IFR blog > Practice tips > Creating a new music practice > Special for beginners learning to improvise
Introduction to chord melody on guitar

In this lesson I demonstrate what chord melody technique is and how it will enrich both your soloing and your accompanying. I also teach you the first step to building a complete chord melody technique on the guitar.

Piano for Non-Pianists 7

In this lesson you'll take your first step to incorporating your left hand as a rhythmic self-accompaniment on the piano. You'll start with a basic pulse in the left hand and learn to express right hand phrases and melodies relative to this pulse.

Take Five

To most people, Paul Desmond's classic jazz standard in 5/4 represents the height of intellectual sophistication. But aside from the turnaround that appears at the very end of the song, the entire chord progression comes directly from the major scale.

Get ready for my chord melody video course

In this video I'll teach you a fantastic creative exercise for learning to see the chord notes in the music all around you. This is the ideal preparation for my chord melody video course.

How do more advanced jazz improvisers use the chord changes in their solos?

I really like your approach to improvisation. I’m curious, how do more advanced jazz improvisers use the chord changes in their solos?

IFR video lesson: How to play what you hear - 5 great exercises

In this video lesson I show you five great exercises that all work together to help you learn to connect your ear with your instrument. 

IFR video lesson: Melody Paths

In this video I’ll show you how to use the IFR exercise ‘Melody Paths’ to understand the inner workings of any chord progression so that you can access all of these beautiful sounds in your improvisations.

IFR exercise Seven Worlds for guitar

In this free sample lesson from the IFR Video Course for Guitar, I walk you through the exercise Seven Worlds in the first harmonic environment of the major scale.

Demo of exercise from Understanding Begins with Listening

This is a demonstration of the singing activity from the chapter ‘Understanding Begins with Listening’ from Improvise for Real. It's the first step to learning to recognize both chords and melodies by ear.

There is always time to practice!

Even with just a few minutes per day you can still have a deep and meaningful connection with music. Your pleasure and satisfaction aren't necessarily about “how long you practice” but about how completely you allow yourself to get lost in the experience.