The Best Fake Book Ever: For Keyboard, Vocal, Guitar, and All "C" Instruments (4th Edition) [Plastic Comb]

Hal Leonard Corp. (Creator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1990

We've updated this fake book for a fourth edition to ensure that it remains the best ever! Features melody lines, lyrics and chords for 1000+ essential songs: Amazed * At the Hop * Autumn Leaves * Bohemian Rhapsody * Cabaret * California Girls * Centerfold * Chariots of Fire * Crazy * Dust in the Wind * Earth Angel * Eleanor Rigby * Fever * Fire and Rain * From a Distance * Hello, Dolly! * Hey Jude * I Am Woman * Imagine * Joy to the World * Kansas City * La Bamba * Lady * Linus and Lucy * Longer * Me and Bobby McGee * Meditation * Misty * More * More Than Words * My Way * Oye Como Va * Peggy Sue * The Rainbow Connection * Respect * Route 66 * Shout * Spanish Eyes * Stormy Weather * Take Five * Thriller * Time in a Bottle * Unchained Melody * Wave * The Way We Were * Wonderful Tonight * Y.M.C.A. * You've Got a Friend * and hundreds more!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Founded in 1947, Hal Leonard Corporation has become the worlds largest print music publisher, representing some of the greatest songwriters and artists of all time. We are proud to publish titles of interest to all musicians as well as music lovers, from songbooks and instructional titles to artist biographies and instrument price guides to books about the music industry and all the performing arts.

Product Details

Sample Music Notation [29kb PDF]

• Plastic Comb: 864 pages
• Publisher: Hal Leonard (November 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0634034243
• ISBN-13: 978-0634034244
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #62,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #18 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Theory, Composition & Performance > Sheet Music & Scores > Instrumentation > Keyboard
  • #22 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Theory, Composition & Performance > Sheet Music & Scores > Forms & Genres > Vocal

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fake it till you make it., August 13, 2004

By 

L. Power "nlp trainer" (San Francisco) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Best Fake Book Ever: For Keyboard, Vocal, Guitar, and All "C" Instruments (4th Edition) (Plastic Comb)

This one is by far the best value of all the fake books I checked at the store.

The more you go through this book each time, the more you find yet another delightful piece. It is much more fun and easier to play naturally and improvise rather than sight reading the more difficult piano pieces with two staffs and big chords.

Also, it written for C instruments which is important to remember for piano or guitar players. I mistakenly bought an Eb fake book and that was less natural to play and almost impossible to sing to, and I had to exchange it.

Most times the songs are in the original keys, which is good. Most jazz musicians I know use fake books. Important to note is that all the lyrics seem to be included, because some fake books do not include them all.

It shows guitar and piano chords but not symbols for either one, so if you are not used to playing extended jazzy chords you might find some songs tough going at first and may have to invest in a separate chord book.

The chord changes are beautiful and authentic, and true to the original. I was particularly impressed with the level of detail including note for note transcriptions of classic solos such as In My Life, so you can naturally reproduce the original sound. Some songs include harmony notes which is great for ensemble work.

As for those who say people under forty may not recognise many tunes, these are classics in the rock and standards category. If you really want 80s and 90s music I am sure there are other books for you, but open yourself up to these pieces, and you will enjoy.

This book includes releases by Beatles, George Harrison (his 4 best songs) Queen, James Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Various Motown, Soul, Jazz, Burt Bacharach, Samba, Dave Brubeck, Elton John, Neil Diamond, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, Buddy Holly, Aretha Franklin, Carole King, Bread, Beach Boys etc. There is something here to please every taste.

Some of the songs include Bohemian Rhapsody, Hey Jude, Let it be, Michelle, This Masquerade, Theme from Mahogany, You've got a friend, Fire and Rain, It's too late, I say a little prayer, I fall to pieces, Heartbreak Hotel, My sweet Lord, Sweet Caroline, Angel by Sarah McLachlan, La Bamba, Fool on the Hill, Rockin Robin, Just the way you are, She's always a woman, Sorry seems to be the hardest word, Something, Here comes the sun, While my guitar gently weeps, What the world needs now, Yesterday. I hope you find this review helpful.

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, November 21, 2003

By 

Sara Swihart (Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Best Fake Book Ever: For Keyboard, Vocal, Guitar, and All "C" Instruments (4th Edition) (Plastic Comb)

This book gets 5 stars... If you don't know what a fake book is, it is only going to have the melody line (for the piano part, it will only have the right hand, not the left).

The book with the RED cover is for C instruments (piano, guitar, harmonica, violin, flute, recorder, oboe, viola).
The book with the GREEN cover is B-Flat instruments (clarinet, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, trumpet, baritone T.C.).
The book with the BLUE cover is for E-Flat instruments (alto saxophone, baritone saxophone).

It is about a level 4-5 on a difficulty scale of 1-10 with 1 being the easiest and 10 being the hardest.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Warning: Editions out of whack, August 28, 2005

By 

W. Welch (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Best Fake Book Ever: For Keyboard, Vocal, Guitar, and All "C" Instruments (4th Edition) (Plastic Comb)

This fakebook is published in C, Bb, and Eb versions. The C version is now on the 3rd edition. But the publisher has not yet sold out of the 2nd editions for the Eb and Bb books, and so have not gotten around to releasing 3rd editions for the other keys. The editions are badly out of sync, in terms of the songs they contain, and sometimes even the key of the song. You can't use these split editions in an ensemble setting, so if you're getting this to play with friends who already have the older edition, avoid this one like the plague.

The low star rating, however, is for the song selection and generally hard-to-read (chords are too small, poor use of whitespace, and songs broken awkwardly across pages) typesetting that you find in most Hal Leonard fake books.