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Master Improvising on Melodic Instruments
Learn to improvise your OWN music
If you’ve ever dreamed of picking up your instrument and truly expressing yourself — improvising freely, understanding harmony, playing what you hear in your mind — this is the program for you.
HOW IT WORKS
Unlock your full musical potential
This step-by-step video course goes beyond anything you’ve encountered in traditional music education. You’ll learn to understand the building blocks of all modern music — the seven harmonic environments of the major scale — and you’ll learn to see them all at once, right there on your instrument.
You’ll learn to connect your ear with your playing, expressing your own musical ideas in any key, in any style. And you’ll learn how chords and melodies work together, so you can improvise with freedom and confidence even as the chords change all around you.
This program is for all melodic instruments — saxophone, violin, trumpet, cello, flute, clarinet, and more. You don’t need any prior knowledge of music theory, and you don’t need to read sheet music.
If you’ve always dreamed of truly understanding music and improvising with complete freedom on your instrument, this is the course for you.
Understand it
See how music really works from the inside out — one clear map of our entire musical system that stays with you for life.
Feel it
Every note and chord has a unique sensation that you can learn to recognize by ear. Once you can feel the sounds, you’ll never be lost in the music again.
Play it!
Bridge the gap between what you hear and what you play. This program builds a seamless connection between your musical imagination and your instrument.
LESSON SAMPLES
A holistic approach to creativity
Through her clear and inspiring video lessons, Jelske will guide you through the entire IFR method for melodic instruments — from your very first steps in harmony all the way through improvising your own solos over chord progressions.
Each lesson introduces a new layer of the method, with creative jamming exercises, beautiful playing examples, and special play-along videos where you take turns improvising with the instructor. Every concept you learn, you immediately explore over real music.
The result is a way of playing — and a way of hearing — that most students can’t even imagine at the beginning.
Lesson sample
JAM TRACKS FOR PRACTICING
Jam tracks — practice every concept over real music
Each lesson comes with a complete set of jam tracks — in multiple styles and all 12 keys — designed specifically for the material you just learned. At every step of the journey, you’ll be exploring the sounds creatively and developing your own musical voice.
The IFR Jam Tracks give you an organized path through the entire world of modern harmony. As soon as you learn each new concept, you take it straight to your instrument and start exploring it over real music.
These professional backing tracks are also 100% integrated with our Sing the Numbers ear training program, which is included in your membership.
INTEGRATED EAR TRAINING
Sing the Numbers — ear training that connects directly to your playing
Sing the Numbers is our audio ear training method that’s the perfect companion to your video lessons. For each set of sounds that you explore on your instrument, our Sing the Numbers tracks teach you to recognize those exact same sounds in the music all around you. Each exercise uses actual melodies — not random intervals or test prompts.
You’ll be learning with real music. And the practice couldn’t be simpler. Play the track, listen to the melody, and sing it back. No instrument needed. You can do it on a walk, during a commute, anywhere. But when you sit back down at the piano, you’ll notice the difference immediately — your ear is more oriented, your playing is more connected, and the sounds you’ve been singing start to appear naturally in your improvising.
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THE RESULTS
Benefits to your guitar playing
- Learn how to improvise with complete melodic freedom.
- Break free from memorized scale drawings. Learn to solo in any key on your instrument.
- Discover the inner workings of modern harmony. Master improvising over chord progressions and learn to weave your own melodies effortlessly through the chords.
- Learn how to play directly from your imagination, expressing your own melodic ideas exactly as you hear them in your mind.
- Learn how to trade fours with other musicians, engaging in a true musical dialogue.
- Learn how to develop themes and motives that tell musical stories in your improvising.
- Learn to recognize chord changes by ear so that you can improvise over your favorite songs.
TESTIMONIALS
See what musicians are saying about Improvise for Real
It's among the best music books I've ever come across. Reed's perspective immediately opened doors that I didn't know existed.
The IFR method is explained so well, so understandable and logical with beautiful backing tracks to improvise with. The approach is so clear and simple. Why had no one ever told me this before? IFR has helped me enormously to jam and improvise over jazz standards and other songs.
IFR is an exciting and original way of learning music, and should be seriously considered by anyone who wants to express themselves freely through the art of music.
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.
I haven't enjoyed simple practice this much in years!
I’ve studied so many books on harmony, but the theory was never connected to my ear. IFR helped me get on the path to recognizing the sounds. For me, it was the missing link—not a quick fix, but a lifelong and pleasurable journey.
I LOVE the methodology that IFR has created. I'm constantly blown away how without thinking I'm playing around almost effortlessly in all 12 keys even those that 'conventional' musicians consider the 'odd / difficult' keys. It makes no difference once you learn the IFR way."
IFR is the key that opened everything musical to me. When I started learning the saxophone, one of the goals I had was to be able to jump into any playing situation, to pick up my horn and make improvised solos on the spot. To me, that made someone a real musician. I am now that kind of musician because of IFR.
IFR has completely upended how I practice, from focusing on music theory and technical exercises to focusing on my own creative expression with the sounds. This is very personal. Now, rather than working on something that is external to myself, I am working on something that is internal to myself. The music comes from within. This extends directly to the saxophone. To discover this has been absolutely exhilarating.
GET ACCESS
Everything you need to master improvising
Everything you need to master improvising
Complete step-by-step video lessons, musical demos, theory lessons, fully integrated ear training program, and hundreds of jam tracks to practice soloing over.
- Step-by-step video lessons for melodic instruments
- 1,900+ jam tracks in all 12 keys and different styles
- Beautiful ear training audio lessons
- Single integrated learning method with a clear path
- Your membership also includes our courses for guitar, piano and bass.
- Access to our library of student Q&A + unlimited support by email
Monthly
$
$
29 / month
Start with flexible monthly access. Cancel anytime or upgrade to yearly when you're ready to commit.
POPULAR
Yearly
$
$
249 / yearly
Our most popular plan. Commit to a full year of musical growth and save 30% with annual billing. You’ll be amazed what a year with Improvise for Real can do.