Customer Reviews

The Ultimate Christmas Fake Book: for Piano, Vocal, Guitar, Electronic Keyboard & All "C" Instruments (Fake Books)

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First, there seems to be a discrepancy with the picture of the songbook's cover shown above.

I have posted a customer image of the songbook's actual cover (which is beautiful in and of itself).

Obviously, the incorrect image above is from an earlier 3rd edition. Notice the old cover says over 200 songs... well, this updated edition now has 275 songs.

Also, this book now has 231 pages as opposed to the 160 pages mentioned above under "Product Details".

Edit 12/07/08: Ok... I hadn't checked in a very long time, but obviously Amazon has removed the incorrect image that I just made mention of... so you can ignore that part of this review.

***
I love this book!

I am an amateur pianist and enjoy playing from this fakebook very much.

This is a great selection of Yuletide favorites represented in melody lines, lyrics and chords.

Seemingly, most of the titles you'd look for are in this collection as well as a lot of lesser-known ones.

I have listed the complete contents below.

Please take care to make sure enough of 'your' favorite Christmas tunes are listed there so that you don't regret buying the book.

***
I heartily and heartfully recommend this Christmas songbook to you!

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Contents:

A Caroling We Go C Major
Grandma's Killer Fruitcake G Major
All My Heart This Night Rejoices Bb Major
All Through The Night F Major
Away In A Manger F Major
Almost Day G Major
An Old Fashioned Christmas F Major
Angels From The Realms Of Glory C Major
Angels We Have Heard On High F Major
As Each Happy Christmas G Major
As Lately We Watched G Major
As With Gladness Men Of Old G Major
Baby, It's Cold Outside F Major
Auld Lang Syne F Major
A Baby In The Cradle Ab Major
Because It's Christmas (For All The Children) C Major
The Birthday of a King (Neidlinger) Ab Major
The Boar's Head Carol C Major
A Boy Is Born In Bethlehem A Minor
Bring A Torch, Jeannette, Isabella G Major
Burgundian Carol C Minor
Carol Of The Bells G Minor
Carol Of The Birds E Minor
Caroling, Caroling G Major
The Chipmunk Song C Major
Celebrate The Child Ab Major
Christ Was Born On Christmas Day F Major
Christians, Awake! Salute The Happy Morn C Major
C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S C Major
A Christmas Carol Bb Major
Christmas Is All In The Heart G Major
Christmas Time Is Here F Major
Christmas Is A-Comin' (May God Bless You) Eb Major
Christmas Is Just About Here F Major
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) Eb Major
The Christmas Waltz F Major
Come, All Ye Shepherds F Major
Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus F Mjor
Coventry Carol A Minor
Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy E Minor
A La Nanita Nana (Hear Lullabies and Sleep Now) E Minor
Deck The Hall F Major
Ding Dong! Merrily On High! Bb Major
Do They Know It's Christmas? C Major
Douglas Mountain F Major
Everyone's A Child At Christmas C Major
Everywhere, Everywhere, Christmas Tonight G Major
Feliz Navidad D Major
The First Noel D Major
The Friendly Beasts Eb Major
From Heaven Above To Earth I Come D Major
From The Eastern Mountains F Major
Frosty The Snow Man C Major
Fum, Fum, Fum A Minor
Gather Around The Christmas Tree F Major
Glad Christmas Bells G Major
Glad Tidings (Shalom Chaverim) D Minor
Go, Tell It On The Mountain F Major
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen E Minor
Goin' On A Sleighride F Major
Good Christian Men, Rejoice F Major
Good King Wenceslas G Major
Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer E Major
The Greatest Gift Of All G Major
Greenwillow Christmas G Major
Hallelujah Chorus D Major
The Happy Christmas Comes Once More F Major
Happy Christmas, Little Friend G Major
Happy Xmas (War Is Over) A Major
Happy Hanukkah, My Friend (The Hanukkah Song) G Major
Happy Holiday Eb Major
Happy New Year Darling F Major
He Is Born G Major
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing G Major
He Bb Major
Hear Them Bells G Major
Here We Come A-Wassailing D Major
The Holly And The Ivy G Major
A Holly Jolly Christmas C Major
(There's No Place Like) Home For The Holidays C Major
How Brightly Beams The Morning Star D Major
How Lovely Is Christmas C Major
Hymne Eb Major
I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day F Major
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus C Major
I Saw Three Ships G Major
I Still Believe In Santa Claus D Major
I'll Be Home On Christmas Day E Major
I Wonder As I Wander G Minor
I'll Be Home For Christmas C Major
I'm Spending Christmas With You C Major
In The Field With Flocks Abiding G Major
It Came Upon The Midnight Clear Bb Major
It Must Have Been The Mistletoe (Our First Christmas) F Major
It's Beginning To Look Like Christmas Ab Major
It's Christmas Time All Over The World Eb Major
It's Just Another New Year's Eve F Major
Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring G Major
Jesus Born On This Day D Major
Jingle-Bell Rock C Major
Jingle Bells G Major
Jingle, Jingle, Jingle C Major
Jolly Old St. Nicholas Bb Major
Joy To The World D Major
Joyous Christmas C Major
Last Christmas C Major
The Last Month Of The Year (What Month Was Jesus Born In?) D Major
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! F Major
Let's Have An Old Fashioned Christmas Eb Major
Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming F Major
March Of The Three Kings G Minor
March Of The Toys G Minor
A Marshmallow World C Major
Mary Had A Baby F Major
Mary's Little Boy F Major
Mary's Little Boy Child Bb Major
Masters In This Hall D Minor
The Merry Christmas Polka Eb Major
A Merry, Merry Christmas To You Bb Major
Mister Santa Bb Major
The Most Wonderful Day Of The Year C Major
My Favorite Things E Minor, composed by Oscar Hammerstein, Richard Rodgers, From "The Sound Of Music".
No Eye Had Seen Ab Major
The Night Before Christmas Song C Major
Noel! Noel! Bb Major
Nuttin' For Christmas F Major
O Come Rejoicing G Major
O Bethlehem G Major
O Christmas Tree F Major
O Come, All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles) G Major
O Come, Little Children Eb Major
O Come, O Come Immanuel E Minor
O Hearken Ye G Major
O Holy Night C Major
O Little Town Of Bethlehem F Major
O Sanctissima C Major
Old Toy Trains F Major
On Christmas Night G Major
Once In Royal David's City F Major
One Bright Star G Major
One For The Little Bitty Baby (Go Where I Send Thee) C Major
Out Of The East Eb Major
Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers C Major
Pat-A-Pan (Willie, Take Your Little Drum) G Minor
Poor Little Jesus D Minor
Pretty Paper G Major
Rejoice And Be Merry G Major
Ring Out, Ye Wild And Merry Bells C Major
Rise Up, Shepherd, And Follow Eb Major
Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree C Major
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer C Major
Santa Baby G Major
Santa, Bring My Baby Back (To Me) C Major
The Santa Claus Parade C Major
Share Love E Major
Shout The Glad Tidings Eb Major
Silent Night C Major
Silver And Gold C Major
Silver Bells Bb Major
The Simple Birth G Major
Sing We Now Of Christmas G Minor
Sleep, Holy Babe D Major
The Snow Lay On The Ground G Major
Snowfall Db Major
Some Children See Him F Major
Some Things For Christmas (A Snake, Some Mice, Some Glue And A Hole Too) G Major
The Star Carol Eb Major
The Star Carol (Canzone D'i Zampognari) G Major
The Star Of Christmas Morning C Minor
Still, Still, Still D Major
Suzy Snowflake C Major
Tennessee Christmas C Major
That Christmas Feeling Bb Major
There's A Song In The Air G Major
This Is Christmas (Bright, Bright The Holly Berries) D Major
This One's For The Children F Major
Toyland F Major
'Twas The Night Before Christmas C Major
The Twelve Days Of Christmas F Major
Up On The Housetop Eb Major
A Virgin Unspotted D Major
Wassail, Wassail F Major
We Are Santa's Elves F Major
We Need A Little Christmas G Major
We Three Kings Of Orient Are G Major
We Wish You A Merry Christmas C Major
What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? F Major
What Child Is This? E Minor
When Christ Was Born Of Mary Free G Major
Whence Comes This Rush Of Wings G Minor
When Santa Claus Gets Your Letter C Major
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks C Major
The White World Of Winter G Major
Winds Through The Olive Trees Bb Major
Wonderful Christmastime Bb Major
The Wonderful World Of Christmas G Major
You Make It Feel Like Christmas D Major
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly G Major
A Cradle Prayer Bb Major
After December Slips Away G Major
All I Want For Christmas Is You G Major
All My Heart Rejoices G Major
As Long As There's Christmas Bb Major
Beside Thy Cradle Here I Stand G Major
Break Forth, O Beauteous, Heavenly Light Eb Major
Call His Name Jesus C Major
Carol Of The Bagpipers F Major
Cold December Nights A Minor
Do You Hear What I Hear C Major
Emmanuel F Major
Feels Like Christmas E Major
Gesu Bambino (The Infant Jesus) E Major
Gloria F Major
Grandpa's Gonna Sue The Pants Offa Santa C Major
Grown-Up Christmas List G Major
Holly Leaves And Christmas Trees C Major
Holy Child A Major
Home (When Shadows Fall) D Major
I Am So Glad On Christmas Eve Bb Major
I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm Eb Major
In The Bleak Midwinter F Major
Irish Carol F Major
It Won't Seem Like Christmas (Without You) A Major
Jesus Is Born D Major
Jesus What A Wonderful Child F Major
Joseph Dearest, Joseph Mine F Major
Joseph's Song C Major
Let's Make It Christmas All Year 'Round Eb Major
Little Altar Boy D Minor
Little Saint Nick G Major
Little Town F Major
Love Came Down At Christmas F Major
Merry Christmas From The Family G Major
Merry Christmas, Baby G Major
Merry Christmas, Darling Bb Major
Merry, Merry Christmas, Baby Eb Major
Miracles G Minor
Miss You Most At Christmas D Major
Most Of All I Wish You Were Here F Major
Noel Nouvelet G Minor
O Thou Joyful D Major
One King B Minor
Please Come Home For Christmas A Major
Precious Promise G Major
Rocking F Major
Shake Me I Rattle (Squeeze Me I Cry) Bb Major
Shepheard! Shake Off Your Drowsy Sleep Eb Major
The Babe G Major
The Bells Of Christmas C Minor
The Cherry Tree Carol G Major
The Christmas Shoes G Major
The Gift Bb Major
The Little Boy The Santa Claus Forgot F Major
The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year A Major
The Sleep Of The Infant Jesus E Minor
The Star A Major
This Little Child Bb Major
Touro-Louro-Louro G Major
Wexford Carol G Major
What A Merry Christmas This Could Be C Major
What Christmas Means To Me C Major
When Love Came Down Bb Major
Where Are You Christmas? Bb Major
While By My Sheep C Major
Who Would Imagine A King F Major
Why Christmas F Minor
Ya Viene La Vieja F Major
Away In A Manger G Major
Going Home For Christmas A Major

I am about to buy my second copy of this book. The first one got loaned out or lost since my gigs last Christmas. I am a weekend performer at local venues and this book has most every Christmas song written. It enables meet to accommodate almost any requests. The keys are generally the most common keys for each particular arrangement.

I can't make it through the Christmas season without this crutch to lean on.

i just started playing the piano and this book is quite easy to learn. it contains many old favorites and several i had never heard before. i highly recommend for those who are just learning how to chord. i thoroughly enjoy using this book!

Hal Leonard Publishing has a corner on the market, and Amazon has the nice price. I no longer require fakebooks, but occasionally they serve as a handy reminder of a tune to play, or of a chord or melody note about which I'm a bit tentative, and when possible I try to work with a second musician, whether a bass player, guitarist, or horn player. Nothing like a fakebook to ensure you and the other musician(s) are on the same page. Fake books are, moreover, a great way to learn how to play jazz--apart from lots of close, attentive listening to everything Sinatra, Crosby and Ella recorded.

The Leonard-style fake books are what you need--whether metal or plastic, the "comb binders" are crucial, enabling you to lay the music flat. I can remember the days of illegal, under-the-counter "real books," going for fifty a pop, as much as 150 for a set of three--3 tunes per page, with minuscule notation and frequently inaccurate (or very "uncool") chord changes, hastily and carelessly transcribed. Now, even the "Real" (or "New Real") books are legal and reliable. Playing from a fakebook "forces" you to come up with chordal voicings and rhythmic accompaniment patterns--of far greater value than any "jazz method book" to anyone who wants to learn how to improvise or play jazz.

This is the 5th edition, apparently the most recent of Leonard's "Ultimate" Christmas fakebooks, but were it not for Amazon's price (for 275 songs), I'd most likely demur. (Like music stands and even piano stands, not to mention cords and adapters, fake books tend to get left behind on the gig.) The collection is relatively complete--including tunes like "Christmas Time Is Here," "The Christmas Waltz," "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve," tunes that frequently are not to be found in a one-volume collection. It also has some nice surprises like "Santa Baby," Frank Loesser's "Baby It's Cold Outside," the traditional hymn "In the Bleak Midwinter," and Claude Thornhill's "Snowfall." On the other hand, three songs immediately conspicuous by their absence are "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Winter Wonderland" and "Sleigh Ride" (hard to imagine excluding any of the three from a Christmas gig.) More excusable, perhaps, is the omission of Irving Berlin's "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm"; more understandable is the absence of "Snoopy's Theme" (aka "Linus and Lucy"), but you'd better have it ready if you're playing a Christmas party. The missing songs would be less of an irritant if the volume didn't include some truly expendable holiday ephemera such as "Holly Jolly Christmas" and "Jingle Bell Rock" (the latter sounds more like a polka and, thankfully, is no longer requested). Finally, any volume of Christmas songs worthy of the descriptive term "Ultimate" had better have Thad Jones' "A Child Is Born," a jazz standard which, though appropriate for any time of the year, has become increasingly popular with each new Christmas season.

"The Christmas Fake Book" (by Alfred Publishing) fills some of these holes (153 songs, many duplicates but at a lower price, making it a value comparable with the Leonard "Ultimate" edition). It's unclear to me why "The Professional Pianist's Christmas Fake Book" is: 1. "professional" and 2. more expensive. But you'll still probably have to spring for at least one more collection--"A Charlie Brown Christmas." There was a time when three purchases would quickly pay for themselves, but in recent years, with acoustic pianos no longer a common instrument in residences let alone commercial establishments, a live musician trying to make a living may be inclined to settle for one book.

What's the best Christmas song? I'd have to go with the ballads. In some cases ("I'll Be Home for Christmas," for example), it depends primarily on the performance. "White Christmas," for all its simplicity, bears the mark of Berlin's genius in every note and word, but again a sensitive performance is key to the song's effectiveness. For a song with a strong chord progression supporting a "melody on a mission," or a musical lyric capable of practically playing itself, a piano player would be hard-pressed to decide between "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and Mel Torme's "The Christmas Song" (though I'm afraid that roasting chestnuts on an open fire no longer makes a whole lot of sense to listeners).

As you can see from a few of the above reviews, that well-known eternal hot spot will freeze over before singers would ever quit whining about keys. Instrumentalists use these fake books too. The keys are fine. Buy the book.

Impressive selection - in fact, probably half were ones I don't know, which either means they're obscure or I'm not as knowledgeable as I thought.

Nice clear typography, and comb binding is a must for anything you want to stick on the piano.

One complaint: Most of the songs were in keys that were too high for women. When we had a singalong night I and my band had to transpose on the fly so the women wouldn't be screeching.

I've been playing and teaching guitar for 36+ years and I use this book more than any other for christmas. If you know how to play notes and chords, it's great. If you know how to turn a single note melody into a chord solo, this book is fantastic. This book is great for the student that is ready to be taught how to create chord solos.

A fine fake-book, filled with familiar and not-so-familiar Christmas songs. Wonderful for guitar and keyboard players at Christmas time.

This book sure is comprehensive! It has many songs I've never heard of and, thankfully, most of my favorites-- including some fairy contemporary songs. I had read that some songs are in too high of a key to sing along with and I have to agree, though many are just fine.

I thought about buying this book, but luckily there were many sample pages to preview, so I was able to avoid the mistake. This fake book, like most on the market, seems to have every song written in a key too high for most normal people to sing. Most people buy fake books so that amateurs can sing along, so they need to be written in nice middle-range keys (often C or B flat, as opposed to F and G, but it really depends on the song.) This problem of having the key too high also exists with standard church hymnals, which is why congregations generally sound like rusty hinges, even if the members can carry a tune.

For once, I wish somebody would write a fake book with all the songs already transposed into a sing-able range. An even better idea would be to offer each song in two different keys, about 4-5 notes apart, so that the accompanist can more easily adapt to the needs of the singer(s). Does anybody know of such a book? If I have to take the trouble to transpose, I might as well save my money and start with blank note-writing paper.