The IFR Starter Kit Mega-Pack for Musical-U is a complete multimedia course in harmony and improvisation. This integrated package will power your musical growth for years to come. All of the learning materials are based on the IFR method and they are all designed to work together, multiplying your benefits.
At Improvise for Real, we are huge fans of Musical-U. Many of our most enthusiastic students are also members of Musical-U, so we're excited to welcome you to our teaching and show you what we do.
Used by students and teachers alike in more than 20 countries, Improvise for Real is considered by many to be the definitive system for learning to improvise. You'll learn to understand the sounds in the music all around you. And you'll learn to express your own musical ideas exactly as you hear them in your mind.
The IFR Starter Kit Mega-Pack for Musical-U is a complete multimedia course in harmony and improvisation. This integrated package will power your musical growth for years to come. All of the learning materials are based on the IFR method and they are all designed to work together, multiplying your benefits.
Below is a complete description of everything included in this package.
This 250 page illustrated e-book in PDF format contains the complete IFR method for all instruments. The exercises are easy to understand and fun to practice. Through a creative daily practice that feels more like the martial arts than a typical music course, you will gain a deep understanding of modern harmony that enables you to weave your own melodies effortlessly across any song or chord progression.
You will learn the entire landscape of modern harmony from simple blues and pop music to the most sophisticated jazz compositions. Instead of giving you rules and formulas about what notes you are supposed to play, Improvise for Real empowers you to explore and discover all of these sounds for yourself. You will learn to understand the sounds in the music all around you and to improvise with confidence in any musical situation. And you will learn to express your own music, playing directly from your musical imagination.
This 12 lesson video course will give you the best possible start in the Improvise for Real method. With step-by-step video demonstrations of the most important exercises, this course will help you understand the method and create a wonderful creative music practice in your life.
You will learn how to build the notes of any key on your instrument, and how to visualize all of the chords in any key. You'll learn to improvise your own spontaneous melodies over jam tracks and with other musicians, and you'll learn how to practice in a way that develops your musical creativity.
This video course is for all instruments and improvisation levels. Our focus will be on improvising melodic solos over jam tracks and also creating unaccompanied melodic improvisations on your own. We won't be talking about comping chords (for guitar players and pianists), but all instruments are invited to take this course for a deep dive into the art of playing beautiful solos.
"I loved and enjoyed it immensely, and it has enabled me to think and more importantly to feel about my music making in a new and exciting way. It has been a musical transformation for me. Even my wife and daughter have commented how much my playing has changed and improved. Praise indeed!" - Martin Vincent (saxophone, United Kingdom)
"Jelske is a great teacher. I would definitely recommend this course to others who are seeking to acquire the skills of jazz improv. The tonal approach, among other things, opens up great possibilities and changes one's perspective to improv." - Larry Silberstein (clarinet, United States)
"I would recommend this course to anyone who wants to learn the art of improvisation. I am now more connected to how harmony flows through the major scale and I am making progress on my instrument as far as hearing ideas in my head and executing them on the guitar." - Mark Margolies (guitar, United States)
"This is the only course about improvisation that really gets you to improvise from the start, using your ears and developing your inner voice. I can honestly say that Jelske is the best teacher I have come across." - Eef van der Burg (saxophone, Netherlands)
This is the first set of jam tracks that all IFR students should have. You will learn the seven harmonic environments of the major scale, which will prepare you for improvising over chords and chord progressions.
Each harmonic environment of the major scale produces a different scale with gorgeous melodic possibilities. We composed each track to highlight the subtle differences that make each harmonic environment unique. This means that as you're jamming over these tracks, you're also learning to recognize each harmonic environment by ear.
Meditative. The meditative tracks give you lots of space for deep contemplation of the sounds. These tracks are ideal for getting to know the sounds for the first time.
Modern. The modern tracks let you hear each harmonic environment in pop style like the music you hear on the radio. These tracks will help you discover the beautiful melodic possibilities that each harmonic environment offers you.
Jazz. The jazz tracks let you really stretch out and follow your imagination. These tracks provide the ideal environment for more intellectual or abstract playing. Use these tracks to push the limits of your playing, both creatively and physically.
Every jam track in this collection is provided in all 12 keys. If you're just starting out, you can build your confidence in the keys that are easiest for you to play. If you're more advanced, you can target just the keys that you need to work on. And for the rest of your life, anytime you need to practice a particular harmonic environment you'll have backing tracks in any key you need.
Sample track - Meditative
Sample track - Modern
Sample track - Jazz
In Pure Harmony Essentials you will begin improvising over chord progressions. You'll learn the most important chord progressions that appear in popular music and you'll learn to weave your own melodies through the chords.
This collection focuses on the four most important chords in contemporary music. IFR students know these as the 1 chord, the 4 chord, the 5 chord and the 6 chord. In addition to mastering these chord concepts, you'll also be learning about more fundamental ideas like tension and release, suspension, mood and storytelling.
Each IFR jam track is actually a complete lesson in harmony and improvisation. Each lesson builds on concepts that you've already mastered in earlier lessons, and each jam track is accompanied by illustrations, teaching notes and practice tips. There are 15 different chord progressions in this collection, and each chord progression comes with backing tracks in all 12 keys.
Sample track - chords 1, 4
Sample track - chords 1, 4, 1, 5D
Sample track - chords 6-, 4
In Pure Harmony Advanced you will learn the more exotic chords of the major scale that appear in modern jazz, blues, R&B and latin styles. This collection will teach you 15 essential chord progressions, completing your mastery of all seven chords of the major scale. Each chord progression comes with backing tracks in all 12 keys.
We will also take a deep dive into the 2-5-1 chord progression, the most important chord progression in jazz music. We break this progression down across several lessons to help you master the inner workings of this important progression.
Each IFR jam track is actually a complete lesson in harmony and improvisation. Each lesson builds on concepts that you've already mastered in earlier lessons, and each jam track is accompanied by illustrations, teaching notes and practice tips. There are 15 different chord progressions in this collection, and each chord progression comes with backing tracks in all 12 keys.
Sample track - chords 2-, 5D, 1
Sample track - chords 1, 6-, 2-, 5D
Sample track - chords 4, 3-, 2-, 1
Imagine being able to listen to a song and recognize every note of the melody by ear. What would that do for your musical creativity and improvising? In this video course you will learn how to develop this ability, adding a whole new creative dimension to your improvising.
I believe that this course will be one of those "before and after" moments in your life, changing the way you think about music and opening many new doors for you creatively. Through step-by-step video lessons, audio tracks and creative exercises, you'll learn to recognize the sounds in the music all around you and to play songs and melodies by ear.
Experiencing the sounds as music. Every step of the way, you'll be hearing the sounds in the context of beautiful songs and melodies. So the connection to real music is very present right from the start. This is one of the biggest complaints that musicians have about other ear training programs. They get better at identifying random intervals in the context of a quiz, but they still can't recognize anything in the songs they hear on the radio. So we think it's very important to study and appreciate the beauty of the sounds every step of the way, and that means hearing all of the sounds in the context of actual music.
Using your own natural ability. It's not about developing "perfect pitch" or any other unusual ability. This is something everyone can do. If I were to sing the melody to your favorite song, you would recognize that melody right away. And if I were to sing a wrong note somewhere in that melody, you would recognize that too. What this means is that you already feel the difference between all of the different notes of our musical system. You just don't know which sound is which. All you need is an organized path that lets you clarify these sensations one by one so that you finally understand which note of our musical system produces each of those beautiful sensations that you already know and love.
Jamming with the sounds. In addition to the singing and listening exercises you'll also be improvising with the same sounds on your instrument over jam tracks that we will give you. So not only will you be learning to recognize the sounds by ear, but you'll also be playing by ear throughout the entire course. In this way you can develop a true mastery of the sounds which includes every aspect of your musical being (imagining, singing, listening, playing, recognizing by ear). From there we can expand outward until you've mastered our entire musical system.
This course is divided into 10 units of progressive difficulty. Each unit will teach you the next level of our ear training practice. This progressive system is the key to your success because each unit introduces just one new sound for you to enjoy and master. But these abilities stack up very quickly, and by the end of the course you'll be able to recognize all seven notes of the major scale by ear in the music all around you.
"Truly, this course was transformational. I have received more musical growth from this course than any other book, course, or class I have ever taken. I now understand the way music WORKS in a very practical way. This has enabled me to play songs in ANY key and to be able to play songs without looking at the notes at all. It has cleared up pitch problems in my singing. When I say transformational, I do mean that! I give Mireia and this course the highest rating I could possibly give." - Karla Huntsman (voice and piano, United States)
"Mireia is a gifted teacher and has presented a very enjoyable and very useful course. I thoroughly recommend the course to anyone who is interested in exploring this exciting topic." - Craig L. (guitar, Australia)
"Mireia is an excellent teacher who makes ear training enjoyable, even fun! The material is superbly paced, with steady consolidation, reinforcement and development from multiple angles. This course has produced very noticeable improvements in my understanding and given me a real boost in confidence." - David Wright (guitar, Scotland)
Sing the Numbers is the audio counterpart to Ear Training for Musical Creativity. This audio course complements your learning with beautiful songs and melodies that were specifically designed to train your ear. This course is fully integrated with our video course Ear Training for Musical Creativity, so both resources work together to accelerate your learning.
We encourage you to spend as much time as you need with each audio track. This isn't the kind of work that you finish and check off your list. It's more like a virtual world for you to explore. The more time you spend in that world, the more you'll come to understand it.
All you have to do is play the audio tracks and sing along. There are no exams, testing or drills. The course takes you on a guided tour of our musical system, letting you experience each beautiful sound for yourself. Each melody is presented in IFR tonal numbers. After listening to the melody, you'll sing the same melody back in tonal numbers.
Here are some samples from the course:
Lesson 3
Lesson 12
Lesson 18
Take your ear training to the next level with this deep exploration of the seven harmonic environments of the major scale (the foundation of chords and chord progressions). This course is the audio counterpart to IFR Jam Tracks Level 1: Seven Worlds.
Sing the Numbers 2: Seven Worlds is much more than just ear training. Each audio lesson is also a composing lesson, using beautiful songs and melodies to teach you how you can truly make music in each of the harmonic environments. The result is that you'll not only learn to recognize all of these sounds by ear, but you'll also add this gorgeous library of sounds to your personal improvising vocabulary.
Meditative. The meditative tracks are ideal for deep contemplation of the sounds. Each sound is presented and contrasted with the others to give you a crystal clear understanding of the complete harmonic environment.
Chord notes. For each harmonic environment there is a complete audio lesson on just the chord notes. You'll discover many great riffs and melodies that can be made with just these notes, and you'll gain a deep understanding of which notes make up each chord.
Advanced. The advanced tracks contain literally hundreds of song-like melodies that will help you make the connection to recognizing these sounds in the music all around you.
All you have to do is play the audio tracks and sing along. There are no exams, testing or drills. The course takes you on a guided tour of all seven harmonic environments of the major scale, letting you experience each beautiful sound for yourself. Each melody is presented in IFR tonal numbers. After listening to the melody, you'll sing the same melody back in tonal numbers. Here are some samples from the course:
6th harmonic environment
4th harmonic environment
Chord study: the 5 chord
The IFR exercise "Melody Paths" is one of the most popular components of our entire program. This exercise shows you the "inner workings" of any chord progression so that you can improvise melodically across the chords. (You'll see demonstrations of this exercise in our video course Introduction to Melodic Improvising which is also included in this package.)
In Sing the Numbers 3: Melody Paths, we will explore many of the most important chord progressions in popular music using this Melody Paths exercise. This is the audio counterpart to IFR Jam Tracks Levels 2 and 3, which are also included in this package.
The concept of Melody Paths is very simple. The biggest problem that beginning improvisers have with expressing themselves creatively is that they are trying to apply licks and scales to isolated chords, but this isn't how music works at all. When you listen to your favorite songs, what you hear is a lovely and effortless interplay of melody and harmony on a single musical landscape where everything is connected. With our Melody Paths exercise, you will learn to see this musical landscape and weave your own melodies effortlessly through the chords.
While Melody Paths is primarily something we explore through playing, this audio course allows you to take your Melody Paths practice on the go! A big key to success with ear training is the power of immersion. Sing the Numbers 3 allows you to immerse yourself in these beautiful Melody Paths even while you're doing other things. You can listen to the audio lessons on headphones and train your ear all day long!
All you have to do is play the audio tracks and sing along. We sing each Melody Path for you in tonal numbers, and you'll sing it back in tonal numbers. For each chord progression we give you a drawing of the IFR chord columns so that you can visualize where all of these sounds are located. And we'll take you on a guided tour of the most beautiful melodies hidden within the chords. Below is a sample from the course.
Lesson 10
As a Musical-U member, you can purchase the complete IFR Starter Kit Mega-Pack for just $395 $295, saving $100 off the regular price. This package gives you a complete multimedia course in harmony and improvisation that will power your learning for years to come. You'll get the complete Improvise for Real e-book, our two most popular video courses "Introduction to Melodic Improvising" and "Ear Training for Musical Creativity", and all of the IFR Jam Tracks and Sing the Numbers courses described above.
In our store, even if you were to take advantage of our best discount packages, the best price you could get for all of these courses and practice tools would be $395. But as a student of Musical-U, you can purchase everything right now for $295, making this the perfect time to discover the beautiful world of musical improvisation and add this fascinating new dimension to your musical life.
You can make your purchase with any major credit card and you can download all of the materials immediately after making your purchase. And if you don't agree that this package is the best investment you ever made in your musical creativity and enjoyment, just send us an e-mail within 60 days and we'll give you a full refund.
