Hair: Lead Sheet / Fake Book

This lead sheet opens Hair to musicians across skill levels and instrumental configurations. The rock and pop vocabulary feels immediate and engaging for students, while the harmonic language rewards close listening and offers real teaching moments about blues changes, borrowed chords, and modal mixture.

Infectious and unpolished in the best way, with the swagger of late-1960s rock filtered through theatrical sensibility. There's optimism in the melody and a groovy elasticity to the rhythm that makes you want to move; the harmonies feel both familiar and slightly askew, catching you off guard just when you think you know where the song is heading.

Keyboard players, vocalists, and jazz ensembles looking to expand their repertoire beyond traditional standards. Music teachers can use this for improvisation practice, chord study, and introducing students to the language of rock musicals. Perfect for contemporary jazz combos or for supplementing a musical theater unit.

• Anchor the groove with a steady comping rhythm in the left hand; MacDermot's arrangements benefit from a relaxed, locked-in feel rather than rigid timekeeping.
• Pay attention to the chord symbols for substitutions and color tones that shift the harmonic flavor; these often define the era-specific sound.
• Balance the melody line so it sits naturally over your voicings without either drowning out the harmony or sounding separated from it.
• Experiment with which register you play the chords in based on the vocal range you're accompanying; the lead sheet format gives you freedom to voice creatively.

Slot this into a concert celebrating rock and pop influences on musical theater, or pair it with other MacDermot selections for a Hair-focused set. It works equally well in a jazz or contemporary music unit where students study popular song forms outside the American songbook tradition. Solo performance or small ensemble contexts both benefit from the flexibility of the lead sheet format.

• Interpreting lead sheet symbols and creating voiced accompaniments from chord charts
• Comping in rock and pop idioms with attention to groove and pocket
• Reading and responding to modal and non-diatonic harmony common to 1960s rock
• Balancing melody support with textural contribution in accompanying roles
• Improvising voicings and arranging choices based on the instrumentation available