Improvise for Real

Improvise for Real is about much more than learning to improvise. It's about truly understanding music and being able to enjoy creating it yourself. Maybe you dream of improvising your own solos in concerts and jam sessions. Or maybe you imagine yourself playing songs with friends at parties and expressing yourself with total confidence. Maybe you have ideas for songs and you would love to compose your own music. You can be doing all of these things much sooner than you think! All you need is a simple understanding of how music really works and how to connect with your own musical creativity.

These abilities don't come from memorizing other people's "licks" or studying music theory on paper. What you need is a deeper understanding of music that enables you to connect your ear with your instrument. In other words, what you really need is a creative daily practice that lets you understand music from the inside out, and truly create your own music.

Improvise for Real will take you into this beautiful world of sounds and show you how music and harmony really work. 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.

How is Improvise for Real different from other approaches?

A better understanding of harmony. 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 interplay of notes and chords on a single musical landscape. With Improvise for Real you will learn to see this musical landscape and weave your own melodies effortlessly through the chords.

Creativity right from the start. In every other art form (painting, poetry, etc.) students get to experience the creative process as a natural part of their learning. It's only in music that this creative process remains shrouded in mystery. Improvise for Real is changing all of that. We believe that your own creative exploration of the sounds is essential. With Improvise for Real you will be improvising and expressing your own musical ideas right from the very first day.

Connection to the ear. Improvise for Real will show you how to connect your ear, your imagination and your instrument. For each new harmonic situation that you learn, you'll explore the sounds creatively and you'll learn to HEAR these sounds in the music all around you. The result is a deep personal understanding of harmony that allows you to recognize melodies and chord progressions by ear and to play the sounds you imagine.

Music as a journey. We don't teach licks and formulas to help you try to sound like a pro overnight. We believe that musical improvisation is the most beautiful art form in the world, and we want to help you enjoy this amazing art form for the rest of your life. What we teach is a journey through the entire world of modern harmony. But it's also a journey of your own personal growth as an artist. And so every step of the way, you'll be discovering your OWN musical voice and growing in your ability to tell powerful musical stories on your instrument.

There are many supporting resources at the Improvise for Real website and we encourage you to check them out before deciding to buy this book. You'll find a complete series of backing tracks to accompany your improvising as you progress through the world of harmony. And you'll find many surprising and enjoyable activities like our "Sing the Numbers" ear training course. Come check us out and see if our learning environment is appealing to you!