Huge Fake Book, Collection of 650 Songs, Large & Clean

Very large Fake Book of 650 Songs from the catalogs of Belwin-Mills, MCA Music, Marks Music, The Welk Music Group. Card covers on plastic comb binder. No library markings. Minor wear and light soil to the cover. Covers and all pages are securely attached, not marked or torn. No odors. Book is not dated though it appears it could be 1970's. A collection of standards, pop tunes of the day, etc. With lyrics, guitar chord notations, simple melody line.

A fake book is a collection of musical lead sheets intended to help a performer quickly learn new songs. Each song in a fake book contains the melody line, basic chords, and lyyrics - the minimal information needed by a musician to make an impromptu arrangement of a song, or "fake it."

The fake book is a central part of the culture of playing music in public, particularly in jazz, where improvisation is especially valued.

Fake books are not intended for novices: the reader must follow and interpret the scant notation, and is expected to have thorough familiarity with chords and sheet music. However, fake books can be an avenue to playing songs quickly; a few chords and a one-note melody line can allow even an amateur to play a passable version of any song with relative ease.