Real Book and Fake Book? what are they?

[Saxomophoner]

Ok, I dont know where to post this question so I will post it here since I play the alto sax. First of all, what is a Real Book? Someone told me a Real book is a collection of Jazz pieces and is very expensive. :?
PLEASE answer the following questions, especially the questions about the best real/fake books you recommend.

1.What is a real book?
2.What is a fake book?
3. What is the difference?
4. What are the BEST real books you recommend? (I dont care about $, I have tons of it. :lol: )
5. What are the BEST fake books you recommend?(I dont care about $, I have tons of it. :lol: )
6.Where is the best place to buy real books and fake books?

I searched on yahoo and found out there is ALOT of different kinds of real books and fake books and real books posed as fake books. What does that mean? THANK YOU FOR HELPING!!

[Andrew]

Real Books and Fake Books are the same thing...just different name. I suggest the "New Real Book." The original one has SO many errors...well, so does the "New Real Book", but not compared to the amount of errors in the original. I suggest just figuring out the heads yourself by ear...it's so much more beneficial that way.

[Dave Dolson]

Saxomophoner: Fake books are compilations of popular/jazz tunes, usually hand-written (or computer-generated) in concert pitch with a lead line (melody) and chord symbols, so the reader can play the melody of many songs. Many fake books are copyright violations, too.

As Andrew indicated, they are notoriously inaccurate (wrong chords and/or wrong keys mostly - or simplified chords which leave out the nuances of many great tunes). Still, a fake book may help you learn the basics and expand your knowledge of tunes likely to be called at a gig.

Where to get them? I don't know any sources. DAVE

[CT]

Well, I hail from the suburbs of Boston, the birth of the true Real Book, as some of us like to claim in these parts :) The Real Books up here are relatively accurate in terms of chord changes and rhythms. I have one myself, transposed to E flat. I would imagine they are harder to find the farther away you get from Boston, though...Technically, they are illegal, because they break copyright laws...for this reason, I would surmise that the true Real Books would not be available online in the big stuff-selling websites ie Amazon, etcetera (I don't know, though. I haven't checked). Your best bet to find them would probably be at local music stores.

I'm sure some of the fake books will also be able to help you...they're sorta-kinda legal, but have a lot of inaccuracies in them. I guess it's a tradeoff for costing less...see Dave Dolson's post about this. He knows a lot more than I do about this kind of thing.

My advice? Go for a Real Book. If you can find the Real Book, I suggest you buy it if you're serious about jazz...it helped me a lot. Look for the kinda bootleg-looking one that's really thick. Expect to pay...eh, maybe around fifty or so if you decide to.

Good luck,
Chris

[Morry]

My local dealer just got this phone book sized real book, and he's asking $40. I think I'll pick one up. It'd be nice to have the lead lines to play with BIAB.

[Saxomophoner]

WOW!! It seems like all of you guys have this so called "real Book". I will be MOST happy to buy it from you. I am serious about jazz and would like the real book although it might be considered illegal. *cough.

[Marcus Melody]

The "New Real Book" series is legal, nice fonts, includes lyrics and even many verses. They are accurate in the sense that they try to stick to the published sheet music version (if we're talking standards). In some cases alternative chord changes or melody that reflect more modern interpretations of a tune are provided. I like these books because the print is large and clear, which is important in live situations with bad light conditions. Some other commercial fake books squeese many songs into one volume but may be difficult to read.
The original real book (although illegal) is great becauce most people have it. Perfect to bring to jam sessions or gigs. There are some errors, but these have become so widespread and even recorded that they may now be regarded as "right". Scanned versions appear now and then on the internet.
The most comprehensive fake book that I am aware of is the "Charles Anderson Fake Book". More than 9000 songs! and still growing. Costs a lot though.

I play alto but prefer to use realbooks in conert key. Easy to photocopy a tune and hand it out to the rythm section if they'd need it. Transposing may initiallybe a hurdle, but does not take long to overcome.

I agree with Andrew that the best things is to learn the songs by ear and then remember them forever. However, if you freelance and play with many different bands, as I do, then a fake book let's you "fake" songs that your'e not familiar with, e,g. all the strange Steve Swallow tunes included in the first real book (I assume he had some influence on the content).

Good luck! Marcus

[Dave Dolson]

I count the new operater of the Charles Anderson fake books as a personal friend and fellow musician. Jim Jones, banjo/guitar, has the whole operation now and it is amazing. Yes, over 9000 tunes AND most have complete orchestrations. I think the links are YESTERTUNES.com and www.andersonfakebook.com. DAVE

[dingfelder]

FYI for the internet challenged among us

the link in the previous message gives an error, since it period gets stuck in it.

if you get an error, delete it and the link works fine

[mr00420]

My advice would be get off the internet and go to an actual (best bet is a woodwind) music shop and purchase one. Most, non-franchise, stores I've been to have them (or at least a "New Real Book.") I doubt a guitar shop would have one, but a mostly sax shop usually does. Maybe if you gave your general location I could be of help. You can also ask the staff at the shop where to find one if they don't have one. Also, a lot of people in University music programs seem to have pretty easy access to them. You might post an ad. on a university bulletin board in the music dept. or maybe someone already posted a ad. selling them there. When I was in L.A. buying a horn, the dealer there had a copy. I suppose if you want to contact him to get it mail order he might do it.

[wolfe]

I'm going to piggy-back this thread with a similar question:

How badly does someone really need a fakebook? It seems that it would be more advantageous to learn tunes by ear becuase you don't need to buy the book and you'll retain it much better. On the other had, if you learn all of the tunes by ear that's in one fake book, it would cost exceptionally more to buy all of that music.

So my question is, if I don't need a fakebook, how do I know what tunes to learn? There really aren't any gigging opportunities where I live, so it's not like I can go down the street and listen to what others are playing, but I'm giong to be headed off to college and the "big" city (or at least as big as they get in Maine ;-), and I don't want to be left behind at jam sessions or possible gigs.

[Audrey]

I have both a Real Book and a Fake Book. I find that they're both great to practice with, bu the one that most people have that are on gigs are Real Books. I've found that the R.B has more jazz tunes ( i.e. Charlie Parker etc) while the F.B. has more B'wat tunes - turned jazz. I perfer the real book, but it depends on what you're looking for. Oh yeah. most R.B.'s are illegal , so you have to know where to find them etc. not too much of a prob- but something you should be aware of. I got my new R.B. for $35 and a used FB for $2 ( great deal) Good luck and have fun playin'.
Audrey

[mr00420]

Well, if you are able to learn the tune by ear, you might learn it in a completely different key than what most players at a jam are going play. That's o.k. if you can do a quick transposition, but one of the big advantages to everyone playing out of the real book is that it puts everyone on the same page. I know I wouldn't be able to figure out all the progressions for each tune by ear.

That being said, I never see folks playing on stage w/ a real book. This is b/c they've chosen a few tunes to play at jams and have memorized them at home (or they jam often and know a lot of tunes.) A lot of tunes stick to a basic chord progression, so some guys can sit out the head (lead melody) of the tune, and come in on a solo.

The real book does often have mistakes, but I would guess that probably less mistakes than one might make learning a tune only by ear. You do have to use your ear to identify the mistakes in the book though.

[pknight]

Sher Music, http://www.shermusic.com/, is the publisher of the New Real Book series, as well as many other real books. My favorite right now is the Real Standards Book. You can order from their web page, or have any music store order them for you, or go to Amazon.com.

[sjabariiii]

if anyone wants the real book pdfs (new and old) and has a fast connection drop me an IM.

-ANDYJ

[pknight]

FWIW, pdfs of copyrighted material, such as Sher's New Real Book series, are violations of copyright law, both domestic and international. I know that many people share this material, but it is illegal.

[saxshooter]

I've seen the Real Book sold on ebay. In different keys too. Try doing a search.

[silverghost]

I don't know if they're new or not, but Warner Brothers has come out with real books: jazz, standards, and blues. They are very easy to read and include more than just the head. Obviously, the songs are the ones WB owns the rights to. . . Really nice though.

SilverGhost

[Bnatural]

i was wondering is someone gonna make out better with an illegal real book or is it just as well u get a legal one and find it easier.... if the illegal one could anybody let me no where to find one in N.Y. city

[FunkySax]

The Real Book is a nice book to have. Actually the original has 3 volumes and is illegal, but not really hard to find. It was written by Berkley music students back in the day. You can find them on ebay on cd's and in many stores if you know how and who to ask. They are usefull because sometimes you don't have the time to learn every tune by ear alone.

[gary]

Morry - the complete old and new real books are available in Band in a Box format. I've got them all and it's great to work out with. I can't tell you how to get it, you'll have to dig around. Maybe a sophisticated internet search will do the trick. I'm not withholding any info from you, it's just that I got a CD from a friend.