Lead sheets don’t swing... that’s up to us

Reader,

Lead sheets, like the ones you find in the Real Book, show simplified melodies. This makes them easy to read, but if you've ever played them literally as written, you'll know they don't swing.

As jazz musicians, it's up to us to make them swing, and the best way to learn how to do that is to listen and mimic how your favorite artists play these tunes.

Here, you can see these side-by-side:

When I sit down to play along with my favorite recordings, I don't typically write down a formal transcription. But, for today, I thought it would be really fun to actually see what Sonny Stitt plays, right alongside the lead sheet.

Make sure to grab the full PDF I put together for you: I'll Remember April.pdf​

Generally, Sonny is pretty faithful to the melody. Here are some things I've observed him doing to make it swing:

• Most obviously, he syncopates the rhythms by shifting some notes from the downbeats to the off-beats before or after. (first 2 measures)
• He really emphasizes 8th note lines, because 8th notes swing where quarter notes don't. (2nd line)
• He adds embellishments, like half-step approaches and enclosures. (3rd measure of 2nd line)
• He fills in leaps with 8th note approaches... any excuse to add more 8th notes. (2nd measure, last line).
• Not easily shown in the notation is Sonny's impeccable articulation. Can you match it when you play along?

Now, those are observations, not rules. Many people have tried to explain how to swing a melody through rules... and I’ll admit, I’ve tried.

But you can’t just apply a set of rules to make a melody swing. You need to feel it, and you get that from playing along with someone like Sonny and noticing what he does.

Try It Yourself

Now, try to apply these observations to another tune. Can you add those 8th note syncopations, bebop ornaments, and swing articulation?

Happy Practicing,