6 books like The Best Fake Book Ever

By Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation,

Here are 6 books that The Best Fake Book Ever fans have personally recommended if you like The Best Fake Book Ever. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Study of Counterpoint: From Johann Joseph Fux's Gradus ad Parnassum

Deke Sharon Author Of The Heart of Vocal Harmony: Emotional Expression in Group Singing

From my list on make great music.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been singing since before I could speak, and I found myself drawn to music even though there were no musicians in my family. From church choir to the SF Boys Chorus, through every choir and musical I could join, then onto the New England Conservatory of Music and the Tufts Beelzebubs, I hungrily digested every bit of music knowledge I could find, with a deep desire to become a musician upon graduation. These books are the best I have come across in more than 50 years, and I hope you’ll find great knowledge and insight in their pages. 

Deke's book list on make great music

Deke Sharon Why did Deke love this book?

I wanted to learn how to write melodies and countermelodies from the best, and Fux is the legend who taught the greats. Bach, Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven all carefully studied these sage lessons.

Even though it was written in 1725, the book is enormously approachable, written in a series of conversations between a teacher and student. And yes, you don’t have to read it in Latin; it’s been translated into modern English. 

By Johann Joseph Fux, Alfred Mann (translator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Study of Counterpoint as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The most celebrated book on counterpoint is Fux's great theoretical work Gradus ad Parnassum. Since its appearance in 1725, it has been used by and has directly influenced the work of many of the greatest composers. J.S. Bach held it in high esteem, Leopold Mozart trained his famous son from its pages, Haydn worked out every lesson with meticulous care, and Beethoven condensed it into an abstract for ready reference. An impressive list of nineteenth-century composers subscribed to its second edition, and in more recent times Paul Hindemith said, "Perhaps the craft of composition would really have fallen into decline…


Book cover of Theory of Harmony

Deke Sharon Author Of The Heart of Vocal Harmony: Emotional Expression in Group Singing

From my list on make great music.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been singing since before I could speak, and I found myself drawn to music even though there were no musicians in my family. From church choir to the SF Boys Chorus, through every choir and musical I could join, then onto the New England Conservatory of Music and the Tufts Beelzebubs, I hungrily digested every bit of music knowledge I could find, with a deep desire to become a musician upon graduation. These books are the best I have come across in more than 50 years, and I hope you’ll find great knowledge and insight in their pages. 

Deke's book list on make great music

Deke Sharon Why did Deke love this book?

After learning counterpoint from the greatest, why not learn harmony from the genius who took it so far it unraveled? Before diving headfirst into atonality (a mistake), Schoenberg was a master of Harmony (with a capital H!), and this book is filled with nuggets of wisdom that I gobbled up hungrily, albeit in small bites because it’s so dense and profound. 

By Arnold Schoenberg, Roy E. Carter (translator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Theory of Harmony as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

There is a new critical foreword by Walter Frisch, H. Harold Gumm/Harry and Albert von Tilzer Professor of Music at Columbia University, that expands this centennial edition. Frisch puts Schoenberg's masterpiece into historical and ideological context, delineating the connections between music, theory, art, science, and architecture in turn-of-the century Austro-German culture.


Book cover of Composing Music: A New Approach

Deke Sharon Author Of The Heart of Vocal Harmony: Emotional Expression in Group Singing

From my list on make great music.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been singing since before I could speak, and I found myself drawn to music even though there were no musicians in my family. From church choir to the SF Boys Chorus, through every choir and musical I could join, then onto the New England Conservatory of Music and the Tufts Beelzebubs, I hungrily digested every bit of music knowledge I could find, with a deep desire to become a musician upon graduation. These books are the best I have come across in more than 50 years, and I hope you’ll find great knowledge and insight in their pages. 

Deke's book list on make great music

Deke Sharon Why did Deke love this book?

After filling my head with theories and practices, it was time for me to break everything down, which this book does brilliantly, and start writing my own melodies and harmonies.

Designed almost like a workbook, these very thoughtful and insightful steps helped me understand the fundamental process of writing. They started with exercises such as creating a simple five-note melody and built until I was crafting entire songs.

By William Russo,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Composing Music as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Aimed at those who have some knowledge of music but not formal training in composition, this concise introduction to composing starts right in with a brief composition exercise, then proceeds step by step through a series of increasingly complex and challenging problems, gradually expanding the student's musical grammar. "This is a wonderful book for anyone who is developing improvising skills or who would like a fun way to explore music."--Jim Stockford, Co-Evolution Quarterly


Book cover of All You Need to Know About the Music Business

Deke Sharon Author Of The Heart of Vocal Harmony: Emotional Expression in Group Singing

From my list on make great music.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been singing since before I could speak, and I found myself drawn to music even though there were no musicians in my family. From church choir to the SF Boys Chorus, through every choir and musical I could join, then onto the New England Conservatory of Music and the Tufts Beelzebubs, I hungrily digested every bit of music knowledge I could find, with a deep desire to become a musician upon graduation. These books are the best I have come across in more than 50 years, and I hope you’ll find great knowledge and insight in their pages. 

Deke's book list on make great music

Deke Sharon Why did Deke love this book?

Something I didn’t realize as a young musician but quickly learned is that it’s called the business of music, and you need to spend as much time on the business side as the music side.

They call this book the music industry bible, and I agree—in its 11th edition, it’s up to date with the latest opportunities and challenges in music (streaming, various platforms). Great music can’t just live on your desk or computer; it needs to get out into the world to fulfill its function: emotionally connecting people. 

By Donald S. Passman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked All You Need to Know About the Music Business as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dubbed "the industry bible" by the Los Angeles Times, All You Need to Know About the Music Business by veteran music lawyer Donald Passman is the go-to guide for everyone in the music business through ten editions, over thirty years, and over a half a million copies sold. Now with updates explaining why musicians have more power today than ever in history; discussion of the mega-million-dollar sales of artists' songs and record catalogs; how artist access to streaming media, and particularly TikTok, has completely reshaped the music business; the latest on music created by AI; and a full update of…


Book cover of As Time Goes By

Why am I passionate about this?

I was born in 1954, the same year as rock and roll. I am a product of the era that spawned me. I was that kid at school who would rather read his music mags than his school books. Over a rich and varied career, I have turned those passions into my profession. I have been a singer in a band, a music journalist, a broadcaster with the BBC national radio network, and have had several music related books published by major publishers. I have also been an academic specialist in my field and have managed to turn all those lifelong interests into a Ph.D. and an M.Phil.

Rob's book list on music books that will make you think differently about music and the people who make it

Rob Chapman Why did Rob love this book?

I grew up with the Beatles. I went from 8 to 16 in the time it took the band to go from Love Me Do to Let It Be. I measure my own growth from infancy to adolescence during their lifespan.

The Beatles were more than a band to anyone of my age. They were a planet we all lived on. There have been hundreds of books about them, but few are more insightful than this one by their suave and urbane press officer.

Derek started off his career as a hard-bitten newspaper hack of the old school. Working with the Beatles changed his life. I can relate to that. The Fab Four changed all our lives. 

By Derek Taylor,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked As Time Goes By as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'The sharpest memoir written by one of the Beatles' inner circle.' Observer

Derek Taylor's iconic memoir is a rare opportunity to be immersed in one of the most whirlwind music sensations in history: Beatlemania. As Time Goes By tells the remarkable story of Taylor's trajectory from humble provincial journalist to loved confidant right at the centre of the Beatles' magic circle. In charming, conversational prose, Taylor shares anecdotes and reminiscences so vivid and immediate that you find yourself plunged into the beating heart of 1960s counterculture. Whether watching the debut performance of 'Hey Jude' in a country pub or hearing…


Book cover of The Beatles Complete Scores

Rich Maloof Author Of Jim Marshall - The Father of Loud: The Story of the Man Behind the World's Most Famous Guitar Amplifiers

From my list on books by musicians, for musicians.

Why am I passionate about this?

My tenure as editor-in-chief of Guitar magazine is well behind me now, but it always lights me up to create content for musicians, and to absorb it. These are my people, you see, a community of curious, empathic, chronically late daydreamers and night owls, good listeners all. I’m not qualified to comment on Adorno’s Aesthetic Theory or Stravinsky’s Poetics of Music, but neither do I want to talk about rock-star memoirs or fawning fictionalizations. No fanfare here, thank you. Instead, these are five books in which musicians may recognize some element of their creative self and come away with a little more fuel for the fire.

Rich's book list on books by musicians, for musicians

Rich Maloof Why did Rich love this book?

That’s right; it’s an entire book of musical notation. Like I said, this list is for players, not civilians.

I love that every note on every original Beatles record is transcribed here, right down to Ringo’s drum fills on “You Won’t See Me” and the guy saying “number nine” a hundred times on “Revolution 9.”

I love sitting down with my kid, who plays guitar, and discovering exactly how to recreate the parts we can’t work out by ear. I love seeing how the Beatles fit the gears together to make the wheels turn on these songs and how they used chords and notes that I have on the piano at my house, too.

By The Beatles,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Beatles Complete Scores as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

(Transcribed Score). A fitting tribute to possibly the greatest pop band ever - The Beatles. This outstanding edition features full scores and lyrics to all 210 titles recorded by The Beatles. Guitar and bass parts are in both standard notation and tablature. Also includes a full discography. Songs include: All You Need Is Love * And I Love Her * Baby You're a Rich Man * Back in the U.S.S.R. * The Ballad of John and Yoko * Blackbird * Can't Buy Me Love * Come Together * Drive My Car * Eleanor Rigby * From Me to You *…


3 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in rock music, The Beatles, and the 1960s counterculture?

Rock Music 243 books
The Beatles 56 books