Make Your Own Jazz Fake Book
Build a personal Real Book from lead sheet PDFs — organized by key, feel, era, or however you call tunes at the session. Chapters, table of contents, and a cover, all generated for you.
Why Build Your Own Fake Book?
Only the tunes you actually play
The Real Book has 400+ tunes but you call the same 60 at sessions. Build a book with just those — no flipping past songs you'll never play.
Organized for the bandstand
Group by key for quick transposition, by feel for setlist building, or by tempo so you can find an up-tune fast when the energy dips.
Your arrangements, your changes
Use your own lead sheets with reharmonizations, alternate heads, and arrangement notes — not the generic versions from a mass-market book.
Chapter Ideas for a Jazz Fake Book
MakeMySongBook lets you create as many chapters as you want. Here are structures that work well for jazz.
By feel / style
Bebop, Swing, Bossa & Latin, Ballads, Blues, Modal, Fusion. The most natural way to organize when someone calls "something bossa."
By key
All Bb tunes together, all F tunes together. Great for transposing instruments — a trumpet player can flip straight to their concert key section.
By era
Pre-war standards, Bebop (1940s–50s), Hard Bop, Post-Bop, Contemporary. A chronological walk through the repertoire.
By composer
A chapter for Ellington, one for Monk, one for Shorter, one for standards. Useful when you're working through a specific composer's catalog.
By tempo
Slow ballads, medium swing, up-tempo burners. Perfect for building sets with an energy arc — start mellow, peak in the middle, cool down at the end.
By session type
Jam session staples, duo repertoire, big band charts, solo piano pieces. One chapter per context so you grab the right section fast.
Build Your Fake Book in 5 Steps
From scattered lead sheets to a printed book in minutes.
- 1
Collect your lead sheets as PDFs
Export from iReal Pro, MuseScore, or Sibelius. Download from jazz lead sheet sites. Scan handwritten charts. Name each file clearly — "Autumn Leaves - Cm.pdf" becomes the song title automatically.
Find jazz sheet music sources → - 2
Upload to MakeMySongBook
Drag and drop your PDFs into the builder. Single-page lead sheets and multi-page arrangements are both handled — the tool detects page count and keeps pages together.
- 3
Create chapters for each section
Add chapter dividers like "Bebop," "Ballads," "Blues in Bb." Drag songs into the right chapter. Each divider becomes a full page in the final book with the chapter title and an optional description.
- 4
Design the cover
Set your title ("The [Your Name] Real Book"), add a subtitle and author name. Pick a color theme and instrument artwork. Upload your ensemble's logo if you have one.
- 5
Generate and print
One click generates a print-ready PDF with auto table of contents, page numbers, song title headers, and smart page alignment for double-sided printing. Print, bind, bring to the gig.
Printing & binding tips →
What the Tool Adds to Your Fake Book
You upload the lead sheets. MakeMySongBook handles the book formatting.
Table of contents
Auto-generated with every tune listed by page number and chapter. Find "All The Things You Are" instantly.
Chapter dividers
Full-page section breaks for Bebop, Ballads, Blues, etc. Four styles: Classic, Modern, Minimal, Ornate.
Song title headers
Every page shows the tune name in the corner — so you always know what chart you're looking at mid-solo.
Page numbers
Automatic numbering on every page, matching the table of contents. Call out "page 42" and everyone's there.
Smart page alignment
Multi-page charts always start on the right side for double-sided printing. No more flipping mid-tune.
Cover with your name on it
Custom title, author, color theme, and artwork. Make it "The [Band Name] Real Book" or "My Gig Book 2026."
Tips for a Great Fake Book
- Include the key in the file name ("All of Me - C.pdf") so it shows up in the table of contents. Saves time when transposing on the fly.
- Make a separate fake book for each transposition — one in concert, one for Bb, one for Eb. Print the right version for each horn player.
- Add a "Blues" chapter with blues heads in every common key (Bb, F, C, G, Eb). You'll reach for it at every jam.
- Use the Classic or Ornate divider style for a traditional look that matches the Real Book aesthetic.
- Print on A4 for music stand readability. Use A5 Booklet if you want something pocket-sized for café gigs.
- Keep a "New Tunes" chapter at the back for charts you're currently shedding. Move them to the right chapter once they're gig-ready.
- Spiral-bind or comb-bind your fake book so it lies flat on the music stand. Ring binders work too but are bulkier.
Where to Find Jazz Lead Sheets
Sources for lead sheets you can download as PDFs.
iReal Pro
Export chord charts from the world's most popular jazz practice app. Great for quick lead sheets with changes only.
MuseScore
Thousands of free jazz lead sheets uploaded by the community. Export as PDF directly from the site.
Notation software
Write your own charts in Sibelius, Finale, Dorico, or MuseScore and export as PDF. Your changes, your voicings.
Scan handwritten charts
Use a phone scanner app (Adobe Scan, CamScanner) to digitize handwritten charts into clean PDFs.
Ready to Build Your Fake Book?
Upload your lead sheet PDFs, organize them into chapters, and generate a print-ready jazz fake book in minutes. Free, no account needed.
Start Building