Sheet Music What are Real / Fake Books

[Philly123]

Can anyone tell me what Real / Fake books are and what the difference between then. I'm a beginner and, whilst I'm still working through my Tune a Day, Like to have a go at some more interesting tunes. I've heard about these but don't really understand what they are or whether they are something that's suitable for someone who's a beginner.

 

[Sunray]

Ello Philly ...

I am also a beginner ..

I have access to a number of fake-books via download links but I don't think I should post those here as they will [most likely] probably breach someone's copyright ... [sorry] :shocked:

but - I can say that all the fake-books I have seen so far are compilations of sheet music which are mostly hand written rather than typed [or more professional notations] ... Often the music is far too advanced for us n00bs ... ))

I do not think they are of any use to us beginners - we ought to stick to the teaching orientated resources recommended here which will have much more value as we progress ... ;}

PS - Real books seem to be a similar compilation [often hundreds of scores] but professionally printed.

Hope that makes sense ... - That is only my assumption from what I have discovered ...

 

[caruso]

Basically Both Real and Fake Books are the same thing. They are pretty much a resource guide of tunes commonly played by musicians.

Can beginners play out of a Real/Fake Book? Absolutely, but it does depend on the tune. Some tunes in real books are too hard for beginners and others aren't. This also varies from book to book. Some are filled with challenging tunes, and others have simpler tunes.

 

[kevgermany]

The Hal Leonard ones are good, legal, and the backing CDs are available as well.

 

[MandyH]

I picked up a "dip in" book - more graded saxophone pieces (I think). Published by the same company as the "guest spot" books. There are lots of common pieces in there from all sorts of sources.
The lowest grade (1 star) pieces are really easy to play, and you sound like you're playing something rather than just honking a load of practice notes.
And because you already know the tunes, you can even play the top graded (3 star) pieces quite well, quite quickly too.

 

[1954pip]

hi mandy which book did you get and is it easy and fun to play, what was the cost please
thanks pip
ps i'm looking for my next book

 

[mojo]

I have the first in the "Dip In" books for saxophone. They are available on ebay for under
£15. Like Mandy said they are full of tunes you probably already know, which can make it easier to tackle them

http://http://musical-instruments.shop.ebay.co.uk/Music-Song-Books-/72442/i.html?rt=nc&Instrument=Saxophone&_nkw=dip%20in&_dmpt=UK_Music_SheetMusic_RL&_fln=1&_ssov=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m282

 

[MandyH]

hi mandy which book did you get and is it easy and fun to play, what was the cost please
thanks pip
ps i'm looking for my next book

Pip, this is the one I have: http://www.musicroom.com/se/ID_No/0448715/details.html if you scroll to the bottom of the page, it lists all the tunes.
The one star ones are really quite easy to play.

 

[VirusKiller]

There's actually a good wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Book

The customer reviews on amazon are also useful: http://www.amazon.com/Real-Book-Flat-Sixth/dp/0634060848