Real Book

SullyMan · #1 02-09-2007, 11:37 PM

Hello All,
I'm looking to get my hands on my first real book. I noticed on eBay there are sellers that will sell you a link to download a .pdf file of the book. This leads me to believe that there may be a website out there where you can download it for free. Does anyone know of such a site. Also, I noticed that trhey sell real books for just bass. Would you reccomend that I get a bass book or a standard book and just read the chord progressions. Thanks all.

SullyMan

robbass1 · #2 02-10-2007, 01:05 AM

I remember having links to them a few years ago but I think they were taken down. You can still find them on P2P networks though. For which version you get is up to you. I have one book in treble and anouther edition in bass clef. I can read both clefs fine so it doesn't bother me but if I lend my bass clef one to my piano player, he sometimes has trouble adjusting to it. I'd say go for the bass clef one if you can't read treble since playing the melodies will help your soloing.

Rob

WillBuckingham · #3 02-10-2007, 01:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SullyMan

Would you reccomend that I get a bass book or a standard book and just read the chord progressions. Thanks all.

SullyMan

I would recommend getting a standard "C" treble clef book. You can learn to read treble clef, which is good, and also hand it to a piano or guitar player on a gig without causing confusion.

-Will

Michael Case · #4 02-10-2007, 09:07 AM

Yeah treble is the way to go, it makes sharing a book easier. If you ever have a horn player who will need to sight transpose a tune, he'll curse you if it's in bass clef.

MD · #5 02-10-2007, 09:42 AM

You can download the "original" RB I-III (pdf) at the link below. You might want to turn your system volume down at this time! Also, a Band in a Box RB-I

http://www.members.shaw.ca/glitch/real.html

I get bass clef books if they're available.

Dave Speranza · #6 02-10-2007, 10:25 AM

Do yourself a favor and DO NOT buy a bass clef book. This will only cause problems for you later on.

Scottgun · #7 02-10-2007, 10:32 AM

Also do a search here about versions of the Real Book because some have a bunch of errors in them.

Scott

mr e · #8 02-10-2007, 10:41 AM

http://realbook.us/

**Damon Rondeau** · #9 02-10-2007, 11:33 AM

[moderator hat]This thread was duplicated in another forum. TalkBass only needs it once. The logical place for it is "Music", so I moved it here and deleted the duplicate.[/moderator hat]

SullyMan · #10 02-11-2007, 08:33 PM

Hey all,
I ordered a CD from ebay with 45 different fake books on it. It has all th versions in all the keys plus the bass versions. If anyone wants any books i'll be happy to try and e-mail you the .pdf files. Let me know.

Tanglehead · #11 02-13-2007, 10:56 AM

I'd just like to plug Chuck Sher's series of real books here while we're at it. Some people may disagree with some of the changes they've settled on in this series, but these are thoroughly researched books and as I understand Chuck has gone the extra mile to make sure the composers/artists are getting fair compensation for the inclusion of their songs.

My problem with some of the .pdf or downloadable real book sets - at least those that have a cost involved - is that someone is making money off of a myriad composers' work because they scanned some real book at some point and burned a bunch of CD's. The worst are those who have scanned the Sher real books and are selling them on places like eBay. I don't know about the freely shared real books mentioned above and what's up with that...

(I am in no way affiliated with Sher Publishing, although I do regularly use many of their books in teaching and performance.)

Beyond that, I'd chime in to stick with treble clef versions if you're buying real books. Learning to read treble will pay off big dividends throughout your career.

Tanglehead

Ed Fuqua · #12 02-13-2007, 11:11 AM

Hear, hear, Tanglewood.

**Damon Rondeau** · #13 02-13-2007, 12:00 PM

I was gonna pipe in with the same comment but feared it might come off as some kind of official TalkBass policy or something. I might be wrong, but by publishing links to that stuff, isn't TalkBass facilitating a wrong against the rights holders?

The Sher books are better and they don't cost much, really, especially if you look at them as tools of the trade. A single legal fakebook costs about as much as one string for your bass -- maybe two.

**Thor** · #14 02-13-2007, 12:10 PM

The real book site above is touted often as a
'transpositional tool' as opposed to a 'fake' book.

I am kind of on the fence on the ethics of that. I'd
be curious as to how you DB guys feel about this
particular topic. (So I am subscribed.)

Olafur Gislason

thesneakyjesus · #15 02-13-2007, 07:00 PM

aren't most of those tunes public domain anyways?

Ed Fuqua · #16 02-14-2007, 09:57 AM

Nope.

If the "transpositional tool" only has chord changes it's fine, you can't copyright harmony. If it has melody (or lyrics), then they are ripping somebody off.

**Thor** · #17 02-14-2007, 10:44 AM

I can't answer accurately that as the pages don't open for me
right now on this computer.

I recall it having blocks for chord changes. I am almost
certain it had lyrics as well, but not melody lines.

**Damon Rondeau** · #18 02-14-2007, 10:50 AM

If it's the same site I checked out once several years ago, no melodies. Just chord changes.

SteveC · #19 02-14-2007, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tanglehead

I'd just like to plug Chuck Sher's series of real books here while we're at it. Some people may disagree with some of the changes they've settled on in this series, but these are thoroughly researched books and as I understand Chuck has gone the extra mile to make sure the composers/artists are getting fair compensation for the inclusion of their songs.

My problem with some of the .pdf or downloadable real book sets - at least those that have a cost involved - is that someone is making money off of a myriad composers' work because they scanned some real book at some point and burned a bunch of CD's. The worst are those who have scanned the Sher real books and are selling them on places like eBay. I don't know about the freely shared real books mentioned above and what's up with that...

(I am in no way affiliated with Sher Publishing, although I do regularly use many of their books in teaching and performance.)

Beyond that, I'd chime in to stick with treble clef versions if you're buying real books. Learning to read treble will pay off big dividends throughout your career.

Tanglehead

I agree 100%. It's time those illegal RealBooks go away. I don't care who has them or how long they've been used or this is how we've always done it.

The Sher books are good. Some tunes have lyrics, horn backgrounds, arrangments, suggested bass lines an dcomping rhythms, intos and endings, etc. We are trying to get everyone around here to use them.

**Chris Fitzgerald** · #20 02-14-2007, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tanglehead

My problem with some of the .pdf or downloadable real book sets - at least those that have a cost involved - is that someone is making money off of a myriad composers' work because they scanned some real book at some point and burned a bunch of CD's. The worst are those who have scanned the Sher real books and are selling them on places like eBay. I don't know about the freely shared real books mentioned above and what's up with that...

Yup. It's called "stealing". A student gave me a copy of "the disc" once, and it stays on my computer at school; I don't mind having it because I already own all of the legal books (and many of the illegal ones as well), and it's more of a convenience than anything. But for some fool to be SELLING somebody else's work on ebay...that's just plain ****ed up.