Alead sheet orfake sheet is a form ofmusical notation that specifies the essential elements of apopular song: themelody,lyrics andharmony. The melody is written inmodern Western music notation, the lyric is written as text below thestaff and the harmony is specified withchord symbols above the staff.
The lead sheet does not describe thechordvoicings,voice leading,bass line or other aspects of theaccompaniment. These are specified later by an arranger orimprovised by the performers,[1] and are considered aspects of the arrangement or performance of a song, rather than a part of the song itself. "Lead" refers to a song's leadpart, the most important melody line or voice.
A lead sheet may also specify an instrumental part or theme, if this is considered essential to the song's identity. For example, the openingguitar riff fromDeep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" is a part of the song; any performance of the song should include the guitar riff, and any imitation of that guitar riff is an imitation of the song. Thus the riff belongs on the lead sheet.
A collected volume of lead sheets may be known as afake book, due to the improvisational nature of its use: when presented with a lead sheet, proficient musicians may be able to "fake it" by performing the song adequately without a full score.[2] This is in contrast to afull score, in which every note to be played in a piece is written out. Since fake books and lead sheets only give a rough outline of the melody and harmony, the performer or arranger is expected to improvise significantly.
A lead sheet is often the only form of written music used by a smalljazz ensemble. One or more musicians will play the melody while the rest of the groupimprovises an appropriateaccompaniment based on thechord progression given in thechord symbols, followed by an improvised solo also based on the chord progression. Similarly, a sufficiently skilled harmony player (e.g. ajazz pianist or ajazz guitarist) is able to accompany a singer or perform a song by themselves using only a lead sheet.
Lead sheets are not intended for novices. Sometimes, melodies withsyncopation are written with the syncopation omitted, so the reader must be familiar with the songs "by ear" to play the melodies correctly.[example needed] Some32 bar forms do not have a printed melody during the "B" section, as the lead instrumentalist is expected to improvise one. Similarly, the chord progressions for someblues tunes omit theturnaround (often simply indicating two bars on the tonic), as it is expected that an experienced jazz player will know the appropriate turnarounds to insert (e.g., (I–VI7–ii–V7). The reader needs to have thorough familiarity withextended chords (e.g., C13) andaltered chords (e.g., C7♯11). Introductions and codas are often omitted, as it is expected that players will know the familiar intros and codas used on specific songs. Lead sheets are often bound together in a fake book.
Sheets containing only the chord progressions to the song are often calledchord charts or chord sheets, to distinguish them from lead sheets. These sheets could be used by the rhythm section instruments to guide their improvised accompaniment and by lead instruments for their improvised solo sections, but since they do not contain the melody, they can be used in performances only by players who have the melodies memorized. Chord charts are commonly used at informal "jam sessions" and at jazz shows at smallnightclubs and bars.
The melody, lyrics, and harmony define what a song is. In themusic industry andentertainment 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 whichcopyright 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.[3] If a song is considered for anAcademy Award or aGrammy, the song is submitted for consideration in the form of a lead sheet.[citation needed]
A predecessor to lead sheets was created in May 1942 when George Goodwin, a radio station director, released the first Tune-Dex cards. Printing on 3-by-5-inch (7.6 by 12.7 cm)index cards that had the same size as library catalog cards, Goodwin provided lyrics, melody and chord symbols as well as copyright information.[4] Goodwin also promoted the cards to professional musicians until 1963, when poor health forced his retirement. For many years the "standard" fake books were called simply "Fake Books". All were composed of songs unlawfully printed, with noroyalties paid to the copyright owners. In 1964, theFBI's Cleveland, Ohio, office observed that "practically every professional musician in the country owns at least one of these fake music books as they constitute probably the single most useful document available".[4]
The first two volumes,Fake Book Volume 1 andFake Book Volume 2, issued in the late 1940s and 1950s, together comprised about 2000 songs dating from the turn of the 20th century through the late 1950s. In the 1950s theModern Jazz Fake Book, Volumes 1 and 2 was issued, andFake Book Volume 3, containing about 500 songs, came out in 1961. The music inFake Books 1,2, and3 wasphotocopied or reset with a musical typewriter from the melody lines of the originalsheet music. Usually chord symbols, titles, composer names, and lyrics were typewritten, but for a number of songs these were all photocopied along with the melody line.
The threeFake Books were well indexed, alphabetically as well as by musical genre andBroadway show. Although the tunes in theFake Books were compiled illegally, the creators printed copyright information under every song — perhaps to give the false impression that theFake Books were legal, or to show respect for the creators. TheModern Jazz Fake Book was divided into two sections, each indexed separately asVolume One andVolume Two. The music was transcribed by hand from recordings, and each transcription included performer name, record label, and catalog number. Unlike today's fake and "real" books that have "jazz" in their titles, theModern Jazz Fake Book included no standards, but only original tunes written and recorded by jazz musicians. All these books have been long out of print, though music students have photocopied the books from other musicians. Fake books originally infringedcopyrights, and their circulation was primarilyunderground.
During the school year of 1974–75, an unidentified group of musicians based at theBerklee College of Music in Boston published theReal Book.[5] Bass guitaristSteve Swallow, who was teaching at Berklee at that time, said the students who edited the book intended "to make a book that contained a hipper repertoire, more contemporary repertoire".[4] It was popular and in its turn spawned a number of "fake Real Books". Swallow's 1994 albumReal Book features his original compositions, but the cover art mimics a spiral-bound, coffee-stained fake book used by jazz musicians.
In the 2000s, some types of "real books" have been published which fully respect copyright laws. In the same period, someelectronic "fake books" became available, which offer instanttransposition. This facilitates the performance of music at shows where some performers have transposing instruments, or in shows with a singer who wants the band to play in a different key to accommodate theirvocal range.
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