• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

your thoughts on fake books

#4
Their called fakebooks. The are music books that instead of showing you note for note how a song goes it just shows you where the cord changes are..so basically you would have to come up with your own bass line or try to duplicate it by listening to the track of the song your learning
 
#6
i play ALOT of jazz, and esp. in the "gig" side of things (dinner jazz, standards etc) using fakebooks is pretty standard.

I like to use them with my students to learn melodies, and for sight reading; really great for practicing chord changes, walking them, soloing, chording, you name it.

do you have a jazz fake book or a rocknroll or r&b or what?
 
#7
They are great "road maps" for tons of standard songs. There are also books called real books that have not only chord charts but the melody written out as well. So if you have a smart horn or keyboard player that reads well, you can play allot of cool old standards.
 
#11
I could see where this would be handy for a near impromptu gig (or worship music where people aren't good at sight-reading), but for sitting down and learning a song totally? Guitar Pro or even tablature is such a great tool, but if you are wanting to muscle up your ear training, I guess these fake books would help without telling too much.
 
#12
Fake books are a standard for gigs that I do. It basically means a bunch of players who know how to play can turn up and jam without a rehearsal and get paid to do it. Fake books and real books are the same thing. Most common in jazz, and they also come transposed so the Bb and Eb instruments can play along. They usually have melody and chords, but the iRealBook only has chords for copyright reasons.
 
#14
I use my fake book all the time. I play a lot of jazz gigs, like eddododo, and I ALWAYS take my book. It's great for having a road map of standards the group is playing, and if someone requests a tune, odds are it's in the book. They're also great for practicing melodies, changes, and writing bass lines.

Long story short, get one. They're well worth the $40.
 
#15
manbearpig97 said:
What does that even mean?
Click to expand...

The original origin of the term is from being able to "fake" your way through a song you've never rehearsed with the band, and sound like you know it and have played it with these guys a buncha times.

As far as using 'em, I've done a heap of faux Jazz gigs with guys where maybe only 1 or 2 were actually what I'd call Jazz musicians, with me playing out of the real book - the best known Jazz fake book, AFAIK; and, yes, some of the changes are questionable but if everyone does the same wrong change, it's suddenly right.

Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fake_book
 
#20
Keep in mind, a lot of chord progressions have substitutions written in from the album they may have been transcribed from. Not necessarily all the "original" changes... Also, a lot of them have standards in different key's, or key's for a vocalist, rather than key's playing with a horn section...

They are a VERY good reference... but you need to research some of the tunes too and know what key someone is going to want to play in...

Is "Pocket Changes" still around? That was my bible when playing jazz gigs... Small book, nothing but changes...

The great thing I hear about the iphone / ipad app is the ability to transpose on the fly.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back