Even though a worship team doesn’t require a detailed lead sheet all of the time, it’s good to have a written melody available for reference purposes. A chord chart will usually suffice on a weekly basis.
The Pros:
Offers a comprehensive, detailed representation of a song.
If composed with a software program like Finale®, a song’s key can be quickly and easily transposed on the fly; several songs can be put together by cutting and pasting different documents into one single chart.
Instrumental cues can be documented and written out for quick reference.
The proper lyric and melody can be notated together on the chart — eliminating disputes.
Everyone on the team can reference the song, including sections and measure numbers.
A single master chart is used for each song during rehearsal and performance, representing the “DNA” of the song.
The Cons:
Takes some musical training to read and compose charts.
Notation software is expensive and involves a significant amount of time and effort to learn.
Many songs require more than one page.
Difficult for worship leaders to use during performance.
Nashville Number System
This system was developed in the 1950s by Nashville session singer and member of the famed Jordanaires, Neal Matthews Jr., and was further developed by multi-instrumental session wiz, Charlie McCoy. The simple system replaces letter symbols for numbers when referring to chords in a song. In the key of G, for instance, the seven chords of the basic progression are:
G (1) Am (2m) Bm (3m) C (4) D (5) Em (6m) F#dim (7dim)
Most chord progressions in country and pop styles of music use a variation of the above sequence. Outside of using differing keys, most songs contain similar chord patterns. Take the common chord progression of G to C to D. By referring to the corresponding numbers next to the letters in the above diagram, the progression can also be written: 1 to 4 to 5. In the case of number system creator, Neal Matthews Jr., it was often necessary to change keys on the fly to suit the singer during a recording session. Instead of rewriting the charts, and using letters for chord symbols, the leader would provide number charts, making it easier, if necessary, to transpose to any key. That way, the chord progression of 1 to 4 to 5 in the key of A, is the equivalent of A to D to E; or in the key of D, D to G to A, and so forth (see example at end of section).
Many churches in and around Nashville use this method to chart out songs for the worship band. The numbers can easily be called out in groups of four measures at a time, and in a period of minutes, a band leader can call out an entire song. The limitation with this system is that, again, it’s difficult to call out rhythms and document melodies and instrumental cues.
There is no formal system of writing out Nashville numbers, but each player sticks to a few rules that keep the system organized on one page. It’s a great system to use as a quick reference.
The Pros:
Great system for calling out chords for a new song.
Song can be contained on a single sheet of paper.
Ideal for making key changes.
Useful for jotting down chords from a recording.
The Cons:
Takes effort to mentally transpose from key to key.
Lack of synchronized rhythmic notation further complicates the simplicity of the system.
Alternate chords, outside of the normal seven, can prove to be challenging, especially on the fly, with flat-6 and flat-7.
Like the chord-over-word charts, it’s not the most effective detailed representation of a song, especially for the purpose of creating a formal library of worship music.
