April 27, 2007
Faking
Jazz musicians use something called “fake books.” They’re not so much books like maybe we normally think of books, but collections of songs that show the title, the composers, the key signature, the melody, usually also the lyrics, and most importantly, the changes (aka the chord changes).
The contents are anything but fake. Though there’s even one called the Real Fake Book. The collection is 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 (if you hum a few bars) 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 still 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’s a lot like that. God provides the basics — the melody and the chord changes. You improvise, write your own tune. It’s just that simple. Of course, once in a while, God comes up with a new key signature and maybe fattens up the chord changes a bit. I suppose that’s one reason why Louis Armstrong said, “Jazz is played from the heart. You can even live by it. Always love it.”
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