20 Preparing Lead Sheets

This tutorial not only provides methods for creating a range of lead sheets (from very basic to more complex) but also reviews a few key subjects. My suspicion is that more of you will use Logic Pro’s Score Editor for creating chord charts and lead sheets than anything else.

A lead sheet commonly refers to a score with a part or parts for melodic soloists or singers with lyrics, plus a part for an accompanist (usually a pianist). Although this short tutorial mostly consists of completing tasks I covered in earlier tutorials, this topic is more complex than preparing chord charts, for several reasons.

The main reason it’s more complex has to do with the nature of the lead sheet’s purpose. It also relates to the accompanist’s training and habits. If the singer is pop or country, for instance, the pianist is likely to be most comfortable with the approach explained in Tutorial 19. Indeed, the singer may have only rudimentary (or no) skills with reading traditional two-stave piano notation. Others, particularly in musical theater, may sight read the heck out of traditional two-stave piano notation but have no clue about how to play from the kind of chord charts explored in Tutorial 19. Still others will want to see the traditional two-stave piano notation plus chord symbols so they can use both to help rehearse singers. On the other hand, ....