Help! My music stand isn't big enough for this song!

Last year at this time I wrote a post called "Chart Your Progress(ions)" which talked about making sure you had 'easy-to-read' or 'easy-to-follow' music for your musicians. Often times a piece of music is 3 or more pages long, even as a lead sheet. That is just plain difficult to work with, especially if you only have a single music stand. Guitarists and bassists have to stop playing just to turn the page or move sheets of paper around. Then there are the many various endings, D.S.'s, Codas, etc. You tell them "We're not going to play verse 3, but repeat the refrain after verse 2, then jump back to the intro and back to the Refrain" or something similar...and it's just asking for a train-wreck!

I'm always reminded of this when holidays come around, as it seems there are always quite a few 'subs' sitting in when your usual players go out of town. They're are often not familiar with a song and are planning to 'read-it-down' when it comes time to play. Having their music organized and in order is crucial to the success of the performance.

Here's an example of a song by the Jacob and Matthew Band: "Give Glory."  The lead sheet version of this song has 3 pages and is engraved in a way that the music spacing favors the lyrics AND the notes at the same time. Consequently, it is 3 pages long...not bad...but that can create a 'speed bump' for your players when trying to put a song together quickly and efficiently.  Here is page 1 (of 3) of the lead sheet:

For someone who just needs to be able to follow along quickly and easily, and know how each particular section should be played, a rhythm chart can be much more effective. Below, I've attached a sample rhythm chart of this song.  (This is a sample I've created of a song that is published by World Library Publications, which is currently developing it's own style for rhythm charts.)

Notice it's only 2 pages. Notice that the vocal line isn't there. It doesn't need to be. There are just lyric cues. The measures, however, do contain slash notation to indicate the beats. When a particular rhythm needs to be played, it's marked with slashes as quarter notes or eighth notes.  A few instructions help the drummer know what to do with the bass drum (BD) and snare drum (SD). The bass guitar (BG) can see when to play whole notes or eighth notes. The electric guitar (EG) sees the same. The section headings are bolded-faced and set inside a box. Those on the left margin are actually set outside the margin so they can be spotted quickly.

It's easier to follow for a rhythm player. They don't need to see vocal parts, slurs, lyrics, word extenders, multiple endings that incorporate a slightly different vocal rhythm, etc.  All of those things take up a lot of space on the page. This is more concise and crafted for just what they need to do.

So, where do you find these?  

Some publishers are starting to do this with some of their contemporary music. At voicesasone.com these are going to be a part of the new 'bundle' packages you can purchase. They will target contemporary songs that have lead sheets longer than two pages.

A really great resource is the website PraiseCharts.com. You can find ALL kinds of charts available for purchase for almost every contemporary worship song that has been successful. I, myself, have used their charts many times and have found them to be very useful and valuable. Check them out and look at some of their sample charts.

Or, if they are not available by any publisher, you could create your own for a bass player or a guitar player. I'm sure if you called and asked permission to do so a publisher would either grant it or charge a very, very nominal fee. We're talking about something for one or two players. And, we're talking about making the song successful!

Good luck, and make great music!