You may be intimidated the first time you crack open a fake book. However, if you're familiar with (or at least willing to learn) your chords, then that's half the battle. A fake book contains pieces written out in lead sheet form. That is, you see the melody and chord symbols written above.

The idea is that you "fake" - or create - your own accompaniment. Throw down a pop groove on "Happy Birthday" one day. The next day, you could play it in ragtime style.The possibilities are endless.

Plus, with the music condensed in this format, you can have hundreds of songs in one book. It's so much easier to bring one fake book to a gig than 10 music books.

These are some of the fake books that I've collected over the years. They are also the ones I shared with my fellow music teachers when I did a presentation to the Piano Pedagogy Group last month:

Fake Books for Beginner to Intermediate Students:

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The Easy Christmas Carols Fake Book Melody, Lyrics & Simplified Chords in the Key of C. Composed by Various. Easy Fake Book. Christmas. Softcover. 114 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.238187).

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Your First Fake Book - 2nd Edition Featuring Large Music Notation, Lyrics, & Simplified Harmonies C Edition. Composed by Various. Easy Fake Book. Broadway, Pop, Standards. Softcover. 176 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.299529).

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The Easy Disney Fake Book - 2nd Edition 100 Songs in the Key of C. Composed by Various. Easy Fake Book. Children, Disney, Fake Books, Movies. Softcover. 232 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.275405).

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The Easy Broadway Fake Book - 2nd Edition Over 100 Songs in the Key of C. Composed by Various. Easy Fake Book. Broadway. Softcover. 218 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.276670).

Everything is in C Major. For an added challenge, you can ask your students to transpose them into other keys once they've learned the pieces.

Fake Books for Intermediate to Advanced Students, and Music Teachers:

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Classical Fake Book - 2nd Edition Over 850 Classical Themes and Melodies in their Original Keys. Composed by Various. Hal Leonard Fake Books. Classical Period. Fakebook (spiral bound). With standard notation, chord names and vocal melody (on some songs). 648 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.240044).

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The Ultimate Pop/Rock Fake Book - In C 4th Edition. By Various. By Various. Hal Leonard Fake Books. Pop Rock, Rock and Pop. Fake book. With vocal melody, lyrics and chord names. 584 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.240099).

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The Best Fake Book Ever - C Edition - 4th Edition C Edition. Composed by Various. Hal Leonard Fake Books. Country, Fake Books, Jazz, Pop, Standards. Fake book. With vocal melody, lyrics and chord names. 856 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.290239).

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Just Jazz Real Book - C Edition C Edition. Composed by Various. Fake Book. Jazz. Fakebook (softcover). With vocal melody, lyrics, chord names, black & white photos, discography and introductory text. 400 pages. Hal Leonard #FBM0003. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.321416).

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The Praise & Worship Fake Book B Flat Edition. Composed by Various. Fake Book. Christian, Worship. Softcover. 432 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.240324).

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The Ultimate Christmas Fake Book - 6th Edition For Piano, Vocal, Guitar, Electronic Keyboard & All C Instruments. Composed by Various. Fake Book. Christmas, Fake Books. Softcover. 232 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.147215).

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The Disney Fake Book - 4th Edition Composed by Various. Fake Book. Children, Disney, TV & Movies. Softcover. 288 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.175311).

Pianists - make sure you buy the "C" edition fake books!

If you need some guide books on how to read lead sheets, check out my earlier post, Jazz Music and Improvisation Guide Books.