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A lead sheet or fake sheet is a form of musical notation that specifies the essential elements of a song: the melody, lyrics and harmony. The melody is written in modern Western music notation, the lyric is written as text below the musical staff and the harmony is specified with chord notation above the staff.
The lead sheet does not describe the chord voicings, voice leading, bass line or other aspects of the accompaniment. These are specified later by an arrangement or improvised by the performers,Benward & Saker (2003). Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I, p.76. Seventh Edition. . and are considered aspects of the arrangement or performance of a song, rather than a part of the song itself. "Lead" refers to a song's lead part, the most important melody line or voice.
A lead sheet may also specify an instrumental part or theme, if this is considered essential to the song's identity. For example, the opening guitar riff from Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" is a part of the song; any performance of the song should include the guitar riff, and any imitation of that guitar riff is an imitation of the song. Thus the riff belongs on the lead sheet.
A collected volume of lead sheets may be known as a fake book, due to the improvisational nature of its use: when presented with a lead sheet, proficient musicians may be able to "fake it" by performing the song adequately without a full score. Woodwind Brasswind: "What is a fake book?" This is in contrast to a full score, in which every note to be played in a piece is written out. Since fake books and lead sheets only give a rough outline of the melody and harmony, the performer or arranger is expected to improvise significantly.
Lead sheets are not intended for novices. Sometimes, melodies with syncopation are written with the syncopation omitted, so the reader must be familiar with the songs "by ear" to play the melodies correctly.This is an example. Some 32 bar forms do not have a printed melody during the "B" section, as the lead instrumentalist is expected to improvise one. Similarly, the chord progressions for some blues tunes omit the turnaround (often simply indicating two bars on the tonic), as it is expected that an experienced jazz player will know the appropriate turnarounds to insert (e.g., (I–VI7–ii–V7). The reader needs to have thorough familiarity with extended chords (e.g., C13) and (e.g., C711). Introductions and codas are often omitted, as it is expected that players will know the familiar intros and codas used on specific songs. Lead sheets are often bound together in a fake book.
The first two volumes, Fake Book Volume 1 and Fake Book Volume 2, issued in the late 1940s and 1950s, together comprised about 2000 songs dating from the turn of the 20th century through the late 1950s. In the 1950s the Modern Jazz Fake Book, Volumes 1 and 2 was issued, and Fake Book Volume 3, containing about 500 songs, came out in 1961. The music in Fake Books 1, 2, and 3 was photocopied or reset with a musical typewriter from the melody lines of the original sheet music. Usually chord symbols, titles, composer names, and lyrics were typewritten, but for a number of songs these were all photocopied along with the melody line.
The three Fake Books were well indexed, alphabetically as well as by musical genre and Broadway show. Although the tunes in the Fake Books were compiled illegally, the creators printed copyright information under every song — perhaps to give the false impression that the Fake Books were legal, or to show respect for the creators. The Modern Jazz Fake Book was divided into two sections, each indexed separately as Volume One and Volume Two. The music was transcribed by hand from recordings, and each transcription included performer name, record label, and catalog number. Unlike today's fake and "real" books that have "jazz" in their titles, the Modern Jazz Fake Book included no standards, but only original tunes written and recorded by jazz musicians. All these books have been long out of print, though music students have photocopied the books from other musicians. Fake books originally infringed , and their circulation was primarily Black market.
During the school year of 1974–75, an unidentified group of musicians based at the Berklee College of Music in Boston published the Real Book. My Guitar Pal: "History of the Real Book" Bass guitarist Steve Swallow, who was teaching at Berklee at that time, said the students who edited the book intended "to make a book that contained a hipper repertoire, more contemporary repertoire". It was popular and in its turn spawned a number of "fake Real Books". Swallow's 1994 album Real Book features his original compositions, but the cover art mimics a spiral-bound, coffee-stained fake book used by jazz musicians.
In the 2000s, some types of "real books" have been published which fully respect copyright laws. In the same period, some electronic "fake books" became available, which offer instant transposition. This facilitates the performance of music at shows where some performers have transposing instruments, or in shows with a singer who wants the band to play in a different key to accommodate their vocal range.
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