Playing from lead sheets

[kaligleean]

As a mainly classical piano player who mostly plays from sheet music, I get very confused when it comes to lead sheets or chord charts.  I know little theory and find myself lost whenever I see these sheets and try to play it.  I can play the melody but what do I do on the left hand for chords.  Is there any technique or reference to some kind of some instruction that teaches me how to read lead sheets?

[scottmcc]

https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/How-To-Play-From-A-Fake-Book/2887782

it's an adequate book that will at least get you started.  the bad puns and overall jokey tone got a bit annoying though.

[Bob]

How long does it take to learn to play from lead sheets? 

[oxy60]

If you know how to play a named chord with your left hand while playing the written melody with your right hand, then it would be right away.

A basic approach would be to play the named chord over and over as quarter notes until another chord is called for, (more or less like strumming a guitar) while playing the melody as written. The only tricky part might be finding a hand position and fingering getting from one chord to another. Try to resist playing every chord in root position. Rather try to leave your hand in one place and just change the fingering. The sequence I IV V I requires a lot of jumping around if you put the root as the lowest note.

Then you can and things to make the song more interesting..

[timothy42b]

If you know how to play a named chord with your left hand while playing the written melody with your right hand, then it would be right away.

You don't actually have to know how to play all named chords.

I, IV, and V in one key, probably D, will get you started. 

[Bob]

How long does it take to sound good playing from a lead sheet?  I tend to sound stilted and cookie-cutter when I do.  Root position chords, don't know what to do to make it more of a texture, etc.

[oxy60]

Now Bob has brought up the hard part of playing from lead sheets.

I also feel I sound "cookie cutter" when I do.

It depends on what you want to do with your piano part. If you want to be the whole show, (melody bass, full harmony, and rhythm) it will take some time to make up your own custom arrangement.

[keyofc]

Start interchanging numbers for letters in your scale.
It will make it so much easier.
For instance -
I think it's the Sharp 11ths and the flat 9s, or the flat 13ths that
make people feel uncomfortable when they are not used to these signs.

Try sitting at the piano and playing a major 7th including the fifth in your left hand.

Then look at the keys that aren't being played.
You're playing C e g b - a major 7th
you're leaving out d f a
this  is the 9, 11, 13 octave up.

If you start playing your scales thinking of them as numbers it will help a lot.
At least that's what helped me.

[keyofc]

By the way - you asked about a method or book.
I am going through the "Four-Way Keyboard System" books by Alan Swain
and it has helped me a lot.

It really is the most helpful jazz book I have - and I can't count how many I have.

[Bob]

By the way - you asked about a method or book.
I am going through the "Four-Way Keyboard System" books by Alan Swain
and it has helped me a lot.

It really is the most helpful jazz book I have - and I can't count how many I have.

Is that a two book series?

[oxy60]

I mentioned sounding cookie cutter when I played. What I am trying to do now is reduce what I play to not sound so muddy. Other players have shown me that I don't need to play all the notes of the chord to define the harmony.

[keyofc]

Bob,
No -it has 4 books - and then his last book helps you apply it all.

Four -way is not because of the four books, though,
It is learning chords - understanding them intellectulaly,
aurally, by touch, and by how they look.

[Bob]

Ah thanks.  I looked on Amazon, but they only had two  pages -- One didn't say what it was and the other was either book 1 or book 2.  Those books are from around 1970 I think.   Must be tough to find.