Sheet Music Made Easy

A lead sheet is one page that shows a song's melody, its chord symbols and its lyrics, and nothing else. Everyone in the band reads the same page and fills in their own part: the singer takes the melody, the piano and guitar read the chords, the bass follows the roots. It is the working document of jazz, pop and worship gigs. The short version Three things only: melody, chord symbols, lyrics. It is not a piano part. No left hand, no voicings, no arrangement. A chord chart drops the melody. A full score writes out every player's part. If it fits on one page, nobody turns a page in the middle of the tune. On this page What a lead sheet is  ·  Lead sheet vs chord chart vs score  ·  What goes on the page  ·  Write one in six steps  ·  Common mistakes  ·  FAQ What a lead sheet is Think of it as the shortest complete description of a song. The melody tells you the tune and the exact rhythm. The chord symbols abo...

D.S. al Coda means: go back to the sign, play from there, and when you reach “To Coda”, jump to the Coda section and finish there. That one sentence solves most of the panic. The rest of this guide shows you the other road signs, the order they happen in, and the three places where bands fall apart. The short version D.C. = go back to the beginning . D.S. = go back to the sign . al Fine = after you jump back, stop at the word Fine . al Coda = after you jump back, play until To Coda , then jump to the Coda . Fine and To Coda do nothing the first time through. You only obey them after a jump. On this page The six road signs  ·  Walking through a D.S. al Coda  ·  D.C. al Fine vs D.S. al Coda  ·  Repeats and endings  ·  Where players get lost  ·  FAQ The six road signs Every one of these is just a direction: keep going , go back , or stop . Repeat barlines Play what is between the dots twice. 1st / 2nd ...

  You open a chart and see   Cmaj7 – A7(♭9) – Dm9 – G13sus . If that line makes your stomach drop a little, this guide is for you. Chord symbols look like a secret code, but they follow a small set of rules. Once you know the rules, you can read almost any chord on a lead sheet in a second or two. We'll go in the same order your eyes should: root → quality → seventh → extras → bass note . 1. The root: the big letter Every chord symbol starts with a capital letter from A to G. That letter is the root — the note the chord is built on and usually the note the bass plays. A sharp (♯) or flat (♭) right after the letter belongs to the root: B♭ , F♯ , E♭ . If you only have time to read one thing while sight-reading, read the root. It tells you where the harmony is. 2. The quality: major, minor, and friends What comes right after the root tells you the basic color of the chord. Here are the triads (three-note chords) using C as the root: You see It means Notes (on C) ...