Talk:Lead sheet

"Fake"
The word "fake" here refers to the oft-heard statement, "I don't know it but I can fake it." A musician who has heard (but not practiced or rehearsed a song) may often be able to play it immediately, upon request - playing by ear. But it's easier with a lead sheet which supplies melody, lyrics and chord symbols.

A "fake book" is an assemblage of several lead sheets, and there is nothing illegitimate about this, even if jazz musicians cherish one historical example that violated copyright law.

If a piano part is given, then it's no longer a lead sheet but standard sheet music for a song. But even collections of songs are called 'fake books'. --Uncle Ed 02:02, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Everything here seems accurate and well written. It makes sense to the common man and to the musician. I don't see what the issue is. --D. James 23:46, 12 May 2007 (UTC)

I've rewritten this from a slightly more professional point of view and removed the "rewrite" flag.CharlesGillingham 12:23, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

Comments on illustration
Someone posted a comment about the illustration in the article itself and I have moved this and replied to it on the talk page of the illustration. (See Image talk:Lead Sheet.jpg) CharlesGillingham (talk) 17:25, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

Updated Link
Changed www.jazzmass.org to the new site -> www.kylesproject.com Gpit2286 (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 20:29, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

A couple of issues
Hey Hyacinth. Rather than re-edit this again, I just want to run a few thoughts by you. I'm not particularly concerned about this article, but I keep feeling like the real role of Lead Sheets in the music industry gets edited out.

Wow, I've said way too much, and forgive me if I've been pedantic. Anyway, if you don't reply, I will probably make these changes. If you think I'm wrong, please tell me so. CharlesGillingham (talk) 19:50, 3 August 2008 (UTC)
 * 1) It's not a transcription of any particular performance of a song. It's not shorthand. It's not a simplfied version of a song. It is the song. A song is lyric+melody+harmony. This is how "popular song" came to be understood by the people who wrote and sold the Great American Songbook and as understood by the 20th century music industry. It's the legal definition of a song. For example, when a song wins a Grammy or an Academy Award, the thing that won is lyric+melody+harmony, submitted as a lead sheet. Or if I sue you for stealing my song, the court will compare your performance with the lead sheet for my song. If it's not on the lead sheet, the songwriter doesn't own it.
 * 2) The "popular song" is not the same as a "composition in popular music". A popular song is a particular commercial, cultural and legal entity that developed in late 19th century, had it's heyday around 1950, and still defines how the publishing industry, radio and many other things are structured. Legally, we still respect the distinction between song, performance, and recording. Each of these can be owned by a different person. What the songwriter owns is the "song" -- i.e., what's on the lead sheet: lyric+melody+harmony. This is a very specific kind of composition.
 * 3) Finally, I don't think the material on chord names belongs in this article. It should be in chord symbols. If there is a distinction between "popular chord symbols" and (unpopular?) chord symbols, then it should probably be made in that article.

Wikipedia theme example
The Wikipedia Theme example doesn't seem to match the audio file in the 2nd measure. 173.71.129.182 (talk) 17:32, 21 January 2010 (UTC)

haha, oh man, somebody replaced the piano version i put up. a million laughs. Yeah, it sounds different, but I think it's just that the articulation is slurred. It's not in the notation, but -- at least to my recollection -- that's kind of a standard for these american news-style tv cue things Pthag (talk) 12:50, 22 January 2010 (UTC)


 * No, it matches -- the oboe has a very gentle attack on the downbeat of the second bar. Is that what you mean? CharlesGillingham (talk) 04:25, 24 January 2010 (UTC)


 * I hate to interrupt, but I'm not hearing the last note. An F, I believe it was.  Why is that?Longinus876 (talk) 13:52, 23 January 2016 (UTC)

Removed: cited content
Why was the above apparently cited content removed? Hyacinth (talk) 06:45, 18 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Together, the melody, lyrics and harmony define what a song is. In the music industry and entertainment law, a lead sheet is the document used to describe a song for legal purposes. For example, a lead sheet is the form of a song to which copyright is applied—if a songwriter sues someone for copyright violation, the court will compare lead sheets to determine how much of the song has been copied. Or if a song is considered for an Academy Award or a Grammy, the song is submitted for consideration in the form of a lead sheet.

History and origins of lead sheet notation
Does anybody know when and where lead sheets originated? 129.228.218.143 (talk) 01:14, 30 January 2013 (UTC)

"The lick" as the example image
I imagine it's getting reverted because it doesn't match the audio, so I'll record one myself (or, more likely, ask someone more skilled). Writing that here as a note to anyone else so they don't have to keep reverting. I do think, Internet meme usage aside, that the lick makes a superior example; I subjectively find the that example (a better filename would be nice, by the way) more "lead sheet-y" and more musically interesting. The current image uses a more accurate "real book" style font, which the lick image should adopt, by the way -, as the author of the lick image, thoughts on that? Enterprisey (talk!) 08:25, 13 December 2020 (UTC)