recording session to keep the frisky 143-year-old Jordanaire charmer at a
respectable distance from Dion, who apparently enjoyed all the attention, as she
often complains she doesn’t get enough. Attention.
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