Real Book for Life

When I practice, part of my routine consists of reading through Real Book tunes. I own the three Real Book volumes, and each day I read through two or three standards. I work methodically, checking off each song as I go, until I've worked my way through all three volumes. (Each volume contains 400+ jazz standards.) Once I work through all three volumes, I go back to the first volume and start over again. I'm nearing the end of my second trip through the third volume, and soon I'll be starting round three. (For those who don't know, the Real Book is a huge compilation of jazz standards. It's something that nearly every jazz player has in their library.)

I plan on cycling through the Real Book for the rest of my guitar playing days. First of all, I like this music. It's enjoyable to play through a few standards at the beginning of my practice sessions.

Apart from the simple enjoyment of playing this music, Real Book reading is a good way of learning to apply new concepts and techniques. When I first began reading through the Real Book, I had only been playing guitar for a year. I used it to improve my sight-reading, learn the entire fretboard, and apply the new jazz chords I was learning. It was a painstaking process, but by the time I had finished volume three, I was a strong reader, and I found most big band guitar parts to be a piece of cake.

As I began working through the Real Book for a second time, my initial goal was to be able to create simple chord/melody arrangements on the spot. (Chord/melody is a style of guitar playing where you play chords, voicing them in such a way that the melody note is always the top note. You really need to know your chords and the fretboard to make this work.) This was very difficult at first, and as I near the end of volume three, it's still a challenge, but I'm much better at it. About halfway through this second tour of the Real Book, I also decided to challenge myself to improvise unaccompanied, using the chord changes of whatever songs I was reading that day. This is also a major challenge, and I have a long way to go, but at a recent gig, I finally felt confident enough to add unaccompanied improv throughout the evening.

The newest concept I'm applying to my Real Book is shell voicings (also known as guide tones). ***Music theory jargon alert.*** When you play shell voicings, you play only the 3rd and 7th of every chord instead of the full chord. These two guide tones are the notes that most strongly define the chord. Shell voicings are especially useful if you're playing with a piano player. When a jazz guitarist and a pianist play together, the pianist often plays extensions, or color tones, while the guitarist stays out of the way and plays the more basic chord tones. ***End music theory jargon alert.*** You'd think it would be easier to play just the two notes at a time rather than the full chord form. Physically, it is easier, because you only have to use two fingers. Mentally, it's a challenge, because I'm not yet used to zeroing on in just the 3rds and 7ths. Just like everything else, shell voicings will get easier over time until they becomes a natural part of my playing. Even after just a week of practice, these voicings are becoming more comfortable. Once I've applied them to just one of the Real Book volumes, they'll be second nature.

Even as I get used to playing shell voicings, there will be other challenges. Each pass through the Real Book will help me learn new skills and become a better musician. As with any other good book, I find deeper and deeper meaning each time I read it.