Lead Sheet Tutorial
and supporting music
by Barbara Ann Fackler
The Lead Sheet Tutorial was printed in the fall 2007 issue of the Great
Lakes Harpers newsletter as a featured article. You may
download the tutorial, the
lead sheet associated with it and a full arrangement of the Three
Christmas Lullabies here. Click on the links below to grab the document
you need. If you have trouble reading the files in Safari,
try
another browser or download the PDF and read it off line. You'll need a
recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader (free) for the
files to properly
render.
lead
sheet tutorial This is a tutorial for
people new to reading lead sheets. It offers a
brief introduction to lead sheets and presumes basic knowledge of note
reading, key signatures and time signatures. If you are new
to reading lead sheets, grab the Common Chords chart as well.
Three Christmas Lullabies lead
sheet (version 1)
The tutorial refers to this lead sheet which contains three
Christmas lullabies in lead sheet format (melody and chords).
The
chords on this lead sheet are all in root position, which is easier for
novices. It includes only the lullabies, not the interludes,
intro and coda.
Common
Chords This
is a chart of the chords that ocurr naturally in keys
commonly used by lever harps. If you are new to reading lead sheets,
this reference guide will help you to be sure whether or
not the chords you need include accidentals (notes outside the key
signature).
You can
handle accidentals one of two ways: either omit the note or change
the lever to accomodate it, remembering to return your harp to the key
signature as soon as possible.
Three Christmas
Lullabies (sheet music for solo harp)
This full arrangement
offers a realization of the three lullaby melodies for those who need a
few
more ideas to get started. The harmony in the 4th bar of Wiegenlied of
this full arrangement is
different than version one of the lead sheet, which includes only root
position chords. While the tutorial
suggests using a four bar phrase as
the introduction, interludes and coda, you'll find that this version
adds one "extra" measure to one of the interludes than the tutorial
suggests. As you work out your own version, remember that the
length of the introduction and connecting phrases is subjective. They
may be as long or short as you wish and you may decide not to include
any at all. Also included is a brief tutorial about inverted chords.
Three Christmas Lullabies
advanced lead sheet (version 2)
This lead sheet matches the chords used in the full
arrangement
and includes some inversions. It includes only the lullabies, not the
interludes,
intro and coda.
Three Christmas
Lullabies
A harp duo version is available from Pretty Quick
Music. See the Harp Ensemble page for more
information.