fake/real books

[James]

I always here about "fake" or "real" jazz music books... what are they?

[Raskolnikov]

When I hear about a "fake" book, it's usually a book that has a bunch of very simplified songs so you can learn the gyst of them quickly... Aka: "faking" the song(s).

[Bardsley]

The original term was a fake book, that contained charts for jazz tunes, often by popular arrangements and with a dodgy grasp of copywrite. bersold then made a book called the Real Book which was a fake book that was fairly well done, and eventually had copywrite issues settled so that they could legally show charts for famous versions of tunes. The Real Book is actually a fake book, which can cause some confusion.

[kingdavid]

Sometime last year,I bought a guitar book titled The Complete Guitarist by a guy named Richard Chapman.
You know how they wax lyrical about books on the back;
Eric clapton,eat your heart out!
Amazingly deatailed-some guitar "magazine" (the quotes are mine)
blah
blah
blah!
It's a very gorgeous book,high quality paper,a lot of nice illustrations(nice as in aesthetically,not for their value to someone learning the guitar),a lot of info on gear and studio recording.....It actually,in some parts,looks like a combined catalogue for gibson,martin and maybe fender.
They say it's recommended for players of all levels.But using it to learn is a bit like using those 20 volume encyclopeadias to research your term paper if you're a history major in college or something.
You'd have to have a look at it to appreciate my reason for saying this,but as far as a book being fake goes,this one is.Not fake as in counterfeit,but fake in it's helplessness.

[chris mood]

fake books
fake books give you the chord progression and melody to a song so you can "fake" your way through it. Generally intros, endings, and solo's are not given inless there an integral part of the song.
The illegal jazz fakebook was created by a bunch of Berkelee students in the early seventies (?)
There is no copyrights issued so the composers are not compensated for there work. On the plus side, the illegal fakebook has become so popular that most of the tunes in there are considered standards and have been immortalized, had they not been published many of these tunes may have been forgotten about or passed over.

[James]

oh ok, thanks for clarifying guys

[skee1]

Chris
I bought them from the back room of the music store
in the 60s they also had the words also in them.
about 35 to 40 dollars for these big old thick books.
I still have a few with old standards plus they
have pop songs or what ever was new at that time.
To name few(ebb tide,harlum nocturne,Satin Doll,ect-ect
Mark

p:s They put a new one out each month!(Brown&green covers)
Back then they only sold them to fellow union members.

[Edited by skee1 on 02-05-2002 at 03:53 PM]

[chris mood]

Skee
You better hold on to them, there probably worth a couple hundred bucks these days.

[skee1]

I will Chris i dont thro anything away i still have,
GP-Mags from when they first hit the music stores.

Mark

[chris mood]

Do you still have your 1st guitar?

[skee1]

No Chris
but if i did i would hang it on the wall!
it was a Sears and Robuck (Silver-tone f hole electric.
1961 model ha ha.
Mark

P:S There is a picture of my old (Mosrite Ventures guitar,
on my web site which my cousin is holding in a pic.

[Edited by skee1 on 02-07-2002 at 12:38 PM]

[skee1]

I'd like to add this to the post Chris!
I'm looking right now for my old Mickey Baker jazz,
books that i got into in the late 60s.....
I know thier somewhere in my colection of books
in the attic.................
Mark

P:S I bet they cost alot more now!

[trebledamage]

I know of at least one Mickey Baker Book that is still being printed. Local bookstores like Borders or Barnes & Noble carry it, but I'm sure you could also order it online from Amazon.com or Musicdispatch.com. The book is still pretty inexpensive as well !!!

[skee1]

Thanks Treble

Mark