IFR blog > Practice tips > Unlocking your creativity > IFR playalong chords 1 and 4
Visualizing larger intervals on the fretboard

Sometimes when you are soloing, it's easy to see the notes immediately surrounding you but it's hard to picture instantly a note that's farther away. In this video I show you how you can learn to visualize larger intervals on the fretboard.

How to recognize melodies by ear using the key of the music

In this video you'll learn the most important technique for recognizing songs and melodies by ear. The technique is to focus on the path that the melody traces through the overall key of the music.

Piano for Non-Pianists 11: Tonal triads (part 1)

Today we will transform our "tonal five finger drills" into a technique for playing triads, and we'll practice playing all seven chords of the major scale in every key.

Q&A - Are the IFR harmonic environments the modes?

Are the seven harmonic environments that we're studying in IFR Exercise 2 the same thing as the “modes”?

Is there a "method" for using the major scale in a melodic way?

I am wondering if there is a "method" for using the major scale in a melodic way rather than playing the scale notes randomly?

Thinking melodically vs. harmonically

When you're studying the notes of a chord, should you be thinking relative to the key (e.g. "note 1 in the 6 chord")? Or should you be thinking relative to the chord (e.g. "the flatted 3rd of the 6 chord")?

One of Us

The Joan Osborne song "One of Us" (written by Eric Bazilian) is one of countless songs made from just the four foundational chords that we study in IFR Jam Tracks Level 2: Pure Harmony Essentials.

Should you listen to one particular instrument to recognize chords by ear?

To recognize chords by ear, is it helpful to listen to one particular instrument or should we be listening for something else?

Piano for Non-Pianists 12: Tonal triads (part 2)

In this lesson we'll break our triad forms out of their original tonal context and we'll learn to create them anywhere on the piano keyboard.

Harmonic analysis of Ain't Misbehavin'

The opening line of Fats Waller's classic Ain't Misbehavin' gives us an opportunity to understand one of the most common uses of diminished chords, and how to create these sounds in our own improvisations.