Interpreting Lead Sheets

The standard printed format for jazz improvisers is the lead sheet, showing only the basic melody and chord symbols. These are often found in collections called fake books. When you are working from a lead sheet, keep these important points in mind:

• Melodies are usually printed in their simplest form. Performers must supply their own interpretation. It will sound silly to play as written, if a melody is shown in quarter notes and half notes.
• Chords, too, are often shown in simplest form (usually as seventh chords), with performers free to interpret. Extensions-ninths, elevenths, thirteenths-are left to your discretion. If a pianist sees "Cmaj7" on a lead sheet, he or she might play C6, Cmaj9, Cmaj7(#5), Cmaj7(#11), a C triad, or C6/9, depending on harmonic context and personal taste. Soloists can do the same thing.
• Chords are sometimes misnamed. For example, Cm6 might appear where Am7b5 would make more sense (same notes, but A is the functional root).
• Many older lead sheets show superfluous chord changes. This is usually done in an effort to convey a specific arrangement by using symbols. Observing these chords can work, if you can figure out what the lead sheet's author had in mmd. More often, you will want to delete unnecessary changes.
• Some fake books (e.g., the New Real Book) show melody notes as part of the chord. For example, if the melody is on the note A, played over a C7 chord, the chord might appear as "C13." In cases like this, you are probably better off thinking of the chord simply as C7, open to further interpretation. Playing the chord as C13 every time would be needlessly restrictive.