Fake Books

a.k.a. Fakebooks

(They are real!)

Visitor:    Okay, I understand the play on words used in the "join us" poster, but what exactly is a "fakebook?"

Curator:    It's a collection of lead [leed] sheets.

Visitor:    Thanks. That clears it up. . . . Uh, what's a lead sheet?

Curator:    It's a piece of music that, rather than being arranged for a specific instrument, just contains the melody and chords. Then, any musician who knows how to read music and how to interpret the chord symbols, can play the piece in some form.

Visitor:    I think I'm getting the basic idea . . .

Curator:    One more thing; if it's a song with words, the lyrics are usually included.

Visitor:    Of course, but . . . why is it called a fakebook?

Curator:    Because players or groups who know how to put them to use can, when taking requests, play things they have not previously learned. They can just "fake it!"

Back in the day (whenever that was), fakebooks were produced and distributed
illegally, i.e. without permission from the copyright owners. This one concentrated
mostly on "show tunes" and therefore contained an index of the musicals covered.

A glance at the index of the thousand tunes . . .

At these openings, the variety of seletions is obvious. Notice Duke Ellington (a
prolific jazz composer), the state song of Kansas, and a section of college songs.

Here's the cover & the category listing of one I titled "The FakeBook
Without A Name." (See the penciled note in the top right corner.)

Ragtime, The Blues, Jive . . . the popular styles of the day!

This cover makes it clear that the target consumer was a
professional musician. The price, especially in that
day, probably made it out of reach for amateurs anyway.

Again, the essential complete index!

The appearance of the contents reveals that the editor "borrowed" from mutiple sources.

Again, the cover shows that this concentrates on show tunes.

Again, the contents show that these are not all from show tunes.

Eventually, fakebooks went legit!
To emphasize that, this one calls it a real book!
Ironically, it uses a font that imitates the old handwritten music!

The "real" book includes alternate chord change on some tunes.
They are written parallel to the original, but in parentheses.
In Dick Hyman's book, alt changes are printed in red ink.

Most modern fakebooks feature jazz, but pop/rock books are catching on.

Here are a couple of specialized books,
one spotlighting a specific artist,
& one featuring a single genre.

~ FURTHER READING ~

A step (or two) beyond a lead sheet is a combo ork.
An arranger has added second and third horn parts.
A suggested bass-line is often included as well.

Visitor:	Okay, I understand the play on words used in the "join us" poster, but what exactly is a "fakebook?"
Curator:	It's a collection of lead [leed] sheets.
Visitor:	Thanks. That clears it up. . . . Uh, what's a lead sheet?
Curator:	It's a piece of music that, rather than being arranged for a specific instrument, just contains the melody and chords. Then, any musician who knows how to read music and how to interpret the chord symbols, can play the piece in some form.
Visitor:	I think I'm getting the basic idea . . .
Curator:	One more thing; if it's a song with words, the lyrics are usually included.
Visitor:	Of course, but . . . why is it called a fakebook?
Curator:	Because players or groups who know how to put them to use can, when taking requests, play things they have not previously learned. They can just "fake it!"