Dear Mr. Chappell:

What suggestions do you have for using a fake book? I am a beginner at this.

— Beginner

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Dear Beginner:

Here’s the Jeffrey Chappell step-by-step method for approaching a fake book lead sheet:

1. Play the melody with your right hand.

2. Play the melody with your right hand plus the roots of the chords with your left hand.

3. Play the melody with your right hand plus the chords, in root position, with your left hand.

4. Play the melody with your right hand plus the chords with your left hand, using root position as well as inversions to facilitate smooth connections. (Tip: For descending fifth progressions, all the connections will be step-wise, making things easier. And there are bunches of descending fifth progressions in fake book tunes.)

That’s it. Congratulate yourself. You’re playing a tune from a fake book.

If you want to do more, consider the following:

5. Include chord tones in the right hand as well as the left hand. Your left fifth finger will always play the root of the chord, and you will play the interval of either an octave, seventh, or fifth in that hand. Your thumb and second finger in your right hand will fill in other notes of the chord while the remaining fingers will play the melody.

6. Here’s a quick approach to a jazz “voicing” (distribution of chord tones): Left fifth finger takes the root of the chord; right fifth finger takes the melody note; add either the third or seventh of the chord in the left hand; then add the seventh or third (whichever the left hand didn’t take) in the right hand. If the melody note already is the seventh or third of the chord, use the fifth as one of the inner notes.

Enjoy.

— JC