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The Real Book can refer to any of a number of popular jazz fake books, but is generally used to refer to one of two books: volume 1 of an illegal, semi-underground series transcribed and collated by students at Berklee College of Music during the 1970s, or a fully legal book published by Hal Leonard Corporation in 2005.
Whether the book used is the older & illegal edition or the newer, professional, and legal edition, at least one copy of The Real Book has become an indispensable resource for all aspiring and current jazz musicians. Musicians find it convenient to work from "the book", because it is available in different editions to suit B♭, E♭, and C (concert-pitch) instruments, as well as a bass clef edition. A band leader can literally call out page numbers, since each edition is also paginated identically.
History of the 'old' (illegal) Real Book
Bassist Steve Swallow and pianist Paul Bley are rumored to have been responsible for producing lead sheets for the book. This would explain why compositions by Swallow, Bley, and their friends (e.g., Chick Corea) are heavily represented in The Real Book alongside jazz standards and classic jazz compositions. Three volumes of The Real Book were produced — volumes 1 and 2 are printed in characteristically 'rough' handwriting and transcription, while the third volume is typeset on a computer.
The transcriptions in The Real Book are unlicensed, meaning that no royalties are paid to the artists whose songs appear in the book. Consequently, the book violates copyright and is therefore illegal. In the past, it was usually sold surreptitiously in local music stores, often hidden behind the counter for customers who asked. PDF editions of the book are now often available on P2P networks.
History of the 'new' (legal) Real Book
In 2005, the world's largest print music publisher, the Hal Leonard Corporation, obtained the rights to most of the tunes contained in the original Real Book and published the first legal edition, calling it the Real Book Sixth Edition in tacit acknowledgment of the five previous illegal versions. The cover and binding are identical to the 'old' Real Book, and the books even employ a font which is remarkably similar to the handwritten style of the originals. The other main improvements are that most of the editing mistakes have been corrected; and, of course, every tune has been licensed and the composers are being paid for the use of their music. The books are priced at $25.00 — ten dollars cheaper than the illegal ones were usually sold for — with the stated intention of driving the underground distributors out of business.
Hal Leonard subsequently released The Real Book, Volume II, Second Edition in answer to the illegal Real Book, Volume II. According to the Hal Leonard web site, they will be releasing The Real Book, Volume III on June 29, 2006. of early July, the book has not yet been published.
These books contain most, but not all, of the same material as their illegal counterparts; and in most cases, but not all, charts from the new Hal Leonard books are compatible with the illegal Real Book charts. Some of these differences are noted in the Real Book Errata article.
Other Real Books
The New Real Book, also in 3 volumes, published by Sher Music, is another legal and readily available modern alternative. The collection of tunes in it diverges from the original Real Book, but this edition offers some of the same songs, in new transcriptions and a different notation.
Some other music publishers also apply the term Real Book to their own publications - for example, the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music publishes The AB Real Book.
Foreword to the 5th and last edition of the 'old' The Real Book
The Real Book is the answer to the fake book. It is an alternative to the plethora of poorly designed, illegible, inaccurate, badly edited volumes which abound on the market today. The Real Book is extremely accurate, neat, and is designed, above all, for practical use, and every effort has been made to make it enjoyable to use. Here are some of the salient features:
FORMAT
- The book is professionally copied and meticulously checked for accuracy - in melody, harmony and rhythms.
- Standards and other short forms are on wide spaced, 9 stave paper. All others are on double staff system with chords underneath for easy reading.
- Form within each tune, in terms of both phrases and larger sections are clearly delineated and placed in obvious visual arrangement.
- All two page tunes open to face one another
- All standard type tunes remain true to their original harmonies with little or no reharmonization except for modern notation and in the case of some turnarounds. Many of the modern jazz tunes were take directly from the composers' own lead sheets or individually transcribed from their recordings.
SELECTION OF TUNES AND EDITING
- Major jazz composers of the last 30 years are concentrated on, with special attention to the last decade.
- Many standards and Broadway show tunes which have become part of the jazz repertoire vis-a-vis Bill Evans and others are included
- While some commonly played tunes are absent from the book, many of the classics are here, including bop standards and a good helping of Duke Ellington masterpieces.
- Special attention had been paid to the giants of the last 15 years or so - Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Mingus, and to the new wave of current writers - Carla Bley, Chick Corea, Mike Gibbs, Keith Jarrett, Steve Kuhn, Steve Swallow.
- Complete transcriptions of many current album cuts, some as yet unreleased, complete with horn arrangements and written rhythm figures, are included.
SOURCE REFERENCE
- The composer(s) of every tune is listed.
- Wherever possible, one or more examples of jazz recordings of the tunes are listed. (The tunes are not necessarily taken from those particular sources, however).
The Real Book was painstakingly created because the editors care about music and want it to be well played and fun to play by you, the musician. "Enjoy!"
External links
"Real Book"