168 Par t 4:Accompanying
Working from a Lead Sheet
Here’s the 411: You’re given a sheet of music that includes the melody and the
chords—what musicians call a lead sheet.It will look something like this:With this lead sheet in hand, what do you play?
The temptation for many novice musicians is to play the melody with your
right hand and form the chords with your left hand.
You should resist this temptation.
When you read a lead sheet, the melody (also known as the lead) is provided for
your reference only. Unless you’re playing solo piano in a cocktail bar, you’re
not expected to play the melody—except, maybe, during instrumental breaks.
No, what you’re expected to play are the chords—along with any kind of embel-
lishment or harmony you can create to play behind the melody.
But the main thing you need from this situation is to play the chords, which
you have—printed in big, bold letters on your lead sheet. Play the chords them-
selves with your right hand, while you play the root note of the chord (the bass
line) with your left hand.
That’s all you have to play, and it isn’t hard at all.A typical lead sheet—melody and chord symbols.Learn more about lead
sheets and other types of
arrangements in Chap-
ter 19.NoteWhen you’re playing chords with your right hand, try to avoid playing
every chord in the standard 1-3-5 inversion. Try different inversions—
different voicings—to better group the notes from adjacent chords
together. (Turn back to Chapter 9 for more information on chord inver-
sions.) For example, if you’re alternating between the C and the F chord, you
might play the C chord C-E-G, but then play the F chord C-F-A (first inversion),
which lets you leave your thumb on the C note for both chords.TipWorking from a Chord Sheet
A chord sheet is like a lead sheet, but without the melody written out. Working
from a chord sheet is just like working from a lead sheet—play the chords with
your right hand and the root of the chord with your left. A typical chord sheet
looks like this: