Did Crackheads author The Real Book

[Soul Stream]

All Real Books should be thrown into a huge pile and burned "witch-style" (to rid us of all their evil-ness.) The times when I've referred to a Real Book, I've always come away wondering how they could totally over-inflate what's going on musically and get it wrong to boot. Lesson learned, use your ears and save yourself the trouble.

[CJ Shearn]

I agree, well, as a non muso. I get extremely tired of the Real Book fare when I see local cats I know play it all the time on club dates. Ok, let's do "You Don't Know What Love Is" as a funk tune for the 8 millionth time

[BruceW]

One of the dangers of overreacting is that you eliminate the useful aspects of the subject. Unless you are a top pro, what makes you think your ears are going to get you through the enormous mass of tunes and their chord and harmonic structures, let alone the tunes themselves???

Something to think about.

By the way, I ALSO hate to see bands always using breaks and in-between tunes to look at the book for a tune to play and then come up with the same stuff. Why can't they try a "different" tune that is in the book?? Why can't they get their tune list together before they start the gig??????? Its just the laziness of the players doing this type thing, don't you know. The book itself is an excellent guide for getting things together; not a requirement of stage equipment, I think..

[Free For All]

The Real Book is a good collection of titles for those who want to learn some common standards. The old version of the real book had many, many mistakes- wrong changes, wrong keys, wrong forms etc. (actually, I assign my students to research what I know to be a wrong transcription and fix it). I never use the RB as my only source for learning a tune- I always search for as many recordings as I can find to check the accuracy of the fake book. The ears are the best resource.

Even the new, legal version has some mistakes, not nearly as many as the old one though.

I see nothing wrong with using a fake book as source material. What I perceive as the problem is when that fake book becomes a crutch. I tell all my students to continually learn tunes and be able to play them WITHOUT having to read out of a fake book. Typically their first experience in a new city is to go to a jam session and if they a)don't know any tunes or b)have to drag out a book in order to play, they won't make much of an impression.

I think fake books have a place in the educational process, but dependence on them should ultimately be minimized.

[Jazz Kat]

There's nothing really that wrong with the Real books. If you don't like them, don't use them. Use should memorize as many tunes as possible, but I think it's a great tool. And as far as putting together a set list for gigs, most gigs are usually a bunch of musicians who are playing together for the first time in a while, who didn't get together before hand.

[Soul Stream]

The Real Book is a good collection of titles for those who want to learn some common standards. The old version of the real book had many, many mistakes- wrong changes, wrong keys, wrong forms etc. (actually, I assign my students to research what I know to be a wrong transcription and fix it). I never use the RB as my only source for learning a tune- I always search for as many recordings as I can find to check the accuracy of the fake book. The ears are the best resource.

Even the new, legal version has some mistakes, not nearly as many as the old one though.

I see nothing wrong with using a fake book as source material. What I perceive as the problem is when that fake book becomes a crutch. I tell all my students to continually learn tunes and be able to play them WITHOUT having to read out of a fake book. Typically their first experience in a new city is to go to a jam session and if they a)don't know any tunes or b)have to drag out a book in order to play, they won't make much of an impression.

I think fake books have a place in the educational process, but dependence on them should ultimately be minimized.

I'm always interested to look at the changes in the Real Book to see how they compare to what I'm hearing. Sometimes, they'll add something I'm not hearing....and for that I'm always eager. However, I'm usually surprised at some of the stuff that's in there. No big deal. I'm self-educated and not a good reader anyway, I couldn't sit and get through a gig looking at Real Book if a gun was to my head. It's a good source, but I couldn't imagine trying to play tunes with that as my only, or near-only, guide. Recordings and your ears are really the best combination along with other player's input and guidance imho.

[Kalo]

In answer to the thread's title: crack hadn't been invented yet.

However, booze, smack, coke, weed, speed, 'ludes, etc. were readily available...

[Kalo]

I'm always interested to look at the changes in the Real Book to see how they compare to what I'm hearing. Sometimes, they'll add something I'm not hearing....and for that I'm always eager. However, I'm usually surprisedat some of the stuff that's in there. No big deal. I'm self-educated and not a good reader anyway, I couldn't sit and get through a gig looking at Real Book if a gun was to my head. It's a good source, but I couldn't imagine trying to play tunes with that as my only, or near-only, guide. Recordings and your ears are really the best combination along with other player's input and guidance imho.

Bonus points for correct spelling of surprised, an often-flubbed word by "educated" and self-educated alike.

[BruceH]

It's "edumacated" ain't it?

[clifford_thornton]

Ok, let's do "You Don't Know What Love Is" as a funk tune for the 8 millionth time

[Joe G]

8th million time's the charm.

[jazzypaul]

In defense of the nefarious Real Book, all I can say is:

Como En Vietnam.

[Free For All]

In defense of the nefarious Real Book, all I can say is:

Como En Vietnam.

...........and there's a great version of it on this:

[Joe G]

In defense of the nefarious Real Book, all I can say is:

Como En Vietnam.

There are some missing chords in that chart.

[Jim Alfredson]

In defense of the nefarious Real Book, all I can say is:

Como En Vietnam.

There are some missing chords in that chart.

Big time.

[jazzypaul]

In defense of the nefarious Real Book, all I can say is:

Como En Vietnam.

...........and there's a great version of it on this:

best ECM record to ever go out of print.

[jazzypaul]

In defense of the nefarious Real Book, all I can say is:

Como En Vietnam.

There are some missing chords in that chart.

didn't someone post a link to Steve Swallow's site with the lead sheet for that one somewhere?

[Jim Alfredson]

http://www.wattxtrawatt.com/leadsheetsswallow.htm