I was invited to a Christmas party a number of years ago. (Remember when we could gather and sing with gay abandon and no masks?) Our host's home was decorated beautifully and there was lots of great food and an upright piano with carol sheets standing by.
As the party progressed (and much cider consumed) we gathered in her music room to sing carols. A good friend of our host was visiting from Europe and was a classical pianist. He sat down at the piano to accompany our seasonal singing. He was a great reader and could read anything put in front of him. When it came time to sing 12 Days of Christmas, the music had lots of page turns and he struggled a bit turning pages back and forth to accommodate all the repeats. He handled it well, but it was distracting to watch him and I don’t think he was enjoying the experience.
What a difference a lead sheet would have made. A lead sheet has only one page, maybe two, that’s it. No page turns! I can hear some of you saying, “we have tablets and page turning pedals now” and yes, that has improved the situation but there is nothing like the simplicity of a lead sheet. Oh, how I wished he could have read the song off a lead sheet!
Have you considered learning the skill of lead sheet reading? It's isn't hard to learn and it enhances classical playing. In the spirit of Christmas, I've listed 12 reasons to learn to read lead sheets.
1. You only need to read one note at a time
2. Can be read by a total beginner or a pro
3. The chords can be played simply or quite complex
4. You can see the whole piece (on one page) and capture the form
5. You can play cool cadenza’s on FIVE GOLD RINGS
6. Less dots on the page, more brain power for ideas
7. Can make your own fun fillers on the long long long long notes
8. A lot less note to read freeing up your ears to LISTEN
9. Much easier to add some cool improvisations
10. When you know the form and chords you can transpose songs with ease
11. When you know the chords and form you can play by memory
12. Did I mention know page turns at all!
As the list was being assembled, I found myself humming it and it turned into a lead sheet :-) Here is the 12 Days Tribute to Lead Sheets.
Download this fun tribute to the lead sheet and get it FREE when you use the coupon code GIFT4U.
As I was belting out 12 Days Of Christmas at the party, I wondered, if there was a lead sheet available for the carol, would reading a melody with chord symbols be in his comfort zone? I know I wasn't comfortable reading one after I graduated with two music degrees. It requires a different skill set that, when learned, helps us more deeply understand and memorize classical music.
Would you like to get comfortable reading lead sheets and teaching others to read lead sheets?
Play Piano Chords Today is a method to do just that and now it is available as an online teacher training course!
Click here to contact me today, I'm always happy to answer
any questions you may have!
