Sunday: Lead Sheet / Fake Book

Intimate and approachable, yet sophisticated. This melody unfolds with the ease of a good conversation, trusting the harmony to do the heavy lifting underneath. The changes suggest warmth and resonance rather than complexity.

Jazz pianists and vocalists building a working knowledge of Broadway standards belong here. Music students studying lead sheets as a language will find this ideal for practicing chord reading and harmonic thinking in a familiar context.

• Sketch in the chord extensions and alterations before the first rehearsal. Lead sheets demand active voicing decisions, so have a sense of your harmonic colors locked in.
• Keep the melody anchored and singable even when you're moving through chord changes. The tune is what people remember.
• Experiment with comping rhythms that sit behind the vocal line without cluttering it. Space is as important as the chords you're filling.

Slot this into a jazz or music theater elective where students are learning to read and improvise from changes. It also works as a solo feature for vocalists or pianist soloists in a concert or recital setting.

• Reading lead sheet notation and chord symbols
• Realizing harmonic voicings from changes
• Balancing melody and accompaniment
• Interpreting standards with personal musicality