April 27, 2005
Fake
Jazz musicians use something called “fake books.” They’re not really books like maybe you normally think of books, but collections of songs that show the title, the composers names, the key signature, the melody, usually also the lyrics, and most importantly, the changes (aka the chord changes).
The contents are anything but fake. There’s even one called the Real Fake Book. The contents are altogether essential, especially for beginners who may not know very many songs. The old pros who know practically every song that’s ever been written hardly need them at all, but usually keep a few around just in case.
Ironically, the contents are not fake at all. The books get their name from the fact that musicians use them as a basis for improvising, ad libbing, that is, playing or “faking” another melody than the one that is written, but that follows pretty closely those important chord changes. It is rather like composing on the spot, in a sense, writing your own song as you go along.
Life is like that. God provides the basics, the chord changes. You improvise, write the tune. It’s just that simple. Of course, once in a while, God changes the key signature and the changes with it. I suppose that’s why Louis Armstrong said, “Jazz is played from the heart. You can even live by it. Always love it.”