I Got the Blues: Lead Sheet

This fake book captures the Stones' evolutionary arc across their most formative decade, grounding each song in performance-ready lead sheets that include essential riffs and figures. For guitarists studying rock songwriting and arrangement, the 29 songs with guitar TAB sections offer direct access to the band's foundational riff vocabulary. The historical context provided by the discography, essay, and reproduced early sheet music creates a learning resource that connects transcription work to cultural and musical history.

These 167 songs span the Stones' evolution from raw blues interpretation to psychedelic experimentation, capturing the raw energy of their early records and the sophistication of their mid-period work. Playing through this collection immerses you in the rhythmic drive and guitar-forward songwriting that defined 1960s rock music.

Guitarists preparing for jazz standards gigs, rock repertoire study, or auditions will find the lead sheets and TAB sections invaluable. This book serves advanced students and working musicians who need both quick-reference performance materials and deeper study of how iconic riffs and solos were constructed. It's equally suited to music educators teaching rock history, songwriting, or arrangement through primary sources.

• Study the included instrumental riffs as part of your solo arrangement. These figures are essential to how the songs are recognized, and incorporating them strengthens your interpretation.
• Use the guitar TAB section to learn the recorded solos and riffs note-for-note, then practice transposing them to other keys to build your comfort with the Stones' characteristic phrasing.
• Reference the full-color discography and original sheet music reproductions to hear these songs in your mind as you work through the lead sheets. Knowing the era and context of each track informs your performance choices.
• Work through the early blues covers (Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly material) to understand how the Stones adapted and personalized their sources, sharpening your own arranging instincts.

Program individual songs from this book alongside standards-based jazz or pop repertoire to demonstrate how rock songwriting draws from and diverges from earlier traditions. In a music history or songwriting curriculum, pair the lead sheets with the reproduced original artwork and discography notes to teach both the musical and cultural evolution of the band. Guitarists preparing a solo recital can draw performance pieces from the most singable material while using the TAB section for arrangement study.

• Reading lead sheets with essential instrumental riffs notated
• Transcribing and interpreting guitar riffs from TAB notation
• Identifying blues structures and their adaptation into rock songs
• Analyzing chord progressions across multiple keys and contexts
• Developing arrangement choices by comparing original recordings to lead sheet layouts
• Understanding rock songwriting conventions from 1963-1971