Playing from a Lead Sheet
Fake Book Style
By Fred Barnett
Does learning to play from a lead sheet, fake book style, serve any constructive purpose to those of us who teach classical music?
Absolutely!
In addition to the joy of creating instant music (holiday, patriotic, pop songs, etc.), students potentially learn chords, symbols, progressions, applicable theory, improvisation, compositional techniques, etc.
A logical format could include -
1) Teaching and drilling standard chords in all keys. Inversions and arpeggios to follow.
E.g. C, Cm, C7, Cm7, C+, C dim 7, C6, 9ths, 11ths, 13ths
Following the chord symbols -
2) Playing simple tunes using “Blocked Chords”
From Happy Birthday to Broadway tunes to the Beatles.
3) Playing in 3/4 Waltz tempo time.
From “Hello, Young Lovers” (”The King and I”) to “Of, What a Beautiful Morning” (Oklahoma),
etc.
4) Playing in 4/4 Common Time.
Zillions of tunes: moderate and up-tempos.
5) Arpeggiating the left hand bass for ballades.
from “You’ll Never Walk Alone” (”Carousel”) to ”Romeo and Juliet,” etc.
6) The Alberti Bass alla Mozart
From “Music Box Dancer” to the “Titanic Theme,” etc.
Additional ideas appear in the Nov./Dec. issue of Clavier Companion, p. 42, by
pianist/composer Bradley Sowash.
