# How come my teacher's never told me about this simple chord relationship on the guitar? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 12, 2019, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-my-teachers-never-told-me-about-this-simple-chord-relationship-on-the-guitar/838541 "2019-08-12T08:19:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-my-teachers-never-told-me-about-this-simple-chord-relationship-on-the-guitar/838541/41 "2020-01-21T16:26:50Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Hmm, I’d always done that with the ring finger and it’s slightly uncomfortable. You’re right, it’s better with the pinky. Yeah, I do ring finger myself. I just tried pinky, and it feels super awkward to me. Depends on your hands I guess, but for me, my hand just smooshes up in a weird position trying to hold down the three strings with my pinky. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-my-teachers-never-told-me-about-this-simple-chord-relationship-on-the-guitar/838541/42 "2020-01-21T16:31:55Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > My guitar teacher had 25 years experience but had never heard of Nashville tuning. Even really good people don’t know everything. I think you mean “Nashville numbering” or the “Nashville number system.” In my experience, it is pretty niche. Most musicians I know are familiar with Roman numeral analysis to some degree, but I’ve never met one who writes up a proper Nashville chord chart like [this](https://rwtc.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/blog_nashville_numbers2.jpg). It’s clearly used by a lot of (session) musicians working in that industry, but it’s hardly universal. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-my-teachers-never-told-me-about-this-simple-chord-relationship-on-the-guitar/838541/43 "2020-01-21T17:36:35Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, I do ring finger myself. I just tried pinky, and it feels super awkward to me. Depends on your hands I guess, but for me, my hand just smooshes up in a weird position trying to hold down the three strings with my pinky. I have some arthritis in my hands, so it’s easier for me to use the pinky. There are a number of tricks I have to use (probably unconsciously) in order to play without a lot of discomfort, like using four fingers for an aggressive bend. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-my-teachers-never-told-me-about-this-simple-chord-relationship-on-the-guitar/838541/44 "2020-01-21T17:40:52Z")
I have always suspected that “Nashville Numbering System” meant something more profound than numbering the chords of the various degrees of the scale. To be honest, this stuff gets real complicated real fast when trying to describe to classically trained musicians. When I say “we’re playing the 4 chord” my wife, a classical pianist, has to pause and think about it. If I start saying “a ii-V-I sounds good because it’s the V of the V” then I am looking at glazed-over eyes. She is a far better musician than I ever will be, but the slippery combination of “what key are we really in” and chordal relationships baffle her. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-my-teachers-never-told-me-about-this-simple-chord-relationship-on-the-guitar/838541/45 "2020-01-21T17:55:28Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > I have always suspected that “Nashville Numbering System” meant something more profound than numbering the chords of the various degrees of the scale. There is a bit more to the notation than that. I don’t know the ins and outs of it, but they use various symbols to also indicate rhythms and things like that. Like a chord with a diamond around it means “let it ring out.” A chord with an upward carat and a dot means to choke it. A “-” before a chord number means “minor.” Then there’s notation you may be used to from jazz and the such, like a triangle means “major 7” chord and stuff like that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-my-teachers-never-told-me-about-this-simple-chord-relationship-on-the-guitar/838541.md?page=2)