IFR blog > Practice tips
Be yourself and discover your own music!

In IFR, we believe that the musicians who follow their own imagination are the ones who change the world. And we want to help you discover your musical voice and to share it with the world.

Hopeless at ear training

I have always had a terrible ear and I feel that it's preventing me from making the most of your method. There seem to be just two sorts of musicians: the ones who can play by ear and the ones who just can't. Can you help me?

The relationship between technique and creativity

Instrument technique and improvisation are two practices that feed one another: we need technical skills to be able to express ourselves creatively, and when we improvise we put into practice and consolidate our technical skills.

Melody Paths with chords 1, 6-, 2-, 5D

This is a practice video for Improvise for Real students who want to understand and internalize the chord progression 1, 6-, 2-, 5D. First, we will understand the role of each chord in the progression, and then we will practice ear training with the Melody Paths exercise.

Animation Video - How Music Works, part 1

This animated video for beginners teaches you the single most important key to understanding how all songs work. Whether your passion is improvising, composing or just playing the songs you love, this insight will help you see songs and chord progressions in a much simpler way.

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?

Is singing the tonal numbers a crutch?

I play the guitar and in order to avoid getting lost on the fretboard I say the numbers of the scale out loud. So I literally say "1, 2, 3" etc out loud as I'm playing. Will this be like a crutch in the future where I can't move around unless I count the notes?

Composing with a looper pedal

Are you curious about looping? In this video I'll show you how the looper pedal works and how easy it is to create your own loops with what you already know from your IFR practice.

Which harmonic environments should an improviser learn first?

Should I study the most important harmonic environments first? Or is it better to study all seven harmonic environments in order?

Melody Paths with the beautiful b7 chord

In this video we sing Melody Paths over a long chord progression which includes the beautiful b7 chord. All of the chords in this chord progression come directly from the key of the music except for the b7 chord and the 3D chord, which both introduce notes from outside the key.