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Real Book Fun!!

#41
FWIW, here's an example of a chart I received for a hit this weekend. Pretty simple, although some highlights include the notation down in the ledger lines, and a few incorrect assumptions about note choice (another reason why it's always great to use your ear!). Finally, as hashed out in rehearsal, the written second-ending called for another verse that doesn't exist...one of those things you don't know until you play through the tune. If it's of value to anyone, I'll scan in my working copy of the chart, which includes penciled-in chicken scratch to make sure I play the tune correctly on the gig.

(Full credit to Rocio Guitard for the chart - she's an absolute wizard when it comes to this stuff. You should see her book - the one she uses for her own gigs. Flawless. Each chart is clear, concise, and offers all the information needed to make you, her, and the whole band sound good. I've sight-read through her tunes numerous times without issue. If only they could all be like that. :D)
 

Attachments

#43
The slash notation is the common way of saying, "Here are the changes - go play the tune." Most chord charts you see will look like that. This one is kind of a hybrid, offering actual notation for the important stuff, with everything else either noted as "similar" or "continue", or basically just open to interpretation by the players.

The things I wrote in address the road map (no second ending on the repeat) and a few of the notes during the verses. Actually, I think I also wrote in an optional repeat on the last chorus. Kudos to C&C Music Factory for creating such cool stuff - and to the keyboard player on this date who caught them - for the note changes. This is one of those tunes where you can certainly sound good playing through without those subtleties, but when you include them, the whole band sounds better.

FYI/FWIW, I should have a recording of this next week. The young girl singing the tune is 13 years old, and she's actually stronger on those ridiculous high notes than Mariah Carey. It's amazing.
 
#45
Do the slashes actually convey some information though? They seem to be implying rhythm for somebody... is that what the chords guy (guitarist? keyboardist?) should roughly play rhythmically? Just curious...

Most of the chord charts I've dealt with are just chord names written inside measures. There's nothing resembling notation in there at all, no staff, no "notes"... so this is a new one on me!
 
#46
RocketMusic said:
Do the slashes actually convey some information though? They seem to be implying rhythm for somebody... is that what the chords guy (guitarist? keyboardist?) should roughly play rhythmically? Just curious...
Click to expand...
Generally, they relate to the time signature - three slashes in 3/4, four in 4/4 etc. Honestly, I haven't put much thought into the "why" - just seems generally accepted as filler so you can distinguish from one bar to another on the chart. Good question...I keep forgetting you were a damn engineer in a prior life. :D :ninja:

RocketMusic said:
Most of the chord charts I've dealt with are just chord names written inside measures. There's nothing resembling notation in there at all, no staff, no "notes"... so this is a new one on me!
Click to expand...
You'll see more and more of 'em. "Oleo" in RB1 is the first tune that comes to mind. Essentially, anyhwere there isn't specific melodic (or harmonic) notation, you'll find the slashes.
 
#47
Jerry made me think of a few resources with the mention of repeats, endings, etc...

Some docs I've shared out b4:
  • [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
  • [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

And a couple killer web sites/pages:


And Jerry, I say post the chart with annotations if it's convenient, certainly will not hurt...

-PE
 
#48
Ah, I just looked up "Oleo". Yeah, I have seen those slashes before!! :rollno: :D

I guess I've just never seen them with the tails that make them look like eighth or sixteenth notes as on your "Emotions" chart... those look less like filler and more like rhythmic notation to me. I was imagining them to be drum sheet music or something.

Yessir, you're on the receiving end of my uber-analytical personality. Congratulations, and Enjoy!! :D:D
 
#49
FWIW, here's something I put together for a recording session last month. The process went like this:

Producer: "We want to do 'Hazy Shade...' Do you know it?

Me: (Ummm...) "Yes." (Always say yes, especially over the phone/via email. Even if the real answer is, "no," you have time to make it happen before they can find out. :D)

Producer: "Cool. See you in two days."

I then hit iTunes, downloaded the tune, and sat down to rough it out. Obviously a popular tune, and I didn't totally lie over the phone...I knew of it and didn't expect to have much trouble learning it. That evening I sat down with the practice amp, the bass, and some manuscript paper. A few hunt & pecks on the bass later, followed by a coupla' listen-backs and note-taking, the result is in the first attachment below.

After that I opened up Finale and made it look better...as shown in the second attachment.

Extra work? Definitely, but as Brian has alluded, it helps keep me sharp, and puts me in tune with the nuances of the song. Not that this one was a back-breaker by any means, but the part went down in one take. Not sure that would've happened had I not spent the 90 minutes up front.
 

Attachments

#50
RocketMusic said:
...I guess I've just never seen them with the tails that make them look like eighth or sixteenth notes as on your "Emotions" chart... those look less like filler and more like rhythmic notation to me. I was imagining them to be drum sheet music or something.
Click to expand...
Doh! My apologies for not being more specific on that - totally my fault. You nailed it, Greg. That's a 'tweener notation that is used when trying to convey specific rhythms, while the note choice is left up to the player(s). I've always suspected it originated with drum parts, but that's just a guess. On this particular part, it's certainly a form of shorthand. "Play the line like it's written at the top" sorta' thing.
 
#51
PlanetEarth said:
Jerry made me think of a few resources with the mention of repeats, endings, etc...



Some docs I've shared out b4:
  • [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
  • [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
And a couple killer web sites/pages:

And Jerry, I say post the chart with annotations if it's convenient, certainly will not hurt...

-PE
Click to expand...

Oh, jeez, you've just destroyed the next decade of my life!! I HAVE to go study this stuff now :help: :D

Thanks a million for sharing, all you guys in the know!!
 
#52
I think you're confusing slash notation with rhythmic notation (which has slashes as the note heads). As Jerry mentioned the slash notation will be indicative of the downbeats and time sig. you're playing in. The rhythmic notation typically shows a continuation of an already established pattern OR simply that pitch is interpretive but that there is a rhythmic pattern that needs to be supported.

FWIW: Syncopation by Ted Reed is a killer book (among others) to just read through and practice reading rhythms. It's really a drummers book but I find it to be a great way to kick back without an instrument and tap out the rhythms. Keeps ya sharp and is convenient to do just about anywhere/anytime.

Another random thought I've heard a consensus about among instructors - Not to count when your reading, use "Da dum" or something similar but stay away from reading it as 1-& 2-& or 1-e-&-a 2-e-&-a, etc. Same deal with tri-pa-let and/or 1-te-ta, 2-te-ta. I guess an analogy might be, the same way you hear changes in relationship to a key center you can think of rhythms in relationship to the downbeats; so when you're tapping your foot on the downbeats everything else is just a subdivision of the space between/around.

-PE
 
#53
VroomVroom said:
FWIW, here's something I put together for a recording session last month. The process went like this:

Producer: "We want to do 'Hazy Shade...' Do you know it?

Me: (Ummm...) "Yes." (Always say yes, especially over the phone/via email. Even if the real answer is, "no," you have time to make it happen before they can find out. :D)

Producer: "Cool. See you in two days."

I then hit iTunes, downloaded the tune, and sat down to rough it out. Obviously a popular tune, and I didn't totally lie over the phone...I knew of it and didn't expect to have much trouble learning it. That evening I sat down with the practice amp, the bass, and some manuscript paper. A few hunt & pecks on the bass later, followed by a coupla' listen-backs and note-taking, the result is in the first attachment below.

After that I opened up Finale and made it look better...as shown in the second attachment.

Extra work? Definitely, but as Brian has alluded, it helps keep me sharp, and puts me in tune with the nuances of the song. Not that this one was a back-breaker by any means, but the part went down in one take. Not sure that would've happened had I not spent the 90 minutes up front.
Click to expand...

Lots to learn there, too! What do I walk away with? "Hey, I didn't know Paul Simon wrote that!" :rollno:
 
#54
VroomVroom said:
FWIW, here's an example of a chart I received for a hit this weekend. Pretty simple, although some highlights include the notation down in the ledger lines, and a few incorrect assumptions about note choice (another reason why it's always great to use your ear!). Finally, as hashed out in rehearsal, the written second-ending called for another verse that doesn't exist...one of those things you don't know until you play through the tune. If it's of value to anyone, I'll scan in my working copy of the chart, which includes penciled-in chicken scratch to make sure I play the tune correctly on the gig.

(Full credit to Rocio Guitard for the chart - she's an absolute wizard when it comes to this stuff. You should see her book - the one she uses for her own gigs. Flawless. Each chart is clear, concise, and offers all the information needed to make you, her, and the whole band sound good. I've sight-read through her tunes numerous times without issue. If only they could all be like that. :D)
Click to expand...

The agency I work with has the same sort of thing (he even uses the same font1). Makes it very easy to site read the tunes on the gig (special requests, etc.).

PS Playing an Earth Wind and Fire tribute show with full band (I believe 14 pieces) next Friday. THOSE charts I'm woodshedding! Whew!
 
#58
Speaking of key changes, have you seen the Real Book app for the iPhone. Totally crazy.... it can transpose any tune to any key. Only changes, no melody lines, but pretty cool to have all those tunes in every key in your pocket!
 
#60
Holy Crap, Brian!!! [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] has been a tremendous help. I must have played it 40-50 times throughout the day yesterday, and I slowly but surely got better as the day progressed. But I didn't really realize how much better I'd gotten until just now... I just cracked open the Real Book to start thinking about recording "Afro Blue", and for the first time in my life I'm able to look at a piece of sheet music and see the notes for what they are. They're not just random dots on a staff, I now see "C", "D", "E", "F", etc.

I'm kinda speechless right now. And really, really thrilled!! :hyper:
 

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