#4 How to write a basic lead sheet in your key

Welcome back to “Jazz for the Classical Vocalist!” Now that you have chosen some songs and you know your keys, it's time to get some lead sheets together. Some more advanced players you work with will know hundreds of jazz tunes and can play them in most any key. However, it's likely that you'll work with instrumentalists who like to have a lead sheet, especially for tunes you're singing in a non-standard key.

If you can notate music very neatly, it's OK if you have hand-written charts. However, I strongly recommend that you learn how to notate music using computer software. The reasons for this are numerous.

• Once you are past the learning phase it's WAY faster.
• If you decide to change to a different key, the software can do that for you very quickly.
• If you need to edit anything else like chord symbols or to add an intro or ending, you don't have to re-write the whole thing.
• Computer notation is now the standard and it's much easier for your band to read.

There are a number of good programs that run from very expensive to free.

• Finale has several products to offer from a stripped-down free program to a very pricey pro version.
  1. Finale Notepad is their most basic version. It's free but it only works on Windows.
  2. Finale Printmusic costs $119 and has more advanced features. Like Notepad, only works on Windows.
  3. Finale is their powerful flagship software and comes in at a hefty $600 this one is available for both PC's and Mac's. You only need this if you think you'll be writing complex music with multiple parts.
• Like Finale, Sibelius has three different versions. All of them
  1. Sibelius First is free and can handle scores up to 4 parts.
  2. The Sibelius price structure is pretty complex and includes monthly subscriptions all the way to a “perpetual license” which gives you access to all new releases. This is a fairly robust program that can generate great looking scores with numerous parts.
  3. Sibelius Ultimate also has a complex pricing structure. This version is definitely a tool for pros and has all the bells and whistles. If you're just making simple lead sheets, you definitely don't need this version.
• NCH Software is billing their Notion 6 software as an alternative to Sibelius and Finale. If you see the brand name “Crescendo” it's exactly the same software. The price for the software is a lot more affordable that Sibelius and Finale. I haven't tried it yet, but it definitely has all the functionality you need to generate simple jazz charts. 
• Musescore is the most well-known and popular free music notation software. When you go to their website, you might be a little confused because it looks like a sheet music site. Musescore has taken a completely different approach by building a community of users who then share their scores. It's also sold as an app, so when you click “upload” you're actually taken to the app store. Most of my college students use Musescore because it's free and it works pretty well. It can be a little bit “buggy” but it's improving all the time.
• Noteflight is an online music notation software. I had a hard time with this one because I mostly use Sibelius and Musescore, and this interface is quite different. However, if you would prefer to work and save your material online, this is worth checking out. They offer a stripped-down free version, a premium version and one specifically for music education. Being an online platform, this one works with any operating system.
• Forte is another good option for PC users, but it's not available for Macs. The interface is pretty intuitive, so I think a reasonably computer-literate person would be up and running with it fairly quickly. There is a free basic version and a premium version that runs around $60.

My recommendation is to start with a free program like Musescore and decide later if you need to upgrade. If you're just making lead sheets, you'll probably find that the free programs are just fine.

Now, let's talk about what a good lead sheet looks like. Here's a simple lead sheet I made of the standard “All of Me.” It's clear, easy to read, and has just the bare minimum information one needs to get through the tune. 

(Turn around chords are chords that lead back to the beginning of the tune.)


Homework – Choose one tune from your list of four songs to begin with that needs to be transposed. Create a new lead sheet in your key using my lead sheet of “All of Me” as a template.