Where You Go, I Go: Lead Sheet

This collection anchors guitar study in the most enduring and musically sophisticated standards in jazz. Over 100 Gershwin songs gives you genuine flexibility for recital programming, student performance choices, and repertoire exploration at multiple levels. The lead sheet format invites improvisation and arrangement creativity while keeping the focus on the melody and harmonic architecture that make these songs timeless teaching tools.

There is an unmistakable elegance and forward momentum to Gershwin's melodies, paired with harmonic language that keeps the ear engaged and the mind active. These songs swing with natural buoyancy while maintaining a sophisticated, urbane quality; they feel at home in a speakeasy or a concert hall with equal ease.

Jazz guitarists building a working repertoire, classical guitarists exploring the American standards, and music students learning to read and interpret lead sheets with harmonic depth. This collection serves both performers seeking recital material and educators building a comprehensive jazz curriculum around a single, universally respected composer.

• Study the changes before imposing your own rhythmic interpretation; Gershwin's harmonic progressions often contain unexpected chromatic movement that deserves clarity before reharmonization.
• Pay attention to the lyrical content even as an instrumentalist. Ira Gershwin's lyrics inform phrasing and breath in ways that elevate a straightforward lead sheet reading into genuine musical storytelling.
• Treat the melody as a springboard, not a constraint. The lead sheet format expects you to comp, suggest voicings, and develop the tune; the arrangement lives in your hands.
• Balance swing feel with precision in the changes. These songs reward a relaxed groove that never loses track of the harmonic sophistication underneath.

Feature Gershwin songs across a jazz or popular music recital as a thematic anchor, allowing different interpretations of familiar tunes to showcase your stylistic range. Use individual selections to introduce students to jazz standards within a classical guitar context, or build an entire student showcase around the breadth and variety this collection offers.

• Reading and interpreting jazz lead sheets
• Understanding and performing jazz harmony and chord substitutions
• Developing improvisation skills over sophisticated harmonic progressions
• Exploring different rhythmic feels and swing interpretations
• Building a working knowledge of American song standards and jazz repertoire