How to Play from a Fake Book by Blake Neely (1999, Paperback)

For those who have taken years of piano or music lessons and still are unable to play with recourse to written music, this book will be worth it's weight in gold.

It described chords in such a way that you can figure many of them out without looking in a book. There is a logical pattern to chords which this book unlocks. The music examples are old-fashioned but simple enough to be the perfect illustration.

After you learn the chords, you are instructed on how to split them. You'll find out why one chord was called a G and another was a C7. It's possible that your music teacher explained all this to you, but it didn't take.

On the down side, the humor is a bit corny, but hardly offensive.