Real Book app with transposable melody, chords & lyrics

[JazzNote]

A friend of mine showed me a new "real book app", easy to install on tablets, with chords and melody both transposable, and with lyrics. I installed it yesterday and find it very useful. Not 100% perfect but free of charge.

https://realsheet.net

[bluenote61]

I installed the app some time ago after getting a link from a friend, too.
It has a good and clear layout. And I like the possibility to transpose a sheet very easy into the key required for a "non-C instrument", e.g. sax.
Also a print function and export as pdf is included.
However the library is not as huge as e.g. for ireal, but here you get a good readable lead sheet. Most of the all time standards are included.

[djg]

oh dear:

"RealSheet is only available through the "Get the app" button, not the App Store or Play Store. RealSheet supports Android and iOS devices only. It is not available for desktop computers or other platforms."

an anonymus website that wants me to download something from the web that will only work with ios and android? and it offers copyrighted material for free? where can i sign up?

[jazzshrink]

...something from the web that will only work with ios and android?...

More than 99% of mobile customers use either iOS or android.

[Mick-7]

an anonymus website that wants me to download something from the web that will only work with ios and android? and it offers copyrighted material for free? where can i sign up?

What, you don't want free spyware? The domain registrar is Canadian.

realsheet.net - Registrant:

• Name: The RDAP server redacted the value
• Organization: The RDAP server redacted the value
• Phone: The RDAP server redacted the value
• Kind: individual
• Mailing Address: Charlestown (The RDAP server redacted a part of the value)
• ISO-3166 Code: KN
• Contact Uri: Tiered Access

[djg]

More than 99% of mobile customers use either iOS or android.

yes, and they all use the appstores. not that these are 100% safe.

[Alter]

They don't offer copyrighted material, all their songs are old ones where the copyright has expired.

[djg]

They don't offer copyrighted material, all their songs are old ones where the copyright has expired.

post #2 says it got most standards. i wouldnt touch anonymous apps. what's to hide?

[JazzPadd]

Sounds intriguing but it’d be nice to hear from some regular users.

Having said that, most of my playing these days is in open jazz jam sessions at a variety of venues, with occasional solo performances. For the latter I use my own arrangements and keys. For the open jams, what matters most is that everyone is on the same page, literally and figuratively. For that, in Japan we mostly use the 2 volume Jazz Standard Bible for casual jams. It’s got 500 tunes and enough variety to keep jams interesting. There’s a C, Bb and Eb version, plus a vocal version. Recently a public domain volume was done. Vocalists make their own sheets and we can use iReal in a pinch.

But it’s also good to have variety and choices to suit one’s needs. I still have my old Real Book from the 1980s, and the Feel Book project seems interesting.

[Little Jay]

Great app, really useful.

[Jimmy blue note]

I don't remember how many decades ago it was, but at some time I downloaded the "map" of the fingerboard in terms of roots and roman numerals. This is the moveable overlay of where all the notes go to make melody and find chords.
Beneath that I "downloaded" the locations of all the notes. This is the absolute location of all the possible notes.

This is an interactive software that allows me to see each and every tune in terms of root location and harmonic function.
Line the root up with the location of any note and the "map" shape is the same but the key can be any one I choose.

Like any piece of software, it took a little while to get used to, but unlike external software packages, my ear got better each and every time I used it.

I can now play any piece in any key...by ear.
The musician's brain: most amazing piece of hardware on the planet when elegantly coded.
Just sayin'

[JazzNote]

I can now play any piece in any key...by ear.
The musician's brain: most amazing piece of hardware on the planet when elegantly coded.
Just sayin'

Wow great - congratulations! Question: can you do this in a band context on spot in any key, or with a tune you didn't know before, just rely on your ears in the moment?

[Little Jay]

Wow great - congratulations! Question: can you do this in a band context on spot in any key, or with a tune you didn't know before, just rely on your ears in the moment?

That’s indeed the question. Personally I can only do that with the less complicated tunes. Of course when the transposed root stays within, say, a 5th of the original key, I can transpose on the spot. But if the root jumps to another string (from C to Ab for example) then I’m in trouble with anything more complicated than for example Autumn Leaves.

(Edit: that’s for the chords, I usually have less trouble with the melodies, I can more or less rely on my intuition and transpose, if I know the melody by heart)

[Jimmy blue note]

Wow great - congratulations! Question: can you do this in a band context on spot in any key, or with a tune you didn't know before, just rely on your ears in the moment?

It's an evolutionary process, but yes, I can safely say that in most situations I can find myself in; that is, tunes with identifiable key centres, I am at home.

When I was attending jams in Philly, they were attended by old school players, BIG ears and long history. They were my benevolent shepherds. If I was up there and they'd call a tune I didn't know, I'd put my hand up signaling 'I'll sit this out', but they'd say "Nah, you KNOW this." and with that, I developed a way of seeing every piece as a journey of I chord to somewhere else and back again. Most pieces had a "twist" (like a bridge that went to VI Major, or even III major (like I remember you), but I would work it out each chorus with my ear (Watch out for that pothole in bar 9... and eventually OH! That's just Ab major) and when it came to my turn, it was familiar form until bar 9, then and an adventure in Ab).
The key was to see a piece as a landscape and not a set of linear GPS instructions. The ear knows.

Part of being an improvisor in jazz involves knowing the forms that are used; learning them by ear. (Start on I: I got rhythm. Start from IV: Just Friends. Start II: But not for me... etc). If you can hear the music without a guitar in your hand, you can train your ear to know the landscape, and identify mystery areas which you'll re-chart as friendly places once you've figured them out.

Jazz awareness is constant informing and educating and EAR is essential. That's why I do recommend learning standards in LOTs of keys by paying attention to the ROOT MOVEMENT and not the letter ID. Do Autumn Leaves in G, in Eb, in C, in Bb... and the light will go on "It's the SAME but I've just got to learn to be confident when the root is on the 4th string... etc.

At some point I got a lot out of Howard Roberts Super Chops book because he took the chord progressions from standards and throws you into a deep dive of simply navigating them (at some point you just kinda start to hear) and THEN he moves you to doing it in another key: moving roots to a different set of strings).

It may be a lot of work but if you're serious, you'll need to empower yourself to playing by ear; and be fearless about initially unfamiliar changes. Make them your friends. There are only a number of combinations and you're good for 95% of tin pan alley tunes. At that point, Shorter and modern composers are an adventure.

[JazzNote]

It's an evolutionary process, but yes, I can safely say that in most situations I can find myself in; that is, tunes with identifiable key centres, I am at home.

When I was attending jams in Philly, they were attended by old school players, BIG ears and long history. They were my benevolent shepherds. If I was up there and they'd call a tune I didn't know, I'd put my hand up signaling 'I'll sit this out', but they'd say "Nah, you KNOW this." and with that, I developed a way of seeing every piece as a journey of I chord to somewhere else and back again. Most pieces had a "twist" (like a bridge that went to VI Major, or even III major (like I remember you), but I would work it out each chorus with my ear (Watch out for that pothole in bar 9... and eventually OH! That's just Ab major) and when it came to my turn, it was familiar form until bar 9, then and an adventure in Ab).
The key was to see a piece as a landscape and not a set of linear GPS instructions. The ear knows.

Part of being an improvisor in jazz involves knowing the forms that are used; learning them by ear. (Start on I: I got rhythm. Start from IV: Just Friends. Start II: But not for me... etc). If you can hear the music without a guitar in your hand, you can train your ear to know the landscape, and identify mystery areas which you'll re-chart as friendly places once you've figured them out.

Jazz awareness is constant informing and educating and EAR is essential. That's why I do recommend learning standards in LOTs of keys by paying attention to the ROOT MOVEMENT and not the letter ID. Do Autumn Leaves in G, in Eb, in C, in Bb... and the light will go on "It's the SAME but I've just got to learn to be confident when the root is on the 4th string... etc.

At some point I got a lot out of Howard Roberts Super Chops book because he took the chord progressions from standards and throws you into a deep dive of simply navigating them (at some point you just kinda start to hear) and THEN he moves you to doing it in another key: moving roots to a different set of strings).

It may be a lot of work but if you're serious, you'll need to empower yourself to playing by ear; and be fearless about initially unfamiliar changes. Make them your friends. There are only a number of combinations and you're good for 95% of tin pan alley tunes. At that point, Shorter and modern composers are an adventure.

Of course it's always best to play without needing to look at a leadsheet, but it also depends on your individual circumstances and situations. These days there's often not much time to prepare for a gig, to play someone else's repertoire in a duo / trio context (often without rehearsal) does not really allow "fishing" for suitable chords without running the risk of not being asked to the next gig anymore. Especially when having to play singer's keys it can be "lifesaving" to be able to rely on a leadsheet in the correct key. Melodies on the leadsheet provide the possibility to choose proper chord tensions at sight, so a transposable app like the one mentioned in post #1 can be very helpful.

[Jimmy blue note]

Of course it's always best to play without needing to look at a leadsheet, but it also depends on your individual circumstances and situations. These days there's often not much time to prepare for a gig, to play someone else's repertoire in a duo / trio context (often without rehearsal) does not really allow "fishing" for suitable chords without running the risk of not being asked to the next gig anymore. Especially when having to play singer's keys it can be "lifesaving" to be able to rely on a leadsheet in the correct key. Melodies on the leadsheet provide the possibility to choose proper chord tensions at sight, so a transposable app like the one mentioned in post #1 can be very helpful.

Absolutely. What ever gets the job done. There are many ways to get to the prize: a successful and personally satisfying glow at the end of the night.
It used to amaze me, watching a horn player scanning a chart that wasn't in his key; in the seconds before the count in. Concert/Bb/Eb and any combination within.

I did a duo with a singer for a few years. It was a weekly regular thing. I attribute my ear to this period. She'd call a tune, hum a part of a phrase and I'd come up with a nice intro and that would be the basis for her count in. At first it was rocky and I'm glad I don't have recordings of the very bare and unimaginative comping that got us through. But in time I came to sense and support any key she happened to need for the day.
Duo with a singer: Highly recommended.

Of course it's always more complicated with original tunes. But even with a given chart, I've found that if I am reading the chart, the signal path tends to go from the eye to the fingers (for me anyway) and any interesting interpretation based on the ear's contribution, comes less naturally. If I scan a chart and I can "hear" what I'm reading, in terms of the moving relative harmony, it helps me feel the piece as a living thing. I tend to play more naturally. The signal path is eye to ear, ear to voice, voice to fingers. But that's me. Confession: I'm at my worst when I'm reading off a chart while I'm actually playing in real time. I'll avoid that at all costs.

Yeah, transposing software seems like a cool thing. I don't knock it if it gets you to the end of the night. I'm just relating the feeling of confidence I now count on by "hearing" a piece off a chart, and being fearless about playing it in my key of choice.
Another thing that helped me was practicing "A key a day" where for that day I'd play my familiar standards in that key. Autumn Leaves in F#, or Stella in Db... That taught me a lot about the way I see the guitar.
Seems like more trouble but for me, anything that makes it easier in the long run...

Good luck!

[JazzNote]

But even with a given chart, I've found that if I am reading the chart, the signal path tends to go from the eye to the fingers

I find that playing off the leadsheet of an unfamiliar song provides me with the possibility to "think" and "hear" ahead. When having to rely completely on my ears, I'm limited to reacting to what has happened already. The ability of hearing ahead based on sight requires to be developed too - like anything else in jazz - learning by doing is always the best.

[Jimmy blue note]

I find that playing off the leadsheet of an unfamiliar song provides me with the possibility to "think" and "hear" ahead. When having to rely completely on my ears, I'm limited to reacting to what has happened already. The ability of hearing ahead based on sight requires to be developed too - like anything else in jazz - learning by doing is always the best.

Cool! Yeah hearing the page is indeed a worthy tool in the bag. And a lifesaver when it comes to playing confidently.
When you're playing off a page, do you use the chart for the entire time or for the initial chorus or something in between?

[JazzNote]

When you're playing off a page, do you use the chart for the entire time or for the initial chorus or something in between?

All of the above, depending on the grade of familiarity with the song/arrangement, and of course the complexity of it. Sometimes I might just look at it when the bridge comes up ......