How numbers are used in music

Posted on August 2, 2007
Filed Under Simple Music Theory |

(This response was given to a question regarding how numbers are used in communicating musical concepts. - JDM)

Dave,

There are a couple of things you could be referring to.

If you are referring to the numbers that are shown on tabs, these numbers tell you what fret to play the note in. The thing to keep in mind is that your hand can fairly easily cover a four fret section of the neck. If you are playing chords up the neck, position your hand so that you can fret the notes without having to stretch your fingers too far apart.

If you are referring to numbers that are part of the chord name, that refers to notes that are added to the basic three note chord. If that is the case here is what the numbers mean:

A chord is any group of 3 or more notes played at the same time. The most common way to build a chord is to start with a note in a scale and play leap frog. Let’s take the first note of a major scale as an example. The first note is the root of the chord - the note that gives the chord it’s name. Skip the 2nd note. Choose the 3rd note. Skip the 4th note. Choose the 5th note. When you play the 3 notes that have been selected you have a major triad (3-note chord). If you follow the same procedure with the 2nd note of the scale you come up with a minor triad.

The extra numbers that I think you are asking about have to do with adding other notes from the scale to the basic triad. A 7th chord is the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th notes of a scale played at the same time. If you were to do this with a G major scale the chord build on the first note of the scale would be a G major 7th (Gm7). The chord built on the 2nd note of that scale would be an A minor 7th (Am7). Other numbers that appear in chord names refer to other notes of the scale that are added to the chord. In a G2 chord the 3rd note of the scale is replaced by the 2nd note of the scale. In a Gsus4 the 3rd is replaced with the 4th note of the scale.

There is a lot that can be said about chord construction and chord naming but hopefully this will help answer your question.

All the best,
John

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