Cull the Heard
Every spring I cull my book collection, and have to make a decision whether to toss old sheet music and fake books. I still want to hold on to my 1981 Real Book, a spiral bound tome, yellowed and disintegrating, yet full of memories. Other "ultimate" fake books, one with'1200 SONGS!', is full of standards going back to the 19th Century, including Happy Birthday (everyone knows the melody, but who knows the chord changes?), Christmas songs, polkas, and so on, is still interesting enough to hold on to.
At the back of the book is an interesting song index, organized in the "UDR" system (Up/Down/Repeat) as a mnemonic for songs based on the melody contour, that now seems ancient when you can find almost anything on the Internet. But you just don't see these archaisms through Google searches or surfing around on the Internet; they are exclusive to the medium of paper. (Anachronisms, at least in music publishing, always look more interesting on yellowed paper.)
The songs beginning with the letter "I" are interesting, with adjacent titles forming cryptic couplets:
I COULDN 'T SLEEP A WINK LAST NIGHT
I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TIME IT WAS
I DON'T CARE IF THE SUN DON'T SHINE
I DON'T KNOW WHY (I JUST DO)
I TALK TO THE TREES
I UNDERSTAND JUST HOW YOU FEEL
Study scores are precious even though I don't use them. They are relics of the demise of print music publishing and shops that sold sheet music. These are the hardest to part with, as it makes you feel that Classical music has a waning relevance among younger generations. But scores are beautiful even if you don't read music.
At the back of the book is an interesting song index, organized in the "UDR" system (Up/Down/Repeat) as a mnemonic for songs based on the melody contour, that now seems ancient when you can find almost anything on the Internet. But you just don't see these archaisms through Google searches or surfing around on the Internet; they are exclusive to the medium of paper. (Anachronisms, at least in music publishing, always look more interesting on yellowed paper.)
The songs beginning with the letter "I" are interesting, with adjacent titles forming cryptic couplets:
I COULDN 'T SLEEP A WINK LAST NIGHT
I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TIME IT WAS
I DON'T CARE IF THE SUN DON'T SHINE
I DON'T KNOW WHY (I JUST DO)
I TALK TO THE TREES
I UNDERSTAND JUST HOW YOU FEEL
Study scores are precious even though I don't use them. They are relics of the demise of print music publishing and shops that sold sheet music. These are the hardest to part with, as it makes you feel that Classical music has a waning relevance among younger generations. But scores are beautiful even if you don't read music.
