IFR blog > Practice tips > Developing your ear > Understanding any piece of music by ear
Cloud exercise for guitar

In this free sample lesson from Deep Foundations for Guitar, you will learn the very first step to developing complete freedom of movement on the fretboard.

Beyond CAGED

Thank you for writing your book. I really like your philosophy. Can you explain the difference between the IFR system and the CAGED system?

Piano for Non-Pianists 2

In this lesson you'll learn to move around the piano keyboard by whole steps. When we combine this whole step movement with the half step movement that you mastered in the previous lesson, you can begin to create tonality and harmony directly on the piano keyboard.

How to avoid getting lost in songs

One of the most common frustrations that all beginning improvisers experience is getting lost in the middle of a tune. In this video I'll give you three concrete strategies that you can follow to make sure this never happens to you again.

Intervals vs. tonal ear training

In this video I demonstrate why tonal ear training is so much more powerful than listening for intervals, especially over long or complex chord progressions.

IFR video lesson: How to study chords

In this video I show you a complete system for studying new chords so that you can improvise over them with confidence, use them in your compositions and learn to recognize them by ear in the music of other people.

How quickly should an improviser advance?

I'm currently practicing the IFR exercise Seven Worlds and I'm not sure how much time I should spend in each harmonic environment before advancing to the next. Is there any guideline?

Improvisation exercise Seven Worlds on tenor sax

For IFR students practicing Exercise 2: Melody, this is a demonstration of the exercise Seven Worlds in the 2nd harmonic environment. Miguel 'Pintxo' Villar explores the harmonic environment on tenor sax.

IFR improvisation exercise Seven Worlds Expanded on trumpet

For IFR students practicing Exercise 3: Pure Harmony, this is a demonstration of the exercise Seven Worlds Expanded on the trumpet. Marc Mena demonstrates the exercise exploring the 2- chord in the modal range.

The fear of mediocrity

As the years go by, sooner or later you ask yourself, “If at my age I still haven't composed a masterpiece, then am I mediocre? Is it worth continuing in music?”