The key to understanding harmony

Students of Improvise for Real do all their musical thinking on a visual map of the octave that we call the IFR Tonal Map. This visual map of the tonal landscape allows us to talk about the sounds relative to the overall key of the music, which is how our ear naturally perceives and enjoys music.

This relative view of musical notes is what unlocks many of the abilities that improvisers long for:

– recognizing melodies by ear

– recognizing chord progressions by ear

– improvising lyrically through the chords

– playing melodies directly from our imagination

– playing any song in any key effortlessly

"The IFR method is explained so clearly—it's logical, easy to understand, and taught in such a stimulating environment with great teachers and beautiful backing tracks to improvise with."

Annemarie PostSaxophone — Amsterdam, Netherlands

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"You can take the smallest bite out of this method and gain the nourishment to feed your musical quest for weeks at a time."

Michael SokolowskiPiano — Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

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"I was a frustrated sheet-music-playing piano student before IFR. Now, the world of music has opened up to me."

Karen YatesPiano — Austin, TX, USA

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“IFR has become my favorite method and the one I practice most. I recommend it enormously to all musicians who want to take their improvising farther.”