iReal Pro - Any good for bass?

[LordDog]

Hi,

Was wondering if anyone had used iReal Pro on a Mac, or other OS, for bass practice, and what your opinions on it are. It looks pretty good, but seems to have been designed more for guitar/keyboards. I think it costs about £15 for the Mac version, and I know I can make my own loops in GarageBand, so wondered if, for example, it has bass clef and shows bass chords/arpeggios etc? Any advice much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[LeeNunn]

iReal Pro is an important part of my practice in two ways. One, I'm working through Connecting Chords with Linear Harmony by Bert Ligon. Much of it consists of studies on ii V7 I (and iio7 V7 i). I create the simple chord progression and then use iReal Pro to systematically modulate through all keys (usually up a 4th). Two, I use the online library of charts to practice walking lines to real songs. I think it's a terrific value. Switching between various styles is fun too. My current favorite is jazz guitar trio. Think of iReal Pro as a Real Book without the melody but you're able to hear what you see.

Because there is no melody, I don't think there is a particular clef. iReal Pro does offer an add-on that shows the notes in the chords, but there are better sources for that. There are several free links here within TB that explain basic theory and the harmonic structure of any chord.

I would like to know how to create more complicated songs, but I'm having trouble finding a reference manual or tutorial. I've seen a couple of youtube videos, but I didn't get much out of them. Some of the features are not intuitive to me. I think I could get so much more value out of it if I understood all the features. This is more of a reflection on me than it is on iReal Pro.

 

[BassChuck]

Yup. Worth every penny and moment you spend with it. In response to LeeNunn... Get the Real book bass clef (or treble) and read the melodies a long with the charts in iReal Pro. They are the same. As an alternative you can program the chords and form of any song. Get all the music you can online.

 

[twinjet]

Wonderful value. I lug the actual book around because I prefer paper, but the app is a great value given the countless features and half the price of a printed copy. If you're into jazz, download the Jazz 1500 list. Incredible wealth of tunes.

 

[bigboy_78]

Is there a way to add a melody? Can you export the file somehow as MIDI and add a melody line yourself? Playing under chords is great practice, but it’s nice to hear how your line interact with the melody as well.

 

[jonathanhughes]

You can export things as MIDI files, then bring them into a sequencer and add whatever you want. I think iReal Pro is a handy tool. It definitely has some deficiencies, but for the price, it's great tool to practice with.

 

[spanndrew]

I like it. I use it for jazz chord charts and love it.

 

[CatSquare]

Absolutely love it, I love having a canned jazz rhythm section to jam along with any time, I use it to practice singing too! No musical tool or instructor or class has ever helped me as much. Get it. It's worth the price at four times the cost, especially if you're into jazz.

 

[Plutonium244]

I like it. I use it for jazz chord charts and love it.

^^^ this, I have it on my phone for last-minute charts of jazz tunes etc on gigs and to get a quick listen to the arrangement... it's back lit so even though the screen is small, I can put it on a stand and read from it if needed, though a tablet would be better. This is insurance, so to speak... never be unprepared to do something on the gig! Maybe the bandleader forgot to tell you that the bride's father specifically requested Stella By Starlight or some song or another... and it HAS to be played...

Haven't used it for practice at home by for the low cost I don't see how you could go wrong.

 

[manbass]

I use it on an iphone and ipad auxed into any speaker, my instructor also uses it with my lessons. Great tool for looping practice, finding chord chart standards and endless "realbook" library of play alongs.

 

[yellowmiata]

Wonderful value. I lug the actual book around because I prefer paper, but the app is a great value given the countless features and half the price of a printed copy. If you're into jazz, download the Jazz 1500 list. Incredible wealth of tunes.

+1 to using iReelPro with the jazz standards list. I use this to get a feel for progressions before I link up with my pianist. Also gives me practice with sight reading charts. Worth the scratch IMHO.

 

[Ulf_Hansson]

I just updated my iRealPro to brush off a few standards and try to write in changes for some new material (the Fakebook app have no built-in editor (yet?), and sometimes the "cheesy" backing is nice to use). But now it doesn't work with my AirTurn BT pedals.

I know the pedals are OK (works perfectly with Fakebook), and I think they used to flip pages in iRealPro as well. I asked at the forums, but no answer yet.

Any ideas?

EDIT: I'm on Android (which probably is important to know).

 

[Ulf_Hansson]

I just updated my iRealPro to brush off a few standards and try to write in changes for some new material (the Fakebook app have no built-in editor (yet?), and sometimes the "cheesy" backing is nice to use). But now it doesn't work with my AirTurn BT pedals.

I know the pedals are OK (works perfectly with Fakebook), and I think they used to flip pages in iRealPro as well. I asked at the forums, but no answer yet.

It seems (from the forums) that AirTurn is not yet supported on Android. Too bad.

 

[Toddb57]

Is this program better, worse, same as Band in Box and Real Band?

 

[Ulf_Hansson]

Is this program better, worse, same as Band in Box and Real Band?

I'll just say iReal Pro is different from Band-in-a-Box (never tried Real Band). First and foremost iReal is an app for iOS and Android (though there is a Mac version as well). In my opinion the playalong feature is better in BiaB, but that is easily outweighted by iReal Pro's portability and possibility to use as a gig music reader.

Though the missing AirTurn kompatibility (of the Android app) is a bummer. Good for me I have the trusty Fakebook Pro for my gigs!

EDIT: Just noticed when checking the homepage that the Fakebook Pro app is now on sale on Google Play. Just $1.98, which is a steal for what you get!

 

[LordDog]

What if I haven't been playing long and am not up to jazz stuff yet; is there still enough rock and pop stuff available on it?

 

[LeeNunn]

What if I haven't been playing long and am not up to jazz stuff yet; is there still enough rock and pop stuff available on it?

Probably. Name three songs you're looking for, and I'll check to see if they're in the library.

 

[LordDog]

Errr...Highway Star, Masterblaster and Hit me with your rhythm stick Thanks.

 

[LeeNunn]

Errr...Highway Star, Masterblaster and Hit me with your rhythm stick Thanks.

Well, not those three. Oh well. You could always create the chart in iReal Pro, but that might take some time, depending on whether you already know the chords, and how familiar you are with music notation.

 

[Bodeeni]

I did not like this for rock or pop. It is hard to get a straight pattern. The chords like to change inversions every bar. Maybe I have not spent enough time with it. It seems very geared towards jazz standards and it sounds like it too. If you are looking for rock you might not be happy.