Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [lead-sheets]

For questions related to lead-sheet notation, the practice standard in popular music and jazz of providing only melody and chords.

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How to choose a key signature for a song that modulates often?

In jazz, let's say, how would one choose a key signature for writing a lead sheet for a song where keys change every few measures or faster? Is writing the key changes explicitly going to be helpful or distracting? And if it isn't helpful, should…
Duncan Malashock
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How to find scales to improvise with for "How Insensitive" by Jobim

I am pretty new to improvisation. So far I have improvised over a 2 5 1 change using the diatonic 7th chords and the underlying scale tones that fit in with that chord. I am playing on a guitar. As a precursor I will state what concepts I understand…
cuppajoeman
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What Android app is most used for reading music in performance?

My band has around 250 tunes frequently played as two tune medleys. Setlists can be pre-arranged or set up on the fly to compensate for local weather conditions. Kind of like a jazz band, but we're not, we're really not. None of the tunes are…
empty
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What is the meaning of these lines connecting notes?

I am trying to use a software called guitar pro to copy the sheet music and play the tracks. I am currently stuck in this track as I am not able to understand what does the dot and the little symbol above the notes (in the blue circle) mean. Any…
adhithya ravichandran
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What do these chord annotations mean?

What do the chords in parentheses mean, and how could you play Bm7 and B♭M7 at the same time?
Stephen
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Who decides chord details in published songs?

I like to make lead sheets of songs like this to learn to improvise from, condensing the published sheet music down to a single page with no turns. In working from my two copies of It's Only A Paper Moon I ran into this difference It's a subtle…
Kevin G.
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Em/C: Sound Notation, or Dirty Shorthand?

A recent post about slash chords got me started thinking about whether it is technically "correct" to use a slash chord to mark a root position chord. For example, in C/E, the root is C. In Gm9/F, the root is G. In general, slash chords follow the…
user45266
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how can you write chords and bassline in the bass clef?

I am learning how to write in 12/8 time and worked out something on the piano but not sure if it is right. The chords are quite low so the bass line feels a bit lost underneath the way I have written it. Here is the score so far (melody still to…
armani
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Creating lead sheets using MuseScore

I'm trying to separate a choral arrangement into simplified individual sheets for the different parts and instruments. Need to be able to create a sheet with: Music Lyrics Chords I have issues adding lyrics. When I press Cmd+K to enter chords, the…
galdin
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How do you set the number of measures per line or page in LilyPond / Frescobaldi when you have a score with multiple instruments?

As I am doing an arranging project, I was wondering how to set the number of measures per line and therefore page as it is a score with a rhythm section and five horns. I have seen these pages (line breaking and using an extra voice for breaks), but…
Guest Poster
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How do I get chords that last half a measure to display correctly in 6/8 in LilyPond / Frescobaldi?

I am currently using a lead sheet template to make a reference lead sheet for someone (I am looking to see if the chords that I found are correct, but that is a whole other problem). In LilyPond / Frescobaldi, I cannot get the chords to the C…
Guest Poster
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What is my 7 if a chord does not specify the 7th?

I'm learning jazz and playing from lead sheets and am confused about how to handle triads that do not explicitly say what to do with the 7th. If the lead sheet I'm playing from just describes a chord as G, what are my guide tones for that? If I…
kitfox
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Cb/B problem while creating lead sheet

I'm making a lead sheet of the song "One" by Esperanza Spalding. I chose the key of Bb because the song feels the most "at home" when the progression lands there at the guitar solo after the 3rd chorus. You could alternatively say it's in Db, which…
yerman
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Why and how to play chord progression?

As a pianist who have only experienced classical music yet, I recently got my hands on The jazz theory book, because I am curious about this kind of music that is totally new to me. The theory is focused on chords progressions and the scales that…
abernard
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Keys in Real Book vs. Real Vocal Book

I like seeing the lyrics to jazz standards, but I would also like to practice standards in their original/standard keys. How many tunes in the Real Vocal Book "High Voice" (which has the lyrics) are actually transposed compared to their Real Book…
A7AF
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