To turn on your ears. If you have a choice of being a great reader or having great ears, go with the ears. Also learning to read from "C" will keep you from being surprised or shamed on a gig.
I wonder if anyone stopped to think that you have to walk before you can run.
There's absolutely no reason not to have a fake book in your instrument's key.
OP they are available for download on the internet. I don't know how you find it but maybe someone can post that here.
Buy it unless you plan on always playing for free. One gig using the real book more than pays for it. The legal version is excellent...only a few tunes are omitted but it has a few extras too...and easier to read if your starting out...They also offer CDs to play along to.
I've got irealbook (for android) and the legal books. Somewhere around here there are a couple different versions of the illegal ones, too. I paid for all of them. They are handy to have, but I've been trying to find recordings and learn the melodies by ear while just looking at the changes lately. That is a fun way to do it, and I don't have to think about the melodies when I'm at a show.
I did not know about the iReal Book. Very nice app and would be amazing if it had melodies! Seeing as my ipod touch is jailbroken I am going to try my hand at writing a TRUE Real Book "app" for the iphone/ipod but for obvious reasons it can't be submitted to the app store or distributed. XD If I finish it and it turns out decent I'll just keep it to myself *wink* *wink*
If you would like to "help out", any um..."direction" (PM me) as to where I can find versions of the Real Book 6th edition Vol. 1-3 for Bb, C, Eb, and Bass clef in pdf format would be useful. I only own the Bb and Eb Real Book 6th ed. Vol 1 so if I have to scan them myself then the "app" will be limited to just those 2 transpositions and volume 1.
Alternatively I have pdfs of the 5th edition Real Books but would rather not have to use them since they aren't as nice and accurate as the 6th edition Hal Leonard book. =P
So just out of curiosity, if it is illegal to upload the Real Books to a filesharing site, and illegal to download them from one, isn't it also illegal for Casa Valdez to post them as printable PDFs on his site? I'm not trying to categorize his posting of that one way or the other, just interested in knowing where the boundaries are.
After some experimentation you can use Amazon's Kindle app for the iphone/ipod touch and buy the kindle versions of the books which are cheaper than the regular sized print real books. The table of contents on the kindle version is clickable so you can jump to songs and such. looks like my "app" is not needed =P
If you want to be a real player learn to play lead sheets in C on Eb, F, Bb or any axe you play.
Once you get used to transposing it will flow. It makes you a much more versital player and saves a lot of trees.
I recall purchasing the "Real Book" years ago through a friend going to Humber College in Toronto. I was not a legal publication then, but it seemed to be an essential tool. I went ahead, despite the laws as I felt I had to have this. I now have a Hal Leonard publication to replace my worn out illegal version and feel good about being able to purchase this great resource. The font is much easier to read and the few tunes that are not included are not a major hassle. I have four versions: C, Bb, Eb and the Real Vocal Book. Like Gary, I think having the book in the key you want is not a big problem. Most beginners would not be able to sight read a new chart anyway. To add the complication of transposition may not be too inspiring. I do reccommend learning to transpose from concert pitch charts but, learning some great standards (memorize the head and changes) is easier for beginners when the charts are in their key may help to inspire them to pursue more saxophone studies.
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