Lets write a fake book together

Chris Peterson

I have been working on my own gypsy jazz fake book recently (since Michael has made it clear that there is no real possibility of a published one) and I thought it would be a good idea to bring other people into the process. I used to be a professional copyist for the movie industry (worked for John Williams, Hans Zimmer, The Simpsons, etc) so I can work quickly. I have also created a nice template based about the latest edition of the Real Book. If I could get whoever else has Finale to input some songs (notes and chords) into my template, I could lay it out properly and post it here for everyone to use. If a few people had finale and were willing to share a little bit of the workload, we could get quite a fake book together very quickly. Even if you don't have finale, you could proofread and check for mistakes.

Below I have attached a pdf of one of the songs I have done so that you can see the layout that I used and know that I am serious about this. Michael, if you worry about having this material up here without copyrights, I'll take it down, no problem.

So, any takers?

Chris

[Edit: I've made this topic 'sticky'. Your ever lovin' moderator, Jack.]

Jack

Chris,

Wonderful idea (assuming we don't get M' into hot water)! There have been some private versions of this done over the years, but I'd love to see a collaborative version available. Sadly, I don't know how to use Finale, but I'm happy to proofread. For instance, the first chord in the fifth bar of Swing 42 (and in the repeats) is commonly played as a Gm6 or Em7b5/Bb shape...

Can you tell us how people would input their files into your template?

best,
Jack.

Chris Peterson

Well, assuming that there is interest in this project, I can post my template and fonts and we can all work off of that. I can also explain how to use a template for people who aren't as experience in Finale.

Don't worry about having no finale skills. Proofreading is great. I'll make the change to Swing 42 right now. As long as Michael says it is ok to do this, I'll start posting the other ones that I have done (Djangology, Minor Swing, Daphne). Then all we need are song suggestions and people to start working.

Anyone else interested?

Chris Peterson

After thinking about it for a little while, I realized that it would be a great idea to start working on the tunes that are already in the Repertoire section. That way we can work on what is already there, put the lead sheet in the original thread, then expand to more tunes once that is complete. It will be very easy to write the chords out, since we already have them. I'll just need help with melodies.

Elliot

I respect the impetus for your project, but I'm wondering what would be the ultimate benefit considering we already have books with many Django tunes; 84 in the Complete, 150 in Cosimini, etc.?

Elliot

Joli Gadjo

Chris and Jack,
Such an awesome idea, since we all already have (do you ?) some sort of a gypsy jazz fake book.
How wide would you like to extend the variety of tunes you want put in this book ? Django only ? Or do you plan on more ? I think more would be good since the Complete Django has already done such a great job with 81 tunes with charts and leads in normal notation and tab.
What's Jack is suggesting is also a great idea - mentioning the use some alternate notes / chords, it could be neat way to introduce variation by any Lafertin, Rosenberg or other Lagrene ?

How do you want to share the work ? What would I (we) need to do ?

bbwood_98

Chris, Jack, Elliot and Jolie,
GREAT idea.. how can I help- Used to have finali but don't anymore, can you take things that are pdfs- i have a few pdfs I'll send to you chris- they were made in finalie and then turned into pdfs for me by a friend.
The Major advantage is in trying to teach other people the tunes- like violinists and horns . . .And for those of us who read well its just much easier . . .
Cheers,
Ben

klaatu

It seems worthwhile, even if there are books available, plus many jazz fakebooks that would cover the standards. Many of the standards have been transposed by the gypsy players, and the chords used are often different (e.g., the extensive use of m6 rather than m7). Even the "Complete Django" doesn't contain everything he composed, (no "Chez Jaquet," for instance. Published fakebooks may be cumbersome for performance, especially if you need more than one.

I don't use Finale, having purchased Music Time Deluxe many years ago. It still does pretty much everything I need, and there would be a sizable learning curve involved in switching (not to mention converting all of the lead sheets that are already done in MT Deluxe).

As someone else asked, would PDF files created in non-Finale programs be useful, or do you want exclusively Finale source files?

Jack

Elliot wrote:

I respect the impetus for your project, but I'm wondering what would be the ultimate benefit considering we already have books with many Django tunes...

Hi Elliot,

I hear what you're saying; the downside to many of those books, though is usually the format. A Real Book style book would have almost every tune on just one page, which is a huge help at gigs when someone needs a simple chart. Right now the only one that really comes close is Peters' Django Reinhardt Anthology. For practical use (i.e. on the job) Cosimini has too many subs (and no melody) for most people, and other books have way too much information (tab, chord boxes, solos written out, etc.) for most guest musicians.

In short, I don't see this as a book for people to learn from, but one they would use more as a map.

best,
Jack.

Elliot

Okay, now I understand, an eyeball reference. Great Idea! :idea:

AJATango

Chris Peterson wrote:

I have been working on my own gypsy jazz fake book recently (since Michael has made it clear that there is no real possibility of a published one) and I thought it would be a good idea to bring other people into the process. I used to be a professional copyist for the movie industry (worked for John Williams, Hans Zimmer, The Simpsons, etc) so I can work quickly. I have also created a nice template based about the latest edition of the Real Book. If I could get whoever else has Finale to input some songs (notes and chords) into my template, I could lay it out properly and post it here for everyone to use. If a few people had finale and were willing to share a little bit of the workload, we could get quite a fake book together very quickly. Even if you don't have finale, you could proofread and check for mistakes.

Below I have attached a pdf of one of the songs I have done so that you can see the layout that I used and know that I am serious about this. Michael, if you worry about having this material up here without copyrights, I'll take it down, no problem.

So, any takers?

Chris

I am also a copyist oddly with some film score background as well. Have Finale. Glad to help.