Home Blues: Lead Sheet

This collection gives guitarists direct access to the harmonic architecture and melodic sophistication that defined American jazz standards. Over 100 songs means you're not sampling Gershwin; you're immersed in his vocabulary, which builds recognition and internalization in ways scattered songbooks cannot. The lead sheet format demands real musicianship from the player—you're interpreting, voicing, and making choices, not just reading notation.

Stepping into a room full of intelligent, witty melodies that sit beautifully under the hand. The harmonic movement is conversational and urbane; even straightforward songs surprise you with unexpected chord changes that feel inevitable once you hear them. There's elegance here, and enough rhythmic swagger to keep things grounded in the blues.

Jazz guitarists studying the standards repertoire, music students mining American songwriting for historical context and harmonic vocabulary, and performers preparing programs of classic American music. This is essential for anyone serious about understanding how to comp, solo, and arrange within the jazz tradition.

• Pay attention to Gershwin's chromatic passing chords and secondary dominants; they're not ornamental. They define the harmonic language and change how the melody lands.
• Use guide tones to navigate the changes. Gershwin's progressions are logical but often unexpected; tracking the movement of the third and seventh through each chord sharpens your solo conception.
• Approach the melody with rubato. These are songs written for singers and theater; they demand phrasing and breath, not metronomic accuracy.
• Experiment with reharmonization after you've played the chart straight. Gershwin's voicings are a foundation, not a ceiling.

Use this as a core text for jazz guitar study, returning to it across multiple semesters or years as your facility and harmonic understanding deepen. It's equally valuable for programming a vintage jazz concert, building a repertoire of duets for guitar and voice, or creating a research project on jazz standards and their theatrical origins.

• Reading lead sheets and composing chord-based accompaniments
• Recognizing and executing common jazz harmonic patterns (ii-V-I, secondary dominants, chromatic passing chords)
• Phrasing melody through changes and managing rubato in a rhythmic context
• Analyzing song form (AABA, ABAC, etc.) and identifying harmonic function within phrases
• Building a working vocabulary of standards and their variations across performances