Funky Music Tip #2 - iRealbook App

If you haven’t downloaded the iRealbook app for your iPad/iPhone or Android tablet/phone then you are missing out big time.  Most musicians I know have this app on their portable device and use it to help them practice.  Some use it at gigs as well (although the old school cats definitely frown upon it).  We used to use the Jamey Abersold books and cassettes to practice to jazz standards and before that musicians used to study the records and learn the songs on jam sessions.  In this technological age we now have an app that can help speed up the learning process exponentially.  

The iRealbook app allows for you to download the whole Realbook and a whole bunch of other songbooks into the app and it shows you the chords to each song.  It also has a built-in band that plays the chord changes at any tempo, so you can feel the music in a performance situation.  Of course it’s nothing like a live band but it allows for beginners and pros alike to “shed” on that one tune that keeps giving you problems.  

Unfortunately because of copyright law the app doesn’t have the melody and it also does not have the Realbook pre-loaded.  You have to go to their forum (they provide a link in the app) where users have uploaded the Realbook chords.  You can also download other songbooks like ones for pop, Christmas, Latin and other.

They just provided an update that gives a more streamline look and some more features.  Go to their site and check out their graphics and descriptions: http://irealpro.com/