dumb question: how to write charts?

[slowfinger]

I am starting to write charts for some of the stuff we are trying to do, and I do it like the sample here:

 

INTRO - |G F# |E E |F C |D D |x4

VERSE 1 |G F# |E E |F C |D D |x4

 

This tells me that each phrase or cycle has 4 bars and is repeated 4 times. This one is for 'Freebird' for example.

 

Are there better ways? I'v searched 'chart' and 'charts' but there was nothing obvious.

 

Thanks.

[Phil W]

You mean chord charts, right? Usually we wouldn't bother writing those Es and Ds twice as the chords don't change in that bar!

Also, although being English I've never had to play Freebird , I'd imagine that not all the chords were major so it might make more sense if you wrote in the quality of the chord. If the guitar plays something else then you need to write the bassnote underneath the guitar chord as in D/F#.

Maybe someone who knows how to play the tune (man, it's going through my head now would be able to make a more coherent reply.

[PhilMan99]

Music notation software like Finale can do it, but that's about $500. I use the low-end "PrintMusic" from the same company. It supports notation fairly well, but I can't recall if it handle's "slash" notation like A/G (an A major chord with G in the bass).

 

With notation-software, you can have time-signatures, text, vocals, etc.

[dcr]

Myself, I'd just use a piece of staff paper & a pencil. That way, you can write everything out in proper staves, bar lines, key signatures, time signatures, repeat signs, etc. It's very affordable, user-friendly, works with your brain's operating system, & never requires an upgrade.

 

But I'm with Phil W--you really need to have the chord qualities written out. How will you know what notes you can play if you didn't know whether you're in a major or minor chord?

[Rowbee]

You could even tab it all out using something like Powertab - .

[dcr]

Great idea! Then your whole chart just consists of which frets to finger at (roughly) which bits. Saves all that fuss of, you know, creating a line and stuff.

[Rowbee]

Lol, sorry, I knew "tab" was a bit of a profanity around here.

 

I do use Powertab myself though, generally as an easy way to remember my own recordings.

[dcr]

But the thing is, that's all it's good for (at most): it's a way of writing down how a line must be played just this way. That's exactly the opposite of what you want a chart for when you're creating a line over a song.

[Rowbee]

Agreed, I understand what you're saying - I tend not to use chord charts when practicing but I concede that tab is pretty useless in that situation.

[jeremy c]

It looks like you need to look at some chord charts to see how it is done.

 

There is a symbol for repeat signs which my computer keyboard doesn't have.

 

If something is repeated four times, you should put the "4x" at the beginning of the line, not the end.

 

Learn what 1st and 2nd endings are. Learn what D.C. and D.S. and al coda mean.

 

And as Phil said, you need to write chord names, not just bass notes.

 

Free Bird starts something like this:

 

4x

||: G D/F# |Em |F C |D :||

[Eric VB]

Well, like Phil W said, you'll want to add the chord qualities. OTTOMH I'm pretty sure at least the E's are Em's (E minor). I'd also guess that the the F#'s are bass notes from a slash chord, most likely D/F#, as this is common in guitar music. Consult with your guitarist to be sure.

 

Like dcr, I've used pen/pencil and paper for most of the charts I use to learn new songs. I prefer a lined paper pad about 4x6-inch in size (cheaper than staff paper). Most pop songs only have three major chord progressions in them (for verse, chorus and bridge), with maybe some variants (like a modified verse for the intro). So it takes three or more lines to write the progressions, similar to how you've done it.

 

However, I usually use a lettering system to enumerate the various parts. For example, I'd do it like this instead of what you have

 

(A) |G D/F# |Em |F C |D |

 

(I usually circle the section name instead of using parentheses) and then represent the song in terms of the progressions, like this

 

INTRO: (A) x4

VERSE: (A) x4

 

or if I didn't care too much about what part was what, I might smoosh it all together

 

(A) x4, (A) x4, ...

 

or even better, if (A) is always repeated four times

 

(A) |G D/F# |Em |F C |D | x4

(A), (A), ...

 

Songs with only two parts can be condensed down to three lines on the page, and we're only talking about a 4x6 page here!

 

Why do I use letters to represent the sections? Because that's how I'm used to thinking of songs in terms of structure: AABA, ABABCB, etc. It's fairly common nomenclature.

 

Variants. Let's say the verse before the bridge has a different ending. Assuming section (A) represents the verse chord progression, then I'd have another line labeled (A') (read "A prime") that shows the variant. Again, this goes back to structure, so if a verse is I IV I then I IV V, it should be (A) I IV I I IV V and not (A) I IV I plus (A') I IV V. At least not in my book. If there is yet another variant, it gets another prime mark, (A''), and so forth. If this is too confusing to read, I just use new letters instead of prime marks: (D) instead of (A').

 

Oh, and I use "beat slashes" (whatever they're called), too: | G / D/F# / | Em / / / |. That way you can deal with chord changes on a particular beat. (Doesn't do much if the change is on an upbeat unless you add some extra notation.) It tends to clutter things up, though, so it may be best to avoid it unless you need it.

 

If there is a particular rhythm, I usually notate that with percussion-style note heads. That is, notes on a single line without worry about pitch.

 

Each song also gets performance notes scribbled all over for anything that might need it. I typically use common words over musical terms: "faster" instead of "accelerando", etc.

 

Thanks to the class I just finished, I've been introduced to the Finale software PhilMan99 mentions. The full-blown version is a bit steep if all you want to write are simple chord progressions. Check out what they have at www.finalemusic.com . They also have a free version called NotePad that you can download (requires registration). I haven't used that version, so I can't comment on it. (If you're a student/educator, you should be able to get educational pricing.)

 

With Finale you can take your charts a step up and turn them into lead sheets. That is, incorporating the melody, lyrics and chord progression. These are usually nicer to have and you can share them with your bandmates instead of having them puzzle over the weird scribbles in your note book.

 

Finale does much more than that, though. Check out the link and see what version has the features you like (that you can afford).

 

Now, there are other softwares out there that can do pretty much the same thing. I haven't used them, though, so I'll defer to those that have.

 

Oh, and I don't think this is a dumb question at all. Thanks for bringing it up!

[Eric VB]

Jeremy's version is, of course, correct. He's using something much closer to standard music notation. If you use it, any musician will understand what you've written. In essence, you're writing in the proper language of music.

 

Although it is possible to use standard notation to notate any song, I find it inefficient at times. It's harder to discern structure, IMO. Of course, a simple note at the top of the page might help: "this song is AABA format". Without that, it can be hard to see from

 

||: A :|| B | DC al Fine (with a Fine at the end of the A section)

 

Especially when the music is written (as per usual) to conserve space on the page. This tends to mask the overall structure of the song.

 

Admittedly, my system falls apart on more complex songs. If there are more than a handful of different sections, it gets quite confusing. Fortunately, most pop/rock is rather simplistic.

[Tom Capasso]

I've done lots of covers, and was singing lead for a while. I used to put the lyrics in a word doc, and put the chords in so I'd know what was going on. If it seemed necessary, I'd put in hyphens to show how to count the chord changes out (like ric's "beat bars"). I didn't usually get into repeats, codas, etc. I'd put the word "refrain" before that part, and later put "play refrain" where needed. Even though the entire song structure was laid out, I rarely went over a page for the rock songs we worked up.

 

Tom

[jeremy c]

I've been given a lot of those "charts" that are lyric sheets with chord names.

 

The first thing I do (if I have time)(which usually I don't, because I've just walked in to do the gig)is to write bar lines on the page.

 

For people who haven't heard the songs before, lyric sheets with chord names on them are only vaguely helpful.

[57pbass]

Also try The Nashville Number System.

 

Its pretty easy and a snap to transpose keys...

[Tom Capasso]

J - sometimes I write bar lines in with the chords so I know what's where. Like this:

 

|Dm - - - |Am - - - | G - - - |Dm - - - |

 

That way there are bars, and a "mark" of some sort for each beat. As I say, doing classic rock that I've known forever, I mostly needed the lyrics

 

Tom

[Cthulhu Fhtagn]

I have bass staff paper that I printed from www.playthebass.com and use that to write the chord charts. Most instructional books will (Ed Friedland's Walking Bass Lines) will have a brief primer on how to read a chord chart. I guess if one can read one, one can certainly write one. All the repeat signs, measure repeats and al Coda directions are in the back of most of the Hal Leonard series of books.

 

There is also a book which is a collection of articles for bass from (dare I say it) Gutitar Player Magazine. It is called Electric Bass Guitar and has a series of old, but really great articles about how to do all that stuff on the bass clef.

[slowfinger]

Wow - I've come back after one of those famous Aussie long weekends, and I'm overwhelmed by the response to my question. Most of you will know that I'm pretty much a beginner at this. One of jeremy c's recent posts mentioned being handed 'charts' for songs for session work (?), and so I thought there might be a 'proper' way to do it. Seems they are a personal thing.

 

Thanks for the hint about writing chord names instead of root notes (I only learnt what a 'slash chord' was last week). Because I dont play much more than the root notes and simple transitions/lead in notes/octaves, I thought the root notes would suffice. However, it looks like I've got more homework to do.

 

I use PowerTab when I can to get an overview of a song and how the bass goes. I agree that it is impractical to use tab when practicing, but I sometimes use it to work out short phrases. I use 'charts' mainly as a reminder to help me when I'm learning the song structure and chord progressions, both at home and when practicing with the band. But eventually I hope to produce them for the others in the band, for everything we do (maybe except for 'Gloria') so we dont have diffent versions and the consequent 'discussions' about what is the correct way to play something.

 

So, thank you very much everyone. This is such a good forum.

[ClarkW]

Here is a sample lead sheet of "Birdland" by Weather Report:

 

http://www.lucaspickford.com/transbland.htm

 

Here is a much "grittier" version of Norwegian Wood, with Herbie Hancock changes.

 

http://www.lucaspickford.com/transnwood.htm

 

Here's the homepage, with a lot of solo and lead sheet trascriptions indexed by instrument at the top.

 

http://www.lucaspickford.com/trans.htm

 

That will give you an idea of what Jeremy is talking about by "charts." In a more casual setting where rehearsal might be possible or well-known songs are being played, "chord charts" such as those found on thousands of tab websites can be easily had and easily imitated, but they are generally insufficient for sight-reading performances.