Quoted from a response by David Brown in another thread:
I always try to use the same "numbering scheme" that David mentions here. I know that some folk use IIm to represent ii, and that the Nashville Number System often uses Arabic numerals to represent chords rather than Roman Numerals, but when writing about music, the way that David mentioned above has always been my choice and it's what I learned.Roman numerals indicate chords in a particular key
A ii chord (no need for the m, if it is major you use upper case II) is the chord built on the second scale degree of a major scale.
Chords in a major scale:
I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, vii dim
If you use full 4 note chords, it becomes
Imaj7, ii7, iii7, IVmaj7, V7, vi7, vii half-dim
Scale degrees are given in Arabic numerals:
C D E F G A B = 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
At any rate, I recently completed an introduction PDF on how numbers are used in music. I think it's a pretty thorough resource for newbies, but certainly not comprehensive. A lot of the music theory concepts had to be simplified, considering space and my own lack of knowledge.
I'd appreciate it if some of you would read through it and give me suggestions or comments about how to improve it or clarify any of the concepts. I do realize that my writing can be a bit too dry. Click the black box to open it.
Thanks in advance.
Alternatively, you can download a copy here: http://www.markgunter.net/lyrics/By_The_Numbers.pdf
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