How Pro Bassists Learn Literally THOUSANDS Of Songs

(It’s Simpler Than You Think)

BecomeABassist.com

The Foundation: Nashville Number System (that lets you stop thinking in terms of notes)

The Nashville Number System lets you remember notes by relating them to the key that you are in
with the major scale of that key. For example - if we are playing a song in the key of C major, we
give each note in the C major scale a number.

Then, rather than trying to remember every individual chord or note that you have to play, you can
simply think in terms of numbers and the key and things become a lot easier. Instead of having to
remember C major, G major, A minor to F major, you can just think 1-5-6-4 in C.

You can find my YouTube video about the Nashville Number System here:
https://youtu.be/sVTiW4dC5NU

Chord Sequence 1: 12 Bar Blues

You’ve almost certain heard some blues songs before and it’s ever-present 12-bar structure, but just
in case you haven’t, it looks like this:
And if you’re looking for the geometry of finding the 1, 4 and 5 chords on your fretboard, here it is:

The simplicity of the 12 bar blues is what makes blues music so great to jam to. Get to grips with
this 12-bar blues sequence and you’ll be able to play along with loads of B.B. King blues classics,
Duffy’s ‘Mercy’ or Christina Aguilera’s ‘Candy Man’.

Practice Track: Click To Download 12 Bar Blues

Chord Sequence 2: 1-5-6-4

The 1-5-6-4 chord sequence feels like it’s everywhere. You’ll find it in songs like ‘With or Without
You’ by U2, ‘So Lonely’ by The Police, ‘Let it Be’ by The Beatles, ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ by
John Denver, ‘Take On Me’ by A-ha and so many more. There was even a viral video by a band called
Axis of Awesome, where they sing 47 different songs over this 4-chord sequence.

Notice that for this progression, we’ve switched to the key of D, but we can still think in terms of
numbers. That’s the beauty of the Nashville number system. For the geometry of this progression
on your fretboard:
Practice Track: Click To Download 1-5-6-4

Chord Sequence 3: 6-4-1-5

The 6-4-1-5 chord sequence is like the sad sister of the 1-5-6-4. The reason it’s the sad sister is
because we’re starting on the 6 chord - a minor chord, which makes things feel a lot more
melancholy. You hear this progression in the chorus of ‘Africa’ by Toto, ‘Zombie’ by the Cranberries,
Alice Cooper’s ‘Poison’, ‘Apologize’ by OneRepublic and Scott McKenzie’s ‘San Francisco (Be Sure To
Wear Flowers In Your Hair)’.

The cool thing about this progression is that you can use the same exact shapes and geometry to
find the roots of all the chords in this progression.

Practice Track: Click To Download 6-4-1-5

Chord Sequence 4: 1-6-4-5

The 1-6-4-5 chord sequence is one you hear a lot in classic love songs and doo-wop tunes of the
1950s, but it shows up all over music history. A great example of this is ‘Stand by Me’ by Ben E King
or The Righteous Brothers’ ‘Unchained Melody’.

On your fretboard:

Practice Track: Click To Download 1-6-4-5

Chord Sequence 5: 2-5-1

The 2-5-1 chord sequence pops up across all styles of music, especially jazz. You hear it in jazz
standards like ‘Autumn Leaves’ or ‘Satin Doll’, but also in more modern songs like ‘Sunday Morning’
by Maroon 5.

On your fretboard:

Practice Track: Click To Download 2-5-1

Once you get these chord progressions under your fingers and in your ears, you’ll start to hear them
everywhere - they’re just so common. And once you internalize the geometry of each of the
progressions, it becomes simple to play as well.

So make sure you download the tracks, play along with them, and memorize the shapes of each
progression, and you’ll have them in your hands and ears in no time.

Cheers,

Luke