Guide
How to write a lead sheet
A lead sheet is the most useful page in music: one staff with the melody, chord symbols above it and the lyrics below. Jazz musicians, wedding bands and church groups all play from lead sheets. Here's how to write one that musicians can read at first sight.
1. Choose the key
Write it in the key the band will actually play. If you're working from a recording, find the key from the first and last chords. If the singer needs it lower or higher, the chord transposer moves the chords for you.
2. Map the form before writing notes
List the sections and their length in bars: intro 4, verse 8, chorus 8, verse 8, chorus 8, bridge 8, chorus 8, outro 4. Use rehearsal letters (A, B, C) or labels (Verse, Chorus) above each section. Most songs have four or eight-bar phrases, so four bars to a line is easy to read.
3. Write the melody
Write the tune as it's sung, in one octave. Simplify ornaments and vocal slides: the lead sheet shows the shape, the singer adds the style. If rhythms vary from verse to verse, write the first verse and let the others follow the words.
4. Add chord symbols
Put each chord above the beat where it changes. Use standard symbols:
| Symbol | Chord |
|---|---|
| C | C major |
| Cm or C− | C minor |
| C7 | dominant seventh |
| Cmaj7 or CΔ | major seventh |
| Cm7♭5 or Cø | half-diminished |
| C/E | C major with E in the bass |
| N.C. | no chord, nobody plays |
5. Add the lyrics
Put one syllable under each note, hyphenating words across notes (beau-ti-ful). For later verses, write extra lyric lines under the same melody rather than writing it out again.
6. Use repeats to save space
Repeat signs, first and second endings, D.S. al Coda and Coda signs keep a song on one page. Don't overdo it: if a musician has to jump three times, write it out.
7. Check it with someone who didn't write it
Ask a musician to play it cold. Wherever they hesitate, the page is unclear.
Lead sheet or full score?
A lead sheet works for musicians who improvise their part from chords. For a school band, choir or anyone who needs written notes, you need a full arrangement. Medley Writer turns a recording into both: the lead sheet and every instrument's part.
Let Medley Writer do the transcribing
Upload the songs, choose the parts and the order, and get a full arrangement for your band with the transitions written in. Free during the beta.
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