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  The theory behind the nashville number system is to use the chords from one key to play another, This requires you to use a capo which really just makes the illusion that you are playing the same chords...

  Most songs use very few chords so we will use the 'three major chords' that are in the Key of C in the first position, This happens to be on the 'phrygian' position of the major scale and the 'phrygian' position of all twelve keys will use the same arrangement of chords...

I. C major

IV. F major

V. G major

   The 'phrygian' mode for the key of C is the 'open strings > 3rd fret' so once you learn these three chords then you can 'immediately' play the three major chords for all twelve keys, This is done by using a capo and then pretending that the capo is the open position and then simply play the same three chords...

I. D major

IV. G major

V. A major

   When you put the capo on at the second fret then you are basically moving the 'phrygian' mode up two frets, If you can play the chords in the first three diagrams then you will have no problem playing the second three chords when using a capo, The first three chords are the major chords of the Key of C and the second three are the major chords of the Key of D...

Open strings > Key of C
1st fret capo > Key of Db
2nd fret capo > Key of D
3rd fret capo > Key of Eb
4th fret capo > Key of E
5th fret capo > Key of F
6th fret capo > Key of Gb
7th fret capo > Key of G
8th fret capo > Key of Ab
9th fret capo > Key of A
10th fret capo > Key of Bb
11th fret capo > Key of B
12th fret capo > Key of C

   Once you learn the key of C then you can play all twelve keys, From here you can learn to move the 'open position of the other eleven keys, Each key has a different set of 'chord shapes' on the opening position so let's show the same idea starting out with the key of G...

   At the open position of whatever key you are in you will find every chord possible within the first four frets, The 'three major chords' that are found in the open position for the key of G fall on the 'aeolian' mode...

I. G major

IV. C major

V. D major

   You will find these three 'chord shapes' in the exact same position in all twelve keys, When you learn the key of D then you can play the other eleven keys by using a capo, Putting a capo on the second fret moves the 'aeolian' mode up along with all the chords that are found in that cluster...

I. A major

IV. D major

V. E major

   If you are depending entirely on the nashville number system then the best keys to learn are C, G and D because all three of those keys use all six strings, The key is to learn to have the ablity to solve problems like "G moved up five frets equals what?"...

Open strings > Key of G
1st fret capo > Key of Ab
2nd fret capo > Key of A
3rd fret capo > Key of Bb
4th fret capo > Key of B
5th fret capo > Key of C
6th fret capo > Key of Db
7th fret capo > Key of D
8th fret capo > Key of Eb
9th fret capo > Key of E
10th fret capo > Key of F
11th fret capo > Key of Gb
12th fret capo > Key of G

   If you use the capo all the time then you should learn at least C, G and D so you won't have to capo past the 5th fret, Knowing these three keys will allow you to play all twelve keys in the lower position of the guitar...

Open strings > Key of D
1st fret capo > Key of Eb
2nd fret capo > Key of E
3rd fret capo > Key of F
4th fret capo > Key of Gb
5th fret capo > Key of G
6th fret capo > Key of Ab
7th fret capo > Key of A
8th fret capo > Key of Bb
9th fret capo > Key of B
10th fret capo > Key of C
11th fret capo > Key of Db
12th fret capo > Key of D

   Learning the keys outside of (C,G,D) would be redundant if you plan to use the capo forever, The other nine keys do not use all six strings which means you may have to play barre chords, Playing barre chords using the nashville number system is rare...

   The greatest advantage of using the nashville number system is NOT playing barre chords, Another advantage is being able to quickly learn all twelve keys, One thing you should realize is that you can find any chord, scale or mode in at least five different positions...

   If you play the 'three major chords' that are in the Key of C then there are five areas on the fretboard where you can find all three 'bunched together', The first position chords are not the only 'I. IV. V' you can play, Watch the 'shapes' of the Gmajor and Cmajor below as we show all five positions...

I. IV. V. first position...

  You can find the same three chords starting on the second fret, These chords are in the Key of C but the shapes change...

I. IV. V. second position...

   If you put a capo on the fith (5th) fret then you can still play in the Key of C, All of the keys have three natural capo points and the 5th fret is one for the Key of C, Two popular shapes (Cmajor and Gmajor) can be seen in the diagram below...

I. IV. V. third position...

   The fourth position chords show the familiar "C major shape", "E major shape" and "A major shape", When you look at a chord as a shape then you are assuming that it's an open string chord, Just imagine the 'red barres' are a capo...

I. IV. V. fourth position...

   When you are using a capo you want to avoid putting a capo up to high because all of your chords will be higher in pitch, You can put a capo on the 10th fret and play in the Key of C because its one of its' natural capo points, The chords at the fifth position are shown below...

I. IV. V. fifth position...

  The nashville number system most importantly pinpoints 'specific' chords in the event that you use complex chords, You may not want to lean on just shapes because when you extend chords then you find that most will have 'two shapes', See our lesson on Dominant Chords...