Examine the instrument and vocal parts you want to chart. Begin with the melody line and the chord progression. This is called a lead sheet and will be the foundation you use to chart a song. If you have a simple vocal, piano, bass and guitar song, arranging these parts will be simple. The vocal will typically carry the melody and be on top, with the piano or guitar part below that and the bass below that.
Arrange the musical parts in such a way that together they support the chord progression of the song. Examine the overall chord structure of the song, which notes are in the melody and what notes of the appropriate chords you want to be contained in each of the instrument. The bass part, for instance, may outline the chord by playing a root (chord name) of the chord, the third note of a chord, and the fifth note of the chord. If the bass part is played in the piano, this pattern may be found in the left hand of the piano part while the right hand part echos the melody.
Write individual instrument parts on a separate piece of music paper. If you have only a vocal piano chart, the vocals and piano part can be on the same sheet music paper. If you want to add guitar chord symbols or chord names, add them above the vocal line of the sheet music. Compile these individual charts with the melody (vocal) and the piano part on top, string instruments (violin and cello) next, then wind instruments (clarinet and flute), brass instruments (trumpet and saxophone) and finally the bass instruments. These combined music charts create a music score.