Choose a piano solo if one pianist will play the song with no singer, piano + vocal if someone is singing the melody over a piano part, and a lead sheet if the players will improvise their own parts from chord symbols. Each format puts different information on the page, and the right one depends on who is in the room.
This guide covers who each format is for, what you actually see on the page, a side-by-side comparison, and how to get each one from a recording. For a deep dive into one format, see what is a lead sheet, and for how a full ensemble gets condensed onto two staves, see what is a piano reduction.
What is a piano solo arrangement?
A piano solo arrangement fits the whole song into two staves for one pianist. The melody usually sits on top in the right hand, the harmony and bass are shared between the hands, and nothing depends on a singer.
Who it is for: pianists who want to play a song on their own, at home, at a recital, or as background music. It is what most people mean by a "piano cover."
What is on the page: a grand staff (treble and bass), with the tune woven into the piano part. There may be lyrics printed for reference, but you are not meant to sing them.
The arranger's job is to make the piano carry everything, so the melody often gets a little extra weight, such as octaves or fuller chords under it. Our guide to how to make a piano cover covers that craft.
What is a piano + vocal score?
A piano + vocal score has three staves: the sung melody with lyrics on top, and a two-hand piano part underneath. The singer reads the top line; the pianist reads the bottom two.
Who it is for: singer-pianists who accompany themselves, accompanists working with a vocalist, choir and musical theatre rehearsal pianists, and voice teachers.
What is on the page: a vocal staff with lyrics, plus a grand staff for the piano. The piano part supports the voice, often with the melody doubled or hinted at, but it is written to accompany rather than to stand alone.
A close cousin is the piano accompaniment, which is the piano part without the vocal line, for when the singer already knows the tune. Our guide to transcribing a piano accompaniment for a singer goes deeper on that version. If you need the key to sit better for the voice, transposing a song to fit your voice covers it.
What is a lead sheet?
A lead sheet is the melody on a single staff with chord symbols written above it, and often the lyrics below. There is no written-out accompaniment; players build their own from the chords.
Who it is for: jazz musicians, gigging bands, worship teams, and singers handing a chart to a pickup band. A guitarist, a bassist, and a pianist can all play from the same page, each in their own way.
What is on the page: one melody line, chord symbols such as Cmaj7 or G/B above it, and usually lyrics. Lead sheets are compact, often one or two pages for a whole song.
The trade-off is that a lead sheet assumes you can turn a chord symbol into a voicing on the spot. If that is new, our guide on how to read chord symbols is the place to start.
Side-by-side comparison
| Piano solo | Piano + vocal | Lead sheet | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staves | 2 (grand staff) | 3 (voice plus grand staff) | 1 |
| Melody | In the piano's right hand | On its own vocal staff | On the single staff |
| Harmony | Written out for two hands | Written out in the piano part | Chord symbols only |
| Lyrics | Optional, for reference | Under the vocal line | Usually under the melody |
| Who plays | One pianist | Singer plus pianist, or one singer-pianist | Any band or soloist who improvises from chords |
| Skill it assumes | Reading two-hand piano | Reading piano and following a singer | Voicing chords on the spot |
| Typical length | Several pages | Several pages | One or two pages |
Which format do you need?
Ask two questions: is anyone singing, and does anyone want to improvise?
- No singer, one pianist: piano solo.
- Singer plus written piano part: piano + vocal.
- Singer who already knows the melody, pianist wants just the backing: piano accompaniment.
- Band, jazz combo, or worship team improvising from chords: lead sheet.
It is common to want more than one. A worship leader might use a lead sheet for the band and a piano + vocal score for the pianist. A teacher might give a student a piano solo to learn and a lead sheet later to practice chord voicing.
How do you get each format from a recording?
With Songscription you upload a song, paste a YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram link, or record in the browser, then choose the arrangement you want:
- Piano cover: a solo piano version of the song, even when the original has no piano in it. You can pick a difficulty level first, which our walk-through of one song at five difficulty levels explains. Start with the piano cover creator.
- Piano + vocals: the vocal melody on its own staff above a two-hand piano part. Start at piano vocal arrangement.
- Lead sheet: the melody on one staff with chord symbols above. Start at the lead sheet generator.
- Piano accompaniment: the piano part with the vocals removed, for a singer who carries the melody.
Every result opens in the editor, where you can fix notes, add lyrics, and transpose before you export PDF, MIDI, or MusicXML. Chord symbols are detected automatically, and if one looks wrong you can report it. As with any transcription, check the result against the recording before you print it for a rehearsal.
Related guides
- The formats: what is a lead sheet and what is a piano reduction.
- Accompanying a singer: transcribe a piano accompaniment and transpose a song to fit your voice.
- Playing solo: how to make a piano cover.
- Reading chords: how to read chord symbols.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between piano solo and piano vocal sheet music?
A piano solo arrangement puts the whole song, melody included, into the two piano staves, so one pianist can play it with no singer. Piano + vocal sheet music adds a separate vocal staff on top with the sung melody, and the piano part underneath supports the singer. In many piano + vocal scores the piano also doubles the tune, but it is written to accompany rather than to stand alone.
Who uses a lead sheet?
Jazz musicians, gigging bands, worship teams, and anyone who improvises an accompaniment from chords. A lead sheet shows only the melody on one staff with chord symbols above it, so each player makes up their own part from the chords. It is compact and flexible, but it expects you to know how to voice chords, so beginners usually find a written-out piano part easier.
Which format should a singer who plays piano use?
Piano + vocal is usually the best fit, because it shows the melody you sing on its own staff and a full piano part beneath it. If you are comfortable improvising from chords, a lead sheet gives you more freedom and fits on fewer pages. If you want the piano to carry the tune without the voice, use a piano solo.
Can I get all three formats from the same recording?
Yes. Songscription can turn one recording into a piano cover (a solo piano version), a piano + vocals arrangement with the vocal melody above a two-hand piano part, a lead sheet with the melody and chord symbols, or a piano accompaniment with the vocals removed. Each opens in the editor so you can fix anything before exporting PDF, MIDI, or MusicXML.
To start, make a piano + vocal arrangement or generate a lead sheet from your song.
