How to Play from a Fake Book

Rating:
Summary: Learning the tricks of fakin'g it.
Review: I am an adult who used fake books extensively as a teenager when I played an accordion in a small combo. Now, (much, much later), I am trying to learn how to play an electronic keyboard competently - with both hands, and Blake Neely's book has become a very valuable addition to my library. I knew how to use a fake book and play melodies with my right hand, but how to play a tune and have it sound nice on a piano (or in my case, a Yamaha PSR540 keyboard)??? In this book, I found the answer. It starts out with a very simple left hand accompaniment - just play the root of the chord. It then continues to build up competence, step-by-step: add a fifth to the root; next learn the composition of a major chord and play the whole chord; learn about chord inversions and how to play them; learn minor chords and their inversions; learn how to easily switch from one chord to another without having to jump all over the keyboard; learn left-hand options that extend beyond simply playing the full block chord, that is, use a two-part chord, alternate the root and fifth in playing the two-part chord, play the chord as an arpeggio.

Throughout all these lessons, songs are provided to try things out and the chosen songs do, indeed, sound great using the technique explained in the lessons. While learning to play from a single line of music, the songs will show both the treble and bass clef so you can see what your left-hand should be doing. It then will provide some songs with just the treble clef to see if you can do it yourself.

Of course, you, the student, have to take the time to learn these chords. The book shows you what they are, but you have to do your homework -- it will take a great deal of practice for most players to see a chord and instantly be able to finger that chord on the keyboard.

I haven't completed this book yet -- I am still in the process of mastering all the major and minor chords so I can play them instantly. But all of the above was covered in the first 27 pages of this 88-page book (including 20 songs to illustrate the lessons). Coming up are seventh chords, augmented and diminshed chords, variations on the seventh chord, ninths and elevenths -- and 40 more songs to illustrate the chords and techniques discussed in each of the lessons. I am looking forward to devouring each lesson and loving every minute of it. After all, with a fake book, one has hundreds of pieces with which to practice the techniques being taught in this book. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who wants to play well from the many fake books available in today's market.

Rating:
Summary: Learning the tricks of fakin'g it.
Review: I am an adult who used fake books extensively as a teenager when I played an accordion in a small combo. Now, (much, much later), I am trying to learn how to play an electronic keyboard competently - with both hands, and Blake Neely's book has become a very valuable addition to my library. I knew how to use a fake book and play melodies with my right hand, but how to play a tune and have it sound nice on a piano (or in my case, a Yamaha PSR540 keyboard)??? In this book, I found the answer. It starts out with a very simple left hand accompaniment - just play the root of the chord. It then continues to build up competence, step-by-step: add a fifth to the root; next learn the composition of a major chord and play the whole chord; learn about chord inversions and how to play them; learn minor chords and their inversions; learn how to easily switch from one chord to another without having to jump all over the keyboard; learn left-hand options that extend beyond simply playing the full block chord, that is, use a two-part chord, alternate the root and fifth in playing the two-part chord, play the chord as an arpeggio.

Throughout all these lessons, songs are provided to try things out and the chosen songs do, indeed, sound great using the technique explained in the lessons. While learning to play from a single line of music, the songs will show both the treble and bass clef so you can see what your left-hand should be doing. It then will provide some songs with just the treble clef to see if you can do it yourself.

Of course, you, the student, have to take the time to learn these chords. The book shows you what they are, but you have to do your homework -- it will take a great deal of practice for most players to see a chord and instantly be able to finger that chord on the keyboard.

I haven't completed this book yet -- I am still in the process of mastering all the major and minor chords so I can play them instantly. But all of the above was covered in the first 27 pages of this 88-page book (including 20 songs to illustrate the lessons). Coming up are seventh chords, augmented and diminshed chords, variations on the seventh chord, ninths and elevenths -- and 40 more songs to illustrate the chords and techniques discussed in each of the lessons. I am looking forward to devouring each lesson and loving every minute of it. After all, with a fake book, one has hundreds of pieces with which to practice the techniques being taught in this book. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who wants to play well from the many fake books available in today's market.

Rating:
Summary: superfluous
Review: I have three objections to this:

1) There is no good reason for it to exist at all. 2) It persistently and insistently foists on us drivel it evidently considers humorous and I consider crude, unctuous, obnoxious, and smarmy. 3) It misunderstands harmony--or understands harmony imperfectly, shall we say? (See its treatment of eleventh chords.)

So how does one play from a fake book? Most sheet music arrangements of pop songs include a piano arrangement, above that a vocal line, and above that chord symbols. If you take away the piano arrangement, what you're left with is exactly what you encounter in a fake book. To learn what the chord symbols mean, merely compare them to the piano arrangement below. Of course, to play from a fake book well you need to be an accomplished improviser with a thorough knowledge of music theory: there are no shortcuts. You'll find in Jerry Coker's "Improvising Jazz", however, a clear, straightforward, and succinct summary of chord construction. I recommend Jerry Coker's "Improvising Jazz".

Rating:
Summary: now I get it!
Review: I took piano lessons for 5+ years and in elementary/junior high. I never had the least idea how to make any chord, except by reading the notes. I never knew why one chord was called a G and another was a C7. (Possibly my teachers tried to tell me, and I was not paying attention -- I wasn't the most attentive student.) I started recently trying to play keyboard and I bought one of those little books that shows every chord and its inversions. Very time consuming to look up and try to memorize each chord! But after reading this book and "How to Play the Piano Despite Years of Lessons" I can actually sit down and play any major chord, and figure out any minor, diminished, augmented, and 7th. There is actually a rhyme and reason behind it all! Who knew?! I'm having a lot of fun with these books, although I can't say I'm ready to play for an audience.

Rating:
Summary: now I get it!
Review: I took piano lessons for 5+ years and in elementary/junior high. I never had the least idea how to make any chord, except by reading the notes. I never knew why one chord was called a G and another was a C7. (Possibly my teachers tried to tell me, and I was not paying attention -- I wasn't the most attentive student.) I started recently trying to play keyboard and I bought one of those little books that shows every chord and its inversions. Very time consuming to look up and try to memorize each chord! But after reading this book and "How to Play the Piano Despite Years of Lessons" I can actually sit down and play any major chord, and figure out any minor, diminished, augmented, and 7th. There is actually a rhyme and reason behind it all! Who knew?! I'm having a lot of fun with these books, although I can't say I'm ready to play for an audience.

Rating:
Summary: Waste of money
Review: If you follow this book to learn how to play from a fake book, all you will end up with is sounding like you are playing a melody on your right hand, and block chords/arpeggios on your left. Not only very amateurish, but sounds downright ugly, and certainly no need for 88 pages to teach you that! You will have more fun and learn more on the way by getting pop sheet music. They all come with piano arrangments and chord symbols. Studying how the pros arrange the harmonies and accompaniments in these pop sheet music will tell you much more than anything this book has to offer. If you are classically trained and don't know what the chord symbols mean, a google search will give you all the answers. And if you don't know how to read music, well, this book won't help you anyway.

Rating:
Summary: Waste of money
Review: Para los hispano parlantes: Una invaluable herramienta para entender la manera en que se construye la armonía a partir de un fake-book. (Los que tienen únicamente la línea de la melodía con los acordes encima de ella) Muestra la manera de construír modelos de acompañamiento en diferentes signaturas de tiempo 4/4 3/4 6/8, etc. acordes mayores, menores, aumentados, disminuídos, séptima dominante, sustituídos, etc. No lo he terminado de estudiar, pero cada página tiene algo nuevo y que se puede aplicar inmediatamente, con piezas musicales de ejemplo.

Lo recomiendo ampliamente. El precio a pagar no es nada comparado con los beneficios.

Rating:
Summary: Maravilloso
Review: Para los hispano parlantes: Una invaluable herramienta para entender la manera en que se construye la armonía a partir de un fake-book. (Los que tienen únicamente la línea de la melodía con los acordes encima de ella) Muestra la manera de construír modelos de acompañamiento en diferentes signaturas de tiempo 4/4 3/4 6/8, etc. acordes mayores, menores, aumentados, disminuídos, séptima dominante, sustituídos, etc. No lo he terminado de estudiar, pero cada página tiene algo nuevo y que se puede aplicar inmediatamente, con piezas musicales de ejemplo.

Lo recomiendo ampliamente. El precio a pagar no es nada comparado con los beneficios.

Rating:
Summary: Maravilloso
Review: Para los hispano parlantes: Una invaluable herramienta para entender la manera en que se construye la armonía a partir de un fake-book. (Los que tienen únicamente la línea de la melodía con los acordes encima de ella) Muestra la manera de construír modelos de acompañamiento en diferentes signaturas de tiempo 4/4 3/4 6/8, etc. acordes mayores, menores, aumentados, disminuídos, séptima dominante, sustituídos, etc. No lo he terminado de estudiar, pero cada página tiene algo nuevo y que se puede aplicar inmediatamente, con piezas musicales de ejemplo.

Lo recomiendo ampliamente. El precio a pagar no es nada comparado con los beneficios.

Rating:
Summary: A valuble book for any musican
Review: This is of the best, most clearly explained books ever written on practical music theory as applies to piano. It teaches, without the use of extensive diatonic charts, the principles of chord composition for all chords in all keys. It does not dumb down theory, rather it explains it in its true form, which is in fact simple. It is a great way for a non-paino playing musician to learn piano.