Lead sheet

A lead sheet

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A lead sheet is a form of music notation that specifies the essential elements of a popular song: the melody, lyrics and harmony. The melody is written in modern Western music notation, the lyric is written as text below the staff and the harmony is specified with chord symbols above the staff.

Together, the melody, lyrics and harmony define what a song is. In the music industry and entertainment law, a lead sheet is the document used to describe a song for legal purposes. For example, a lead sheet is the form of a song to which copyright is applied—if a songwriter sues someone for copyright violation, the court will compare lead sheets to determine how much of the song has been copied. Or if a song is considered for an Academy Award or a Grammy, the song is submitted for consideration in the form of a lead sheet.^[1]

The lead sheet does not describe the chord voicings, voice leading, bass line or other aspects of the accompaniment. These are specified later by an arranger or improvised by a performer,^[2] and are aspects of the arrangement or performance of a song, rather than a part of the song itself.

A lead sheet is often the only form of written music used by a small jazz ensemble. One or more musicians will play the melody while the rest of the group improvises an appropriate accompaniment based on the chord progression given in the chord symbols, followed by an improvised solo also based on the chord progression. Similarly, a sufficiently skilled jazz pianist should be able to accompany a singer and perform a song by himself using only a lead sheet.

Lead sheets are also called fake sheets and collections of lead sheets are called "fakebooks," as in the old cliché "I don't know the song but if you hum a few bars I can fake it." The most famous fakebook is called, ironically, "The Real Book"

"Come in from the Rain" lead sheet excerpt

See also

• Chord chart
• Chord symbol
• Impro-Visor, GUI and text-based editor for leadsheets
• MuseScore, free and open source music notation program with lead sheet template
• Wikifonia, online repository of lead sheets in musicXML format

References

External links

• Gospel Lead Sheet Examples - Gospel lead sheets typically include the lyrics with the chords written above them.
• Jazz Lead Sheets Online - Jazz lead sheets and solo transcriptions
• Wikifonia - A wiki for Pop/Rock/Jazz/... Lead Sheets in high-quality pdf.
• Leadsheet Notation Textual notation for creating, communicating, and playing leadsheets.

v • d • e Musical notation and development Staff Bar & Bar line · Clef · Da Capo · Dal Segno · Key signature · Ledger line · Musical mode · Musical scale · Rehearsal letter · Repeat sign · Time signature · Transposition · Transposing instrument Notes Accidental (Flat · Natural · Sharp) · Dotted note · Grace note · Note value (Beam · Note head · Stem) · Pitch · Rest · Interval  · Letter notation Articulation Dynamics · Ornament (Trill · Mordent · Grace note) · Ossia · Portato · Accent · Legato · Tenuto · Marcato · Staccato · Staccatissimo · Tie · Slur · Fermata Development Coda · Exposition · Harmony · Melody · Motif · Recapitulation · Rhythm (Beat · Meter · Tempo) · Theme · Tonality · Atonality Related Chord chart · Figured bass · Graphic notation · Lead sheet · Eye music · Modern musical symbols · Neume · Tablature

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