To add to what Mario said, I also don't enter numbers in BIAB and for sure not Do, Re, Mi.

For me, I try to speak the common language of the place I am at. BIAB is only one of the many tools I have. I also play live under many conditions, band, solo, studio, and others.

If I am using BIAB or writing by hand on paper or using a standard notation program, I will use chord names.

I use the "1,4,5" idea to communicate on stage. I could hold up four fingers to tell the bass player to go to the four chord for example. It all depends on who I am playing with and what they know.

If you were in a studio in LA the Nashville number system would not be used much. The top studio players could very well know and understand it. In Nashville, it is the most common way to communicate although there are versions differences from studio to studio.

As Mario alluded to, the 1,4,5 does not give you the key. If I wanted to say that to someone I would say "this is a one four five in the key of Bb for example. So then we know that the four is going to be Eb and the five F.

The more complex your writing becomes and the greater the number of styles you start to play, the more music theory becomes useful. The greater the number of different musicians at various levels you interact with, the greater the need for knowledge of music theory becomes.

Also, sixty years into messing around with music, I still have a major chord chart, a natural minor chord chart, and a circle of fifths chart hanging on the wall in front of me. Then I don't have to try to remember what the fifth of Db is...lol

Billy

New location, new environment, new music coming soon

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