Lead Sheet Playing
Develop the practical skills needed to read chord symbols, create effective piano accompaniments, and play confidently from lead sheets.
Enroll in Course
Early Adopter Discount!
Get 20% off this entire course - Use code EARLYBIRD at the checkout - Ends Monday 7th of September
What You Will Learn
Master the art of reading and playing from lead sheets with the Lead Sheet Playing course.
Lead sheets are one of the most important tools in modern music. Used in jazz, pop, musical theatre, worship music, and professional accompaniment. This course goes beyond simply naming chords. It's about learning to read melody and chord symbols fluently, building an extensive practical chord vocabulary, and applying that knowledge at the piano through real accompaniment styles and patterns — using repertoire including Every Breath You Take, Hallelujah Chorus, Besame Mucho, I Got Rhythm, and Lullaby of Birdland — so lead sheets become genuinely expressive music rather than an exercise in translation. During the Lead Sheet Playing course we'll cover...
- Reading and Interpreting - How do melody and chord symbols work together? What do the navigation markings tell you? How do you read fluently, not just accurately?
- Chord Vocabulary - How far does chord knowledge need to go? How do inversions and slash chords change a chord's function? How are extended and altered chords used?
- Accompaniment Styles and Patterns - How do you turn a chord symbol into a real piano texture? What role do spacing, voicing and pedal points play? How do patterns differ between styles?
- Figuration, Style and Musical Interpretation - How do you capture the mood of a piece from a lead sheet alone? What figuration brings a chord to life? How do jazz, pop, theatre and worship interpretations differ?
- Performing Real Repertoire Across Styles - How do these skills come together in a full performance? How does interpretation shift between jazz, pop, theatre and worship songs? How do you adapt your playing across different keys?
The information is very well presented and thought out. Gareth‘s instruction is very methodical and broken down so that anyone can understand. I highly recommend these courses for anyone that wants to take their music to the next level; from whatever level you’re currently at.
- Bob
Who Is This Course For?
Musicians who want to turn chord symbols into real, confident music.
Have you ever looked at a lead sheet and wondered how professional musicians turn a few chord symbols and a melody line into real music? Whether your background is classical, self-taught, church music, pop, jazz, or musical theatre, this course will help you read lead sheets confidently and interpret them musically at the keyboard. This course is ideal for singers and accompanists wanting to move beyond basic block chords, church and worship pianists wanting to read chord charts with confidence, aspiring jazz and pop musicians wanting to explore extended and altered harmony, adult learners returning to piano who want more creative freedom, and students preparing for exams that require lead sheet skills.
Do any of these sound familiar?
"I want to understand all the chord symbols used in lead sheets..." "I want to learn how to space chords well, so my playing sounds professional and not just correct..." "I want to know how to add figuration that brings lead sheet playing to life and captures the style and mood well..." "I'm an accompanist or a self-accompanying singer wanting to sharpen my lead sheet skills..." "I play in a band, in a theatre environment, or in a worship context, and want to build my lead sheet confidence and skills..."
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The way the instructor, Gareth Green, is explaining the material is very simple and sooo easy to understand. I have been always wanting to learn Music Harmony but never found someone who would explain it in a fun and easy way to understand like this. I am so grateful for this course.
- Yasmin
By the end of the Lead Sheet Playing course you'll be able to…
Read and interpret lead sheet notation, including melodies, chord symbols, and common navigation markings
Build and play major, minor, diminished, and augmented chords from chord symbols, understanding their structure and sound
Accompany melodies confidently using chord progressions, inversions, slash chords, pedal points, and effective chord spacing
Recognise how chords function within major and minor keys
Perform from a wide range of chord types, including triads, 7th chords, extended chords, and altered chords
Apply rhythm, harmony, and accompaniment technique to perform music from jazz, pop, musical theatre, worship songs, and other contemporary styles
Gareth is an excellent teacher. He is kind and responsive. I highly recommend using his courses, especially for getting an overview of big topics.
- Jonathan
Course Information
What's Included with the Lead Sheet Playing Course?
Professional Teaching
You'll receive expert guidance that makes lead sheet symbols and harmony clear, logical, and easy to apply in real music.
Practical Exercises
Every concept is backed by practical examples and complete pieces that help you hear, see, and understand lead sheets in action.
Ask Questions
Below each video you are able to post comments and ask questions should you have any in regards to the course topics covered.
Easy to Follow Structure
The course is divided into multiple stages, breaking down each part separately before putting it all together.
Complete at Your Own Pace
You can easily fit the course around your regular commitments, completing it at your own pace and in your own time.
Anywhere Access
Your course never expires. Learn when and where you choose! Computer or mobile. Just get comfortable and dive in!
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Your Instructor
Hi, I’m Gareth and I'm passionate about developing ‘the all round musician’.
Over 35 years of music examining with ABRSM, work with the BBC on Radio and TV, experience on the international concert platform, as a published composer and arranger, have brought rich resources to the 40 years of teaching in which I've engaged.
Scholarships at The Royal College of Music, Oxford University and St. Paul’s Cathedral gave me fantastic opportunities to learn from the best musicians, scholars and teachers. Working as Director of Music at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School then provided a wonderful opportunity to develop my teaching skills.
Teaching individuals and groups of all ages, and at all stages of development have refined a teaching approach that I hope is fun and engaging, and focused on explaining things clearly and logically. And that is what these courses are all about - understanding the basic principles with clarity, then going deeper, applying them to your musical life and liberating yourself as a musician.
It’s a rich and amazing journey, and I can’t wait for you to join me today!
Course Curriculum
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StartLesson 1 - Introduction (5:50)
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StartLesson 2 - A Melody in C Major (10:55)
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StartLesson 3 - Four Basic Chord Types (11:01)
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StartLesson 4 - Expanding Knowledge of Major Chords (15:44)
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StartLesson 5 - A Melody Using Three Major Chords (23:04)
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StartLesson 6 - Expanding Knowledge of Minor Chords (13:16)
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StartLesson 7 - A Melody Using Three Major Chords and Two Minor Chords (24:18)
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StartLesson 8 - Harmony Notes and Inessential Notes (Chord Tones and Non-Chord Tones) (25:04)
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StartLesson 9 - Expanding Knowledge of Diminished Chords (12:07)
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StartLesson 10 - A Melody Using Major, Minor and Diminished Chords (12:10)
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StartLesson 11 - Expanding Knowledge of Augmented Chords (10:17)
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StartLesson 12 - A Melody Using Major, Minor, Diminished and Augmented Chords (14:44)
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StartLesson 13 - Chords Inside Major Keys (19:53)
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StartLesson 14 - Chords Inside Minor Keys (18:18)
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StartLesson 15 - Slash Chords (13:20)
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StartLesson 16 - A Melody Using Slash Chords (14:08)
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StartLesson 17 - Slash Chords with Contradictory Bass Notes (15:26)
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StartLesson 18 - A Melody Using Slash Chords with Contradictory Bass Notes (15:11)
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StartLesson 19 - Chord Spacing (16:31)
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PreviewLesson 20 - Rhythm (15:00)
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StartLesson 21 - A Melody in G Major (17:44)
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StartLesson 22 - A Melody in F Major (9:09)
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StartLesson 23 - A Melody in A Minor (17:32)
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StartLesson 24 - Seventh Chords (15:32)
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StartLesson 25 - A Melody Using Seventh Chords (18:48)
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StartLesson 26 - Further Extended Chords (14:53)
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StartLesson 27 - A Melody Using Extended Chords (15:48)
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StartLesson 28 - Chromatic Alterations to Chords (6:41)
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StartLesson 29 - A Melody Using Chords with Chromatic Alterations (12:52)
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StartLesson 30 - Chord Chart (8:39)
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StartLesson 31 - Instructions You Might Meet (6:14)
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StartLesson 32 - Every Breath You Take (11:48)
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StartLesson 33 - The Phantom of the Opera (9:02)
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StartLesson 34 - Hallelujah Chorus (11:50)
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StartLesson 35 - Holy Forever (17:59)
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PreviewLesson 36 - Besame Mucho (11:01)
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StartLesson 37 - I Got Rhythm (9:39)
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StartLesson 38 - Lullaby of Birdland (18:20)
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StartLesson 39 - How Deep is the Ocean (8:29)
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StartLesson 40 - It's the Talk of the Town (9:23)
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StartLesson 41 - Little Man You've Had a Busy Day (4:52)
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StartLesson 42 - Maman Ne Vends Pas La Maison (4:55)
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StartLesson 43 - Why Was I Born (6:09)
Frequently Asked Questions
A Letter from Gareth Green
MA (Oxon), MA (Leeds), FRCO(CHM), FLCM, ARCM
Over the past 50 years I’ve frequently been presented with a lead sheet to play from, be it in the theatre, in church, when accompanying singers and choirs, or when playing jazz or pop in combos. In the early days I struggled to read lead sheets fluently. Soon I got used to reading the chords but wasn’t always sure how to present them under my fingers. As time went by I became more fluent and more confident about how to work from a lead sheet in capturing the style and mood of particular pieces or songs.
My voyage of discovery was somewhat haphazard but I soon realised three fundamental things:
The need to understand every chord symbol
The need to think about how best to space chords so that the voicing and voice leading progresses well
The need to learn how to elaborate the basic chord symbol to create figuration and movement that is in keeping with the style and mood.
This is the journey you will take on this course as I guide you through a method that I wish had existed when I was learning to tackle lead sheets all those years ago. This course, with a very practical focus, brings together everything I’ve learned — as a performer, composer and improviser, but also as a teacher working with students on this very topic. The course distils this experience into a clear, step-by-step approach.
If you’re wanting to get really confident in interpreting a lead sheet I warmly invite you to join us. I look forward to seeing you inside the course.
— Gareth Green, Music Matters
Early Adopter Discount!
Get 20% off this entire course - Use code EARLYBIRD at the checkout - Ends Monday 7th of September
