How to Read Guitar Lead Sheet/fake Book?
Well here’s a question I just had to answering straight away:
Question: I just bought a guitar fake book and am having trouble reading some of the songs. This book contains the staff with specific notes on it, chords above the staff, and words under the staff. Most songs also have the tabs for the first few measures. Someone told me that the notes on the staff are the melody and the chords above are the rhythm.
I am trying to play lead, so do I just play the specific notes and ignore whatever is going on with the chords?
I am trying to learn some of the songs in this book with a friend of mine. The intent is for me to play lead while he does rhythm, and we can sort out who will sing later.
I used to be decent at reading sheet music, but that was in college and I don’t want to say how many years ago that was. I never encountered lead sheets or fake books before and am just unsure how to approach their format, i.e. chord charts above the staff. I’m used to each person having the music they need for what they are going to perform. Also, I have not had any professional guitar instruction.
I am trying to play lead, so do I just play the specific notes and ignore whatever is going on with the chords?
I am trying to learn some of the songs in this book with a friend of mine. The intent is for me to play lead while he does rhythm, and we can sort out who will sing later.
I used to be decent at reading sheet music, but that was in college and I don’t want to say how many years ago that was. I never encountered lead sheets or fake books before and am just unsure how to approach their format, i.e. chord charts above the staff. I’m used to each person having the music they need for what they are going to perform. Also, I have not had any professional guitar instruction.
Answer: It depends. If you are just trying to play the melody I would say just worry about the notes on the staff. If you are trying to improvise over the chord changes it would be a good idea to study them and memorize the changes. That way you can solo around the chord changes and maybe even toss them into your solos.
Maybe it’s time for you to get lessons and learn to read music.
If that is all you can do, then just play the melody. If you can add the chords then better.
The tab should give you an idea of what the book thinks the lead should do.
Your problem is that you’re expecting too much out of a "fake book." A fake book is different than regular sheet music….it’s intended to help musicians fake their way through songs that they don’t know or usually play. It’s not intended to show every note and lead part….just enough to get through the song and make it somewhat recognizable. Fake books are used by musicians who play gigs where they get a lot of requests. For instance, imagine playing in an intimate club, restaurant, or reception where you have an audience with diverse tastes. Some guy comes up and asks for the song that was playing when he proposed to his wife. You whip out the fake book.
The person who explained the organization of the fake book is correct. You have the words with chords. The notes on the staff show you the melody line for the vocal. The tab is showing you the intro or a specific "hook" that makes the song unique. It’s just enough info to get you through the song.
If you want to learn a song properly with all the correct leads and nuances, you’ll either need to develop your ear or get more detailed sheet music.
TommyMc had a nice answer, but he seems to have a negative view of a fake book. Fake books give you the basic information for a song: melody and harmony (with lyrics when applicable). So if you play those chords and somebody sings that melody with those words, you’ve got that song. The specifics about how you play those chords (or possibly embellish the melody) is up to you.
Here’s a whole bunch of versions of Miles Davis’ song "Tune Up"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYK3sHjGlKo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEWYIRxSHXU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjZmqHKgixk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbsPy7lHk5s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgagA4vrnMg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbUVadau_cs
Same melody… same chords… totally different versions. Why are they different? Different musicians make different choices.
So don’t think that a fake book is just for emergencies so you can create a passable impromptu arrangement of a song. It’s just the most basic elements of the song, which comes in handy in a variety of situations. You could use a lead sheet to create a really ornate and complicated arrangement of a song if you wanted!
I guess the moral of the story is that musicians don’t always have a specific written part that they need to play. Often times they just make it up on the spot. They’re not just pulling random stuff out of their butts though, they are making informed decisions about what to play, and they are basing those decisions off of the information in the lead sheet.
Mm…may be useful as a personal reference
http://yisi.info/153110/guitar-leads