![]() Take a close look at your own playing for a moment. The book was covering up some big holes in my musical skill set. H ow was I going to know the melody or chord progression without that piece of paper? How was I going to perform tunes from memory in front of an audience? This is the main reason why I continued to lean on this crutch in the practice room and on the bandstand. In the past, if you took the book away from me I would have an anxiety attack. You can’t perform without it, you can’t practice without it, in fact your entire ability as an improviser becomes tied to this book. This harmless and convenient crutch that you bring along to your rehearsals and gigs will suddenly become an unbreakable habit. The more you use the book, the more you’ll become dependent on it. “Nothing is more desirable than to be released from an affliction, but nothing is more frightening than to be divested of a crutch.” ~ James Baldwin It may be true that you’re not going to fall apart with the book in front of you, but you’re also never going to reach the higher levels of musical communication and freedom or realize your potential as an improviser. As long as you’re reading out of the book, you’ll always be playing it safe. ![]() Especially as an improviser, you’ll find that there’s a ceiling to how well you can perform with a sheet of music in front of your face. When you rely on a piece of paper to function as a musician you can only go so far. You’ll fall flat on your face, you’ll get lost, hit wrong notes, and find yourself unable to play the melody or even improvise a solo. ![]() From the outside, it appears that all is well - you’re completely in control of things, right? However, take away this safety line and you’ll quickly encounter a harsh reality. It’s the trusty support that keeps you upright in any musical situation. The crux of the matter is that the Real Book is essentially a musical crutch. Why do more work when you can have it easy? The Musical Crutch So why try to memorize melodies, hear chord progressions, or spend time transcribing from the record? You can essentially skip all of that practice time that would otherwise be spent on listening, ear training, and transcribing and go directly to performing hundreds of tunes in front of an audience. In fact you don’t even have to listen to that tune to be able to perform it. The attractive thing about a fake book is that it allows you to perform a tune almost instantly, all you have to do is be able to read music. You don’t have to worry about memorizing all those melodies, you don’t have to spend hours next to a speaker trying to figure out chord progressions, and you can get by with a limited number of musical skills. When you read tunes out of a book it’s less work…a lot less work. Keep in mind that the book isn’t bad in and of itself (after all it’s just paper!), however knowing the “side effects” of reading out of a fake book and learning how to use it effectively is essential for every player looking to improve as an improviser and learn more tunes. I see many musicians unwittingly heading in this same direction – glued to the book and wondering why they’re having trouble memorizing tunes or difficulty creating solos. The problem was not that I wasn’t trying to improve as an improviser, it’s that I was trying to use a fake book to achieve this goal. Week after week I was basically rehashing the same old material in the same exact way without having any musical progress to show for it. I was performing standards from a book all the time, but I wasn’t actually learning any of these tunes that I was playing night after night.Įven worse, I wasn’t improving at all as an improviser. I looked at lead sheets to memorize tunes, I practiced improvisation by staring for hours at written out chord progressions, and I relied on the book like a life preserver at gig after gig.įrom my perspective, this all seemed to work out just fine, however after a few years a problem slowly began to emerge. No book = no music.įor years I used to be a real book player. Like a ball and chain, the book is always there. The Real Book player is the musician that learns tunes out of a fake book, practices in front of a fake book, and performs using a fake book. In each case you’ll find the “Real Book player.” Better yet, walk into your local jam session or take a close look at the jazz trio playing the next time you’re at a wedding. Take a peek into a high school jazz band rehearsal or grab a seat at a college jazz combo concert.
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