What does this kind of chord notation mean?

[Shortfinger]

I am learning the Johnny Cash version of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt."

Here is one source for the printed lyrics with chord notation, and I printed it.

http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/jo...urt(4)-crd.pdf

If you know the song, the chorus is a steady pumping 1+2+3+4+ to the bar strum with all the chords having the same drone note, fret 3 on the high E sixth string.

But if you are kind enough to take a look at the page, tell me what is meant in the various places they note numbers with single quote marks.

As in Chorus 1, first line. Am 7' F

And second line, Am 8' F

In the outro, there are lots of them: Am F G4 4' G 7' G4/5' G/8' G4/6' G

[icuker]

I have never seen that before, but would it be a reference to what fret those chords move to? (like open version of Am to Am 7 fret, something like that?)

[Silly Moustache]

Hi Short fingers,

I don't know what those numbers mean either, but I wouldn't worry about them - after all, you will learn to make your own arrangement of the song and play it in whatever key suits you best.

There are lots of "how to play" videos on YouTube.

A D2 (odd term is simply a D triad replacing the 3rd (F#) with a 2nd (E)
A G4 is simply a G with a C added (I guess)

The Am8 - Huh?

Wouldn't worry about it - just make up your own progressions as it suits.

[rmp]

Inventive notations! no idea what some of those mean.

but if you see a D2, it's really a D add 9 in most cases, (don't play the F# in the D, the high E strings is played open)

[JonPR]

D2 (in this case) means Dsus2: x-x-0-2-3-0.

The "G4" probably means Gsus4, but it's wrong. The chords of the chorus are:

|Am7           |Fadd9   |C            |G        | 
|What have I become,       my sweetest friend

|Am7       |Fadd9      |C         |G        | 
 Everyone I know goes away in the end

   |Am7              |Fadd9  |G            |G      |
And you could have it all,    my empire of dirt

|Am7           |Fadd9   |G               |Am      |
 I will let you down,    I will make you hurt

I.e., there is no 4 or sus4 on any of the G chords, but there's a G on top of the Am, F and C chords. (The 3rd chord is definitely C, not G.)

[Shortfinger]

Thanks, all. I now think it might be an indicator of which strum in an 8-down 4/4 bar is emphasized.

And the G4 seems to mean Gadd4 as one said, using the index finger to add it in in as an accent. Watch the Paul Davids video of him doing ten songs with open chords. Hurt is #1.

The only music theory I know is 1-4-5, and I don't even know what that means. But I can count, and have now learned what "add 4" means.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Shortfinger

Thanks, all. I now think it might be an indicator of which strum in an 8-down 4/4 bar is emphasized.

And the G4 seems to mean Gadd4 as one said, using the index finger to add it in in as an accent. Watch the Paul Davids video of him doing ten songs with open chords. Hurt is #1.

You may be right. I was going by the Johnny Cash version. The 4th is certainly a common and acceptable embellishment of a G chord (in fact any major chord), it's just not used on his version, as far as I could tell.

[NormanKliman]

Do the symbols appear in other scores from that site? It doesn’t look like a source of precise and reliable information. I haven’t really looked at it, and my comment is based only on the size of the site (looks like thousands of scores) and the format of that particular score. I’ve found it’s best to be very careful to avoid investing time in unreliable sources. The advent of home computers seems to have improved the accuracy of transcriptions, but, as stated in another thread, there are many more resources available today, and not all of them are going to be accurante. I would focus my attention on the recording and not worry about the symbols.

[Ben M.]

Doesn't make much sense to me. I'd just find a different source.

I learned this one several years ago but have since forgotten it mostly. I do remember the "correct' way to play it is when you go from a C to a D in the verses you keep the C position and move it up two frets.