Customer Reviews

Classical Fake Book, Second Edition (Fake Books)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is very comprehensive, and contains most of the major works of classical music. Since it is a fake book, it does not contain the complete score, but only the melody line with chords marked above the notes. The words/lyrics are included for the vocals, and double-stops where it appears in the original. Also, unlike some other fake books, the compositions appear in their original key. It is both an excellent reference to music appreciation students, concert goers and instrumental students as well as a source of material for beginning music students. Many of the themes can be used in student recitals.

The book is plastic tabbed bound, but since it is over 600 pages long it is somewhat difficult to get the pages placed flatly. It also does not feel like it would be that durable because both the plastic tabs may break, or the slots on the pages would easily be torn. The size of the notes is also smaller than most music books. But for the price paid, this book gives good value as there are over 850 classical themes and melodies in one place.

This book is a great pleasure. As a piano teacher, I've found that it provides fun for my young students. They can thumb through it and play page after page of marvelous classical melodies, incorporating their own chords. That's a great introduction to classical pieces which stimulates their interest in the original versions.

Some pianists may turn up their noses at the idea of a classsical fake book, but I'd point out that many of these pieces were originally written for orchestra, or--in the case of the older ones--for harpsichord, clavichord, organ, and so on. Some are taken from operas. Indeed, many of the classical works we use with our students are arrangements rather than ur-texts.

My students and I often laugh at the term "fake book"; especially for the keyboard players, these books would be more accurately named "creative books." The performer is called upon to provide his/her own harmony arrangements and rhythmic patterns. For talented musicians, "fake books" are a great opportunity for creative expression. That said, it must also be emphasized that students must have a strong foundation in piano basics, and that the teaching of ur-texts is vital for any student.

We love the "Classical Fake Book"---a hoot and a half! Highly recommended.

I hate giving bad reviews, but sometimes a product is so unprofessional that it deserves a strong warning.

I'm a saxophonist in a wedding band and play 50+ dates a year. Sometimes we play the ceremony on flute + piano so I need a classical fake book to play the processional and recessional they request.

This book should have been perfect for the job, but it is so deeply flawed that I'm throwing it in the recycle bin and looking for a different one.

First of all, the transcriptions are riddled with errors. These charts were not play-tested before publication (and this is the SECOND edition!).
Air On The G String: wrong notes in bar 3, bar 8, and bar 16
Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring: wrong note in bar 50
Wedding March: wrong notes in bar 6 and bar 10
These are just the mistakes I found on my first gig! In my second gig, I found wrong notes in bars 6 and 10 of Mendelssohn's Wedding March. This book has become a running joke in my band: when someone plays a wrong note, it's "I must been reading off the sax player's classical fake book!"

The book also lacks several convenience features that a professional will miss:
- the bars are not numbered

- this 646 page book (sadly, it's quantity not quality) is comb-bound instead of spiral bound, so it won't lie flat and it is cumbersome on a music stand

- the pages are larger than 8.5x11, so if you want to take out your most-used pages to put plastic sleeves in a 3-ring binder (a must for windy outdoor ceremonies), you are out of luck. This is probably an anti-piracy feature, which I sympathize with, although why anyone would want to steal from such a sloppily edited book is beyond me

- alphabetized by composer. I'm sure this makes sense for real classical musicians, who might think: "Babes In Toyland...oh that's by Victor Herbert, I'll just flip to the H section". But for a musician unfamiliar with the repertoire, your only choice is to go to (one of the many) tables of contents, making it cumbersome to find the tune you're looking for. It's a drag when the piano player calls a tune and you can't just flip to the right section.

This is a fantastic book for people interested in playing themes from a wide range of classical music. Most of the selections are not very long but some, like my favorite Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, is long enough to play for a solo. I play harp at the bedside of the sick, so having these themes available in fake-book form allows me to easily create a scrapbook of selections. The chord format shortens the space that the music takes up. It also eliminates page turns. The music provided is advanced-beginner /intermediate: depending on your level of proficiency you can make the music as complex as you desire. Using the book, I can get to the heart of the themes of each piece without having to play lengthy movements.

Our staff and I accompany ballet and modern dance classes for a university dance program and area ballet schools. This book is perfect for this kind of work. You can easily adapt most pieces to fit whatever the class is doing, giving them recognizable melodies but with an accompaniment (your own realization/improvisation) that supports the movement they are doing.

"Best book purchase I've EVER made" may sound like an exaggeration, but it isn't. In terms of the hours of enjoyment per dollar, this book beats all other books of all kinds I've ever bought--beats them by a hundred-fold. For it allows anyone with a guitar-level chord competence to nearly sight-read a thousand classical pieces on the piano. I enjoy the book nearly nightly. Can't say enough about it. Sure, some professional musician might find a flaw every once in a while, but compared to many other "fake" books for non-classical music, I find it is nearly always correct. And there are simply no competitors even close for "fake" classical music. And for these deep professionals, why are they playing a "fake" book anyway?

I recently had to prepare a number of my band students for the annual "solo & ensemble" festival. Their abilites ranged from beginning to intermediate and I had difficulty trying to find appropriate music for them to perform since they all played wind instruments. (A common problem for beginning band directors.) I was able to utilize this book to not only arrange pieces according to their level but to accompany them on the piano; and my piano skills are not too exemplary. We had had difficulty finding an accompanist who could rehearse the students and accompany them for the festival, hence the need for me to do the job. In short, this book delivered me from much stress and anxiety over what my students would perform. By the way, all the students who participated received I's (superior) and II's (excellent), the two highest ratings! I've also used the book in my music appreciaton classes and am still exploring all the other wonderful ways I can utilize it. I believe it to be a necessary tool for all music educators.

If you are reading this review, you may already have encountered a wide range of assessments of The Classical Fake Book. True, the 600+ "classical themes and melodies" include neither important American ragtime compositions nor Spanish compositions, as other reviewers have pointed out. Also true is the fact that these melody-plus-chord symbol charts are not error free; however, that tends to be the case with any fake book, be it an old "pre-legit" edition of The Real Book, or a more recent authorized fake book. In the jazz tradition, a fake book is a jumping off point--jazz guitarists and pianists often will make chord substitutions and alterations that perhaps reflect famous recordings of the past better than the harmonizations specified in the fake book. Melodic pitches and rhythms, too, sometimes are not entirely reflective of famous recordings, or the most commonly known versions of the pieces. In the classical tradition, musicians more often think of strictly adhering to the score, and that is where a collection such as The Classical Fake Book runs into trouble. Even though the material comes from the classical tradition, this collection is most satisfying when one treats it more like a jazz fake book: as a jumping off point. The book contains a wide variety of material and is useful for gigs, in-class demonstrations for music teachers, starting points for arrangements, and so on. The Classical Fake Book is not perfect (no fake book is...), but it is a highly useful tool for creative musicians and teachers.

The Classical Fake Book is exactly what it is described to be. Anyone that is familar with fake books should get many hours of enjoyment from this book. The music ranges from medium to difficult for the average keyboard player that just plays for fun. I highly recommend this book if you are getting tired of playing the usual modern popular music. This is not a a book that the average player will sit down and easily play through every page. Other reviews mention that the music is difficult due to the key it was written in. That is true for some of the music, and 5 flats are tough, but you will be a much improved player as you master the more difficult tunes. And speaking of tunes, the book has an excellent wide selection of music.

Very small print; difficult arrangement, almost same as the original score. Perhaps good for a professional, but a pro would know how to read the score (especially that arrangements are in the same key, i.e. mostly 5 flats or 4 sharps). Love fake books, but not this one :(