Lead Sheets
Our Lead Sheet books are designed to work together. Each book is available in six different versions. The books contain the same songs, but each one is for a specific category of instruments based on the clef they use or how they transpose. Using two or more of the books together allows different instruments to play the same music together. The six series are listed below along with examples of instruments that can use each book:
| Series | Clef | Compatible Instruments |
|---|---|---|
| C Instruments | Treble | flute, guitar, oboe, piano, violin |
| B-flat Instruments | Treble | clarinet, soprano and tenor saxophone, trumpet |
| E-flat Instruments | Treble | alto and baritone saxophone, alto and E-flat clarinet |
| F Instruments | Treble | English horn, French horn |
| Alto Clef Instruments | Alto | alto trombone, mandola, viola |
| Bass Clef Instruments | Bass | C instruments including bass guitar, bassoon, cello, double bass, trombone, tuba |
The list of compatible instruments for each series are only examples. Many other instruments can use the lead sheets.
The music in the books is in a variety of keys. C, B-flat, E-flat, and F refers to the transposition, not a musical key. For example, a C instrument is one that sounds at the written pitch (i.e., doesn't transpose), while B-flat instruments sound a whole step (or major second) lower than written. Read this article to learn more about transposing instruments.
What Is a Lead Sheet?
A lead sheet is a music format that includes only the most important elements like melody, lyrics, and chord symbols, but doesn't include things like an accompaniment, bassline, phrasing, or dynamics. Read this article for a more detailed explanation.
How to Use a Lead Sheet
Lead sheets can be used in various ways. Here are a few examples:
- Playing the melody
- Creating an impromptu arrangement using the melody and chord symbols
- Improvising using the chord progressions
- Creating an accompaniment for a singer
- Creating a bassline from the chord symbols
Compatibility
Our lead sheet books are designed to be used together. Books with the same title (e.g., Celtic Songs) and cover design contain the same music, but for different categories of instruments. Using two or more books together allows you to play with a wide variety of transposing and non-transposing instruments. For example, piano, clarinet, and alto saxophone could play together by using the C Instruments, B-flat Instruments, and E-flat Instruments books for the same music.
Souding Pitch
The music is arranged so the sounding pitch will be the same for each version. Note that pitches may be in a different octave depending on the version. For example, the bass clef version is generally transposed down one octave.
Layout
The music generally has the same layout for each title across all of the collections. This may not always be possible due to some music (especially bass clef and E-flat instrument versions) requiring more ledger lines.
Instrument Range and Other Limitations
While the music is within a reasonable range for most instruments, it isn't guaranteed to work on all instruments of a particular type. We consider instrument range and limitations when creating lead sheets, but some music may have notes outside the range of your instrument.
We don't alter the music to deal with these situations because there are too many variables such as the title, the instrument, the limitations of the player, etc. If a title exceeds the range of your intstrument, you may be able to do one of the following:
- Transpose the part up or down an octave
- Substitute other notes for the out of range parts
- Leave out the notes altogether
What Is Included
Music in our lead sheet products includes:
- Melody in notation
- Lyrics if the original music includes them
- Chord symbols above the music
Required Skills
- How to read music notation
- How to read chord symbols
- How to interpret chord symbols to create an accompaniment or improvise
Difficulty Level
The difficulty level varies by title and the type of music. Most music is relatively easy, but some titles are more difficult. For example, classical themes may include faster and more complex rhythms (e.g., triplets and 16th notes). The range of difficulty is generally easy to intermediate with occasional music above this level.
Chords
Chord symbols are included above the music. The chords are based on the original sheet music for the title, but may vary due to the following:
- Reducing rapid or complicated chord changes
- Different ways of interpreting the harmony
- Combining ideas from different sources
- Introducing our own ideas where it makes sense
- Our source had a different harmony from the version you know
- Substitutions to simplify the harmony (e.g., replacing Bdim with G7)
Some titles may include chord inversions or frequent chord changes.
Lyrics
We generally include up to 6 verses within the music. If there are verses beyond this, they will be placed at the end of the music as text.
Lyrics may vary from the version you know. Some songs include many variations in lyrics, which may not be standardized. It isn't always possible to create a version of the lyrics that is familiar to everyone.
Tempo
Most titles include a text tempo and metronome marking. The metronome tempos are editorial suggestions in most cases. Feel free to choose your own tempo.