What is a "Real Book" and Why They're so Important /// Scott's Bass Lessons

[@alpeebels743]

Scott Ive been playing professionally since 1963. It's humbling to learn so much from your series. Thank you so much and keep it up.

[@ferasboulala6220]

Scott, your content is a gold mine. Thank you for all your effort.

[@plookie9]

"Don't use the book as a crutch" I use to do this exactly. And I do remember this guitarist in this southern California band I was in, pulling my Real Book off of my music stand and saying....you know the song by now. If you miss up playing the songs cool, so be it. I do use notes or lyrics in front of me more as a crotch. I normally do know all the tunes though.

[@mr.cheese7763]

How on earth you can use notes as a crotch, I have NO idea.

[@dudeman5303]

@@mr.cheese7763 lol

[@MichaelColombo]

I got my real book many years ago by going into my local music shop and asking. They kept the books under the counter in a box!

[@javierm3998]

My music store had no clue what I was talkin about 😔

[@HGQjazz]

@3:30 Actually a bass player could really benefit from the Eb version of the real book. A bass player can read melodies, pretending it is written on bass clef...

[@matthewmaguire8271]

Haywood Giles yea but it will be in Eb not the right key

[@richardgroff3807]

@@matthewmaguire8271 Actually, it *will* be in the correct key if you do it right. The Eb Real Book charts (and other scores for Eb instruments) are written in the treble clef. When an Eb instrument reads a C on the chart, they actually play a concert pitch Eb. Other pitches transpose correspondingly. As a happy accident, middle C on the treble clef is located at the same relative position as the low Eb on the bass clef. It turns out that you can take music written for an Eb instrument in the treble clef, pretend that it is actually in the base clef, add three flats to the key signature(So switch key signatures C-->Eb, F-->Ab, G-->Bb, etc.), and then just play the music as written. It works just fine. That said, the bass clef real book directly writes the melodies in the bass clef without any further fuss.

[@jasonzurlo1543]

Or just learn treble clef

[@Kydoz3663]

It just so happens that I am starting to learn walking bass lines with my bass teacher. He is so stoked and happy that one of his students is wanting to learn jazz and walking bass. I bought a real book several years back but (at the time) I had no idea what it was talking about. Thank goodness I held on to it!

[@hearpalhere]

After many years sitting on my shelf unused, I've finally started using my Real Book and I'm really enjoying it. Definitely great advice to get one and I only wish I had started using it more a long time ago.

[@1978mongooseman]

one 'new real book' on its way, thanks Scott!

[@devinebass]

Pow! :)

[@emmawebber9438]

Am currently going through the Chart Survival Guide, and it's pigging awesome. Have got a Real Book Sixth ed' in C, so I can work on it on piano, guitar, and now bass :-) .

[@son1tall]

Great lesson, as always! How does a beginner - or even someone new to one of these songs - know that there is a mistake? Is it necessary to get a recording and essentially inspect the author's transcription?

[@ClJNT]

Tom Kuhn I was wondering this too.

[@mauricioalonso2157]

At first, it doesn't even matter, since as a beginner you'll probably won't be attending that many jam sessions and you'll use the book as a learning tool, eventually, when you build your repertoire, you will learn the tunes by ear and realize the "true" chords/melodies of the songs you like. Usually the mistakes are simple, a note that doesn't sound as well with the harmony, or a chord of the same function put instead of another, like a IIIm instead of a I, a tension not written, things like that. Rarely there are big mistakes like completely wrong, unrelated chords but those usually sound wrong to you immediately. Also, I have seen transcription issues, I play sax, and I was playing with an student a song on piano and he was playing sax and there was a chord that didn't sound at all when he improvised, and the problem was that the sax version had the concert key chord written instead of the transposed one. Last thing, you should always listen to any song that you want to learn, at least once, doesn't matter if it was a random song picked up on the fly, listen it to get the feel, although you should hear as many versions as you can until you find one that you like and try to emulate it. So, errors are minor enough that they won't ruin your career if you play a real book song in a live performance, and even big mistakes are kinda obvious, if you listen before learning a tune, you'd be able to distinguish these big differences. Hope that helps :)

[@fcardenas184]

At first it will probably be hard, but over time you'll notice there are certain notes that don't belong at all, or notation is incomplete. I recommend doing what Scott suggests and begin analyzing chords and harmonies on the more "pop" tunes on the book (e.g. yesterday, you are my sunshine, alfie); once you get those down it will be a lot easier for you to notice when notes or notation is out of place.

[@regipope3213]

Just start play some of the tunes out of it, try to make a playlist of the charts you wanna play and listen to them. If you listen to them and work on them you eventually start hearing and recognizing what the song really is. For example, Autumn Leaves is written in E minor in the Real Book, but if you play in a jam session it's normally played in G minor. Its a great tool to get start your ear training, sight reading, and music reading abilities. Use it as a practice tool, but not a part of your performance per say.

[@geezerbill]

Even if you have a recording and spot a difference from the printed chart, it might not be a "mistake". The band may have the whole song transposed to a different key, added or removed parts, added some embellishments (e.g. playing G9 instead of G7), or the written chord might be interpreted a slightly different way that listeners probably wouldn't notice (e.g. "G9" vs Bmin7b5, or Am7 vs C6). When it comes to books like Hal Leonard's "Real Book" series, which are very popular and have gone through numerous revisions, you can generally trust their accuracy. But if a note or a chord sounds tremendously wrong to your ears, and you're pretty sure it's not some sort of intentional dissonance/tension in the song, then I say just go with your ears and change it.

[@rjc7289]

The Real Book helped me out big-time whenever I jammed with other musicians. If I didn't know a tune, chances are the Real Book would have it charted out with chords and the basic melody, and I was good to go.

[@tbassbu2b]

Scott can you do an updated video on these books?

[@PaulHenshaw]

Scott, have you tried the the iRealPro app on a tablet? I have found it a very useful tool both for practice (drums and piano audio) and for jams (on-the-fly transcription for when the singer wants to change key). I have the paper books (The Real Book, vols 1-3) at home but the tablet is much smaller, lighter and also works well on a dark stage.

[@tiffanyonwudinanti]

does the app have the full songs or just the changes?

[@PaulHenshaw]

Just the chords

[@thefakedeal]

this really helped me on my walking

[@splendourize]

Such a good lesson Scott. I have been into Real Books for many years and it has been at times a crutch. Got the fifth !

[@jimhughes1070]

My brother... Thanks man from all of us Clueless

[@maelz]

There is also a bass clef version real book in case I missed Scott mentioning it, I recently got one so i can practice reading melodies too...although eventually would be good to read treble clef too.

[@jeresuojanen7242]

Anthropology is very nice tune Scott 350-700bpm when Charlie Parker plays it. :D

[@AndreasLindholm]

Yep, i have a few friends owning Real books in various transpositions...

[@b.canpolat2182]

Very informative video Scott, thank you very much!

[@oneofamillionfranky]

What are you thinking about the iRealPro application?

[@utechristian]

I had the same question

[@jfbravoc]

Franky R. It's awesome for studying. But it won't replace the real book in a jam session's bandstand.

[@MBJazzful]

Yes and No. The Real Book doesn't transpose. Yes - I realise that Transposing is a useful skill to have as well. (Sometime you pull the tune up and you don't have time to transpose). Awesome piece of kit. Cons - no melody line!

[@Snowcountry556]

Isn't the fifth edition one of the old illegal ones?

Is there a benefit for buying the bass clef version over the treble C version? Are they literally just the same thing, but written using different clefs?

[@jeffersonlam2969]

Great video Scott! I've had a Real Book for a while but haven't really figured out how to incorporate it into my practice. Could you do a video on how to use/practice with the real book?

[@jimmypge]

There are some spotify playlists that have a lot of the songs from The Real Book (by different artists). Playing along with them helps a bit

[@anievestor]

Scott great explanation. what do you do when u r gigging and they play it in a different key then what is on the book? I have very bad at on the fly transpositioning.

[@LupinoArts]

Those Real Books do exist as smartphone and tablet apps. The advantages are that you can transpose the songs on the fly and even change "wrong" chords. Plus, some of them are extensible and you don't have to carry a whole library of books with you.

[@dmitrypolovin1776]

Where is this app?

[@steventhompson4539]

Word!

[@jimhughes1070]

Not that I don't love Gary Willis like a brother!

[@romichjordan]

what about Real Book in Bass Clef?

[@cybercop112]

Scott, which tunes do you suggest learning from The Real Book if you're getting into walking basslines? I bought a Real Book and don't know where to start

Jean Rodriguez all of them, begin from the A and end in the Z. You dont know which tune will come up in a jam.

[@HarleyBreakoutGuy]

I need a digital version of the real book.

[@jimhughes1070]

And what happened to the first few lessons in the core pathway? I was still working my way back and forth through them;-(

[@TranceCore3]

I was going to buy a real book last week, but I hear so much conflicting information. It's probably worth it for all the chord progressions.

[@EclecticHillbilly]

On the ones that said "C version", is that the 3rd version of the book or does it mean the songs are in the key of C?

[@Snowcountry556]

The C version is written to show the note that actually sounds, what's called 'concert pitch'. Some instruments - trumpets, clarinet, etc. - are transposed, so that what is written as a C is actually played as a Bb (or Eb or whatever) on the instrument. It's a notation convention that makes it easier to switch between instruments of the same family that play in a similar way but whose range changes by less than an octave. Basically as bass players we don't need to worry about it.

[@EclecticHillbilly]

Thanks, Sam

[@guillotinedeath]

I play guitar and bass should i buy c version and bass clef version?

[@Zephuh]

Get whichever clef you can read best

[@guillotinedeath]

Okay i can read both farely well due to piano but treble will be better i guess

[@Marius1988Roma]

If you want to complete yourself and grow, use C version for guitar and F version for bass. If you just want to make things easier, use one. And that would be F, bass version because you cannot play the bass with a treble cleff one. Enjoy and have a good work.

[@cmingus26]

GreenTheater why not? You play an octave lower but what’s the problem?

[@JFS1215]

@@Marius1988Romaor just play it an octave higher? Challenge yourself!!

[@Phicxtion]

What do you know about The”Real” Real Book?

[@ssimon64]

Subscribed thanks

[@jimhughes1070]

Oops how about Phil Mann? Even... maybe I'm just too slow. 0--)

[@timoonn]

bass books without garbage tablatures are so rare nowadays

[@megajames3000]

I have stacks of em. If you're learning jazz and wanting to increase your theory knowledge you have to have at least on real book.

[@rawstarmusic]

I've played Alfie from the sheet, not on bass though. I think you should learn to understand notes. You don't have to play it directly but there are stuff you need to learn and you can do that in your own sweet time. When there are figures written in the arrangement, the bass definitely needs to play it. So when the band goes: da-pa-da-pa-da-pa-da-pa dam dam ! you better do it on the bass or your not going the next gig. I'd like to ba an academy member but as I told you I'm not joining until Lisa is on the show, you know that.

[@ocbthug8572]

i dont speak English

[@polokus_]

Why in the name of Jesus is it called "the real book"? Is the autjor or whoever put this together saying that this is the only book and all the other ones are just illusions? A man gotta know

[@geezerbill]

You've obviously never heard the term "fake book" before. A fake book is a sheet music book that just gives you song transcriptions by their basic parts (melody, chord changes, lyrics). This allows a musician or band to "fake" the song, meaning to make it recognizable to an audience, even if it's not an exact note-for-note, beat-for-beat, instrument-for-instrument following of a particular recording. As explained in the video, some Berklee students were fed up by the inaccuracies and selections they found in most fake books, and thus put their own one together, which they nicknamed "The Real Book". Ever seen commercials for Camay bar soap where the slogan is "It's not soap - it's Camay!"? Or 7-Up being called "The un-cola"? Or "It's not just a light beer - It's BUD Light!"? Well The Real Book is a clever name for a popular brand of fake books. That's it.

[@tonisiret5557]

Do they do a "pop" real book? In my experience, jazz is a by-word for elitism, & your average audience member, isn't going to care about a II - V - I..

[@jfbravoc]

Antoni Siret There is an old one.

[@reidgowan2670]

Not a legal one

[@geezerbill]

Who's "they"? The various Real Books are still essentially what are known as "fake books": books that are not transcribed for a particular instrument or from one exact recording, but just give you the basic elements of a song in order to fake your way through it (melody, chord changes, section changes). If you're asking if fake books for popular pop music exist, yes, there are thousands upon thousands of them. Wedding bands for example will have several books of contemporary pop hits showing the melody, chord changes, and lyrics. In fact you can find fake books in practically every genre.

[@thebassplayer8506]

A very misleading video. As a jazz musician, you should stay away from the real book and know everything (or at least as much as possible) by heart. If you are in a situation where you don't know how a song goes, OPEN YOUR DAMN EARS! Listen to what is being played and react accordingly.

[@jimhughes1070]

Ilan Bronshtein sorry some of us are 63 years old with brain damage and still want to play

[@jefferydavis7329]

I"m more than comfortable with 85% of the tunes in the real book by memory, but you know what is more called for on gigs? Literally everything else. I must play an old Jackson Five tune seventy times between each time I play Autumn Leaves or something based on Rhythm changes, and if you try to play weddings without a passing knowledge of Pachelbel, god help you. So, when someone calls something from the real book, forgive me Ilan, but if it isn't one of the forty or so tunes that made it into the pop vernacular, I bust it out and follow the changes on the page. Somehow, I'll come to grips with the shame of it all. A few comments up, someone says "Jazz is a by-word for elitism," and with responses like yours, I have no way of defending the jazz guys. If you want to see America's only indigenous art form die, feel free to keep treating the guys who play it casually like s***, but if you think that music belongs to everyone, not just the guys who have memorized five hundred pages of the esoteric, get off your high horse, and learn to enjoy playing with a guy who wants to be there, wants to get the chart right, and will always play it better the second time around. We all started somewhere Ilan, even you.

[@Butterking99]

Jeffery Davis couldn’t agree with you more the jazz elitist are stupid and are the same whistle blowers that say oh whys jazz dying they should take a look in the mirror

[@thepostapocalyptictrio4762]

Ok.. Adam Neely

[@thepostapocalyptictrio4762]

He’s the biggest snob in history