How to Read Lead Sheets and Chord Charts
Lead Sheets have a notated tune line with chord symbols written to a higher place and may include words if it's a song.Chord Charts simply show chord symbols with no note. If the chord chart is referencing a popular vocal, information technology will generally include lyrics as well. In both cases, it'due south up to the pianist to provide the left manus accessory in the right style and groove.
If you lot've started embracing a more chordal approach to didactics (and fifty-fifty if yous oasis't yet!), and so I've got a really handy resource of some fun chord progressions you might like to explore.
But earlier I testify you the costless download (below), I wanted to ensure you knew the difference between Chord Charts and Lead Sheets in piano teaching.
Chord Charts v Lead Sheets
Lead Sheets have a notated tune with chord symbols higher up. Generally, the player'due south right manus would play the melody as written and their left hand would improvise an accessory using the chord symbols.
Skilled players will "hang" a chord under the melody note of the correct hand so their pinky mainly plays the melody while the remainder of the fingers of their right manus play as many chord tones as possible, using the chord symbol above as a guide.
Recommended: 4 Chord Composing – The ability of chords and composition
Example Lead Canvas. Credit: markjmartin.com
Chord Charts are simply chord symbols with no notation (see Case two beneath). If the chord nautical chart is referencing a pop song, information technology will generally include lyrics as well.
Some chord charts characteristic basic information similar key and meter (Case i), others just the lyrics (Example 2).
Chord Chart Example 1. Credit: Finalemusic.com
Chord Chart Example two. Credit: guitarcontrol.com
Chord Charts are designed to be used for accompaniment, that is, the pianist playing from a Chord Chart generally won't play the tune. Instead, they'll be using this chord nautical chart to back-trail a vocalizer (perhaps themselves) or other instrumentalist.
In social club to play effectively from a Chord Chart, a pianist needs to know how the song goes, the tempo, feel and style of the piece as this information is often not shown (eg. Example two).
Which Type Should I Employ in My Teaching?
In my stance, students should know how to play from both a atomic number 82 sheet and a chord chart.
I'll ofttimes innovate chord charts when students come up to lessons wanting to acquire a pop song. Even if the notated sheet music is bachelor, information technology's oftentimes better to learn from the chord chart equally students quickly become a feel for the outline of the piece, they have quick success and want to practice more.
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When working with popular, I always try and encourage students to sing while while they back-trail themselves. We all know how difficult it is to play the rhythms plant in pop music. This is considering pop songs were never designed to be piano solos.
Much better to help our students understand that, in mod music, the piano is more often than not merely an accompaniment instrument which supports other instruments or singers.
Chord charts are peachy for this.
If the educatee isn't groovy on singing, they can play forth tobacking tracks available on a couple of apps that every pianoforte teacher should have at his/her disposal.
I go into full item about which apps and how whatever classically-trained pianoforte teacher can teach pop music with confidence in my online grooming class: PianoFlix: Educational activity Popular Pianoforte which is available as office of my Inner Circle Membership.
Education Students Well-nigh Chords
In society to play from either lead sheets or chord charts, students need to take a chord vocabulary.
This means that they'll need to know how to form a triad and what to play in each hand for a variety of roles.
They should besides larn a whole lot of left hand patterns and styles to give a 'experience' to their playing.
PS. Stay tuned for this Wednesday's weblog postal service when I'll be releasing my Ultimate LH Style/Pattern Canvass.
Nevertheless, learning a chord vocabulary without a musical construction can be pretty meaningless.
Fifty-fifty if it's only a small part of how yous teach, having ready access to a listing of chord progressions that sound adept (and, more than importantly, that students of all ages enjoy playing) makes life so much easier!
Thankfully, I've put together a handy guide of Easy Chord Progressions that y'all can apply with students of any age or power.
You tin grab it right now here:
In the three-page guide, you lot'll discover viii of my favourite progressions that work brilliantly in lessons.
Use them as a basis for your own education ideas:
- You tin can employ these progressions for educational activity more about composition or arranging;
- Y'all tin can play along with students playing these progressions on a digital piano adding some atmospheric cord sounds;
- You lot can explore improvising over these progressions using the pentatonic scale;
- Students can come up with their ain progressions to add to the list;
- …and more!
These aren't recognisable pop song progressions (yous tin can check out my recommendations of the Pinnacle ten Pop Songs for Piano Students here), instead, these are only progressions that sound practiced and form the ground of bang-up educational activity points as students develop.
If this fashion of educational activity appeals, you can also get my 10 chord didactics lesson plan which sets out step-past-footstep what yous can exercise to teach chords to a educatee over the period of a term or semester in a logical, progressive manner.
This is as well available free to Inner Circle members and takes yous pace-past-pace through what 10 weeks of teaching about chords would look and sound like, including what the student needs to do each calendar week for practice.
How to Teach the Chord Progressions
If this manner of educational activity is a chip new to you and you want to see how I teach these chord progressions, please download the handout and watch the video below.
It shows you a little bit near how to voice the chords, what some of the notation means and some of the style/creative activities you can do with students.
I tend to keep things really rhythmic and 'poppy', while always being very simple.
Fifty-fifty if you've never tried this kind of thing before, I guarantee y'all'll have some fun with it and students will really connect to the material because it sounds like the pop music they know so well.
Decision
If you want your students to truly understand music (and non just play information technology), your teaching needs to include a chordal approach.
Chords and harmony are one of the key building blocks of music but so oft overlooked in the tradition lesson.
Break out of your sometime arroyo, throw some chords into your adjacent less (specially with a teen or developed) and sentry your students thrive (and learn a whole lot more in the process!).
Permit me know if you have any questions below.
P.Southward. Nosotros also spoke about chord charts and lead sheets on my podcast episode with Susan Deas. Click here to listen to that episode!
Source: https://topmusic.co/whats-the-difference-between-a-chord-chart-and-a-lead-sheet/
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