IFR blog > Practice tips > Developing your ear > Understanding any piece of music by ear
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.

IFR improvisation exercise Seven Worlds Expanded on alto sax

For IFR students practicing Exercise 3: Pure Harmony, this is a demonstration of the exercise Seven Worlds Expanded on the alto saxophone. Ivan Edwards demonstrates the exercise exploring the 5 chord in the unlimited range.

Piano for Non-Pianists 8

In this lesson I'll help you get started using IFR Jam Tracks Level 1: Seven Worlds using what you've already learned on the piano.

Free sample lesson from Chord Melody Guitar 1

In this free sample lesson from Chord Melody Guitar 1, we build the tonal map on the fretboard and we begin working with the chord notes of the 1 chord and the 4 chord separately, learning to make our own creative choices about when to use the bass note.

IFR Playalong: 2-5-1 chord progression

Grab your instrument and practice improvising over the 2-5-1 chord progression with me!