A revolutionary method for improvising musicians
Improvise for Real is a revolutionary method for improvising musicians that brings everything you’ve ever learned onto a single canvas. You will see the connections between every lick, scale and chord you’ve ever played. You’ll see how you can change these licks or invent your own. And you’ll learn to improvise with a new melodic freedom that is truly connected to your ear.
The desire to express your own music
If you are reading this, then you can probably identify with some of the following frustrations, which are a lot more common than you think:
- Are you mystified by people who can pick up their instrument and immediately begin playing along with any kind of music?
- Have you ever felt ashamed of your own musical ability, just because you couldn’t improvise over a particular song or couldn’t find the right notes?
- Do you wish you could play your favorite songs off the top of your head without any need for sheet music?
- Does your heart sink when you see a page full of complicated chord symbols, because you have no idea what’s really going on?
- Do you feel like you're struggling to connect scales and arpeggios together to make a solo? Do you wish you could weave melodies effortlessly through the chord changes and truly express yourself creatively?
- Would you love to be able to participate in jam sessions and feel totally confident and sure of yourself, no matter what’s going on around you?
- Do you dream of being able to discover and express your own music, the music that lies deep inside your imagination?
You're not alone!
Improvise for Real brings together musicians from all different backgrounds who share your desire to improvise with complete melodic freedom, playing the sounds we imagine but also understanding every note we play. We want to understand music by ear so we can instantly recognize the melodies and chords at jam sessions. And we want to play our OWN music, creating our own original melodies over any song or chord progression.
The problem isn't you. The problem is the way you practice.
Music is actually a lot simpler than it looks to you right now. Improvising your own original melodies over songs and chord progressions is the easiest thing in the world. It’s also an incredibly thrilling and beautiful experience to take your listeners on a musical journey to wherever your imagination leads you.
You can be doing this almost immediately! All you’re missing is a clear vision of the musical landscape that you can move around freely. Right now, everything you are studying is isolated and disjointed. You learn a lick. You practice a scale. You learn a song. And probably all of these are in different keys. It’s no wonder that nothing flows creatively when you’re suddenly thrown into improvising!
What you need is a better way of thinking that brings all of these sounds together onto the same canvas. And you need a method that allows you to connect what you hear in the music all around you to the beautiful sounds on this canvas.
IMPROVISE FOR REAL
Everything you need in one method
Improvise for Real isn’t just a revolutionary tool for musicians who are already improvising. It’s also a complete method for learning to improvise right from the beginning.
The method starts with very simple creative exercises that you can begin right away. Each exercise lets you master a very simple musical situation and you will learn to express yourself confidently in this situation. As you progress through these creative exercises, the method leads you on a guided tour of the entire world of modern harmony.
Along the way, you’ll be using a simple but powerful musical map to picture where each sound is located relative to the overall key of the music. So instead of having to memorize hundreds of disconnected scales and licks, you’ll just be gradually filling in your map with beautiful sounds.
The result is a deeper understanding of music that enables you to connect your ear with your instrument. You’ll learn to understand the sounds in the music all around you. You’ll learn to play any song you know in any key. And you’ll learn to express your own musical ideas exactly as you hear them in your mind.
"The IFR method is explained so clearly — it's logical, easy to understand, and taught in such a stimulating environment with great teachers and beautiful backing tracks to improvise with."
– review by Annemarie post — Amsterdam, Netherlands
VIDEO LESSONS
Video lessons for all instruments
The IFR method applies to every instrument. Our video courses explore the unique role that each instrument plays in a group. Your instructor guides you through every concept with clear, hands-on exercises and inspiring musical examples. And from your very first lesson, you’ll be jamming and expressing your own musical ideas.
Learn to improvise freely on guitar. IFR teaches you to see the entire fretboard as one connected landscape — so you can weave melodies through chords, solo in any key, and express your own music instead of memorized patterns.
Learn to improvise on the piano — no sheet music required. IFR teaches you to play from your imagination, understand harmony by ear, and express your own musical ideas from day one.
Learn to improvise and create your own music on any brass, woodwind or string instrument. IFR teaches you to understand harmony by ear, connect your imagination to your instrument, and tell musical stories through your improvising.
Learn to create your own bass riffs, walking lines and melodic bass solos. IFR teaches you to understand the fretboard, express your own musical ideas, and create beautiful bass lines.
Your path to musical freedom starts here
Whether you’re taking your very first steps in improvisation or ready to explore advanced harmonic concepts, everything you need is here. This is where you’ll discover how harmony really works, learn to play what you hear in your imagination, and develop the confidence to improvise in any musical situation.
With musicians who understand the journey
Every IFR instructor is a dedicated improviser who knows what it’s like to search for authentic self-expression through music. They bring years of experience and a genuine passion for helping you discover your own creative voice. They’ll guide you through the same journey that transformed their own playing—with clarity and care.
A single, integrated method combining video lessons, jam tracks and ear training
Our step-by-step video lessons teach you the concepts and instrument skills. Our progressive jam tracks let you explore the sounds creatively. And our beautiful ear training audio lessons show you the connection to real music. All three elements work together at each step of your learning.
INTEGRATED EAR TRAINING
In Improvise for Real, there is no separation between hearing and playing. Your ear is connected to your instrument right from the start. For each concept you explore, you’ll learn to PLAY the sounds on your instrument, you’ll learn to CREATE your own music with the sounds, you’ll learn to HEAR the sounds in the music all around you.
Our entire ear training program is included in your membership.
THE RESULTS
Here are some of the things you will learn along the way:
- A refreshingly clear understanding of modern harmony that will give you an advantage in every aspect of your musical life
- The ability to understand music by ear and to improvise beautiful, melodic solos over any song you hear
- How to recognize the chords to any song as easily as you can see the colors in a painting
- The secret of those “musical geniuses” who can listen to any song once and immediately know how to play it in any key
- How to play directly from your imagination, expressing your own musical ideas exactly as you hear them in your mind
- How to improvise with complete freedom over jazz standards, blues songs, pop music or any other style you would like to play
- How to create “jam sessions” that let your friends and family enjoy improvising together
- A step-by-step method to get you started composing your own original music
- A complete learning system organized for you, so that you can stop worrying about “what to practice” and just enjoy making music each day, knowing you are on the right path
TESTIMONIALS
See what fellow musicians are saying
Start Your Journey!
Choose the plan that works for you. All plans give you complete access to all IFR courses and practice tools:
Start with flexible monthly access. Cancel anytime or upgrade to yearly when you're ready to commit.
Our most popular plan. Commit to a full year of musical growth and save 30% with annual billing. You’ll be amazed what a year with Improvise for Real can do.
The best deal of all. For just one single payment of $599 you get lifetime access to the entire IFR music learning environment. (This includes everything we create in the future too!)
All plans include:
- Complete video courses for all instruments
- 1,900+ jam tracks in all 12 keys
- Beautiful ear training audio lessons
- Special courses on the blues, jazz standards and more
- Single integrated learning method
- Calm, beautiful environment for your daily creative practice
- Complete freedom to learn at your own pace
- Access to our library of student Q&A + unlimited support by email
Try Improvise for Real risk-free
We’re confident that IFR will transform the way you think about music and unlock your creative freedom on your instrument. But we also know that every musician’s journey is unique. That’s why we offer a simple 30-day money-back guarantee.
Join today, explore the video lessons, practice with the jam tracks, and experience our unique approach to ear training. If you don’t feel that IFR is the right fit for you within your first 30 days, just send us an email and we’ll refund your payment—no questions asked.