iRealBook

thrip

Brilliant! Thanks Bob.

Jack

Jazzaferri wrote:

Jack where is this site

Tele295 wrote:

The guy that runs a local gypsy jazz jam has this, and occasionally prints charts. The resolution is OK, but I notice that some of the charts are in funny keys. Autumn Leaves, for instance, is NOT in Am! It makes it challenging for those using the standard edition Real Books, as they don't match up.

hey guys, I think both issues are answered, but just to repeat, Jazzaferri, you've got to have the iphone or android cellphone app installed to use this, but you can get an idea of how it works here:
http://irealbook.net

And tele, you should ask that guy if he knows about the transposing feature! Definitely a little bit mind-blowing when you first use it. Just tap the key in the upper right and you can change it to anything you want. It's crazy!

best,
Jack

Jack

Hey all,

Reviving an old thread to mention that the app just got a free update that give you a piano/bass/drum backing track for every song in the library. Good for practicing...

thrip

In the latest update they've added "gypsy jazz" to the paid playback jazz styles pack. I'm quite tempted to get it, has anyone else got this?

Craig Bumgarner

Got it today. Haven't used it extensively, but it seems okay. You can vary tempo and key. It is a midi sound and the GJ style is not very realistic, but okay. Suggest turning down the bass and drums in the Settings, to allow the harmony of the midi-piano to come to the front, that helps a lot.

Minor gripe is you have to flip to the GJ style every time you queue a song. Maybe there is a setting for this, but I have not found it yet.

iRB has a pretty extensive GJ library which are free. My guess is the playback feature will get better over time and updates are free. Probably won't supplant Band in Box or the Cosimini & Wrembel backing tracks (played w/ Transcribe for key and tempo changes), but at $5.99, this is a versatile, inexpensive set of backing tracking in your pocket.

And of course you can write your own chord charts and apply the playback to them.

I'm using iRB on an iTouch which is fine for playbacks, but too small for sight reading on a gig. Anyone try it on an iPad yet?

Craig

Craig Bumgarner

I would note that in order for the "player" feature to play an iRB chart like you might expect it, the iRB chart needs to follow specific notation rules as outlined in the Help-> Player -> iOS page on http://www.irealbook.net

The chart might look okay visually, but not play right. A recent example I had was the iRB chart of a Stompin' at Decca. The song is an AABA form. The iRB chart shows an A part with 1st and 2nd endings and a B part. There is a text label indicating AABA which, if you were reading it would seem fine, but the Player does not recognize it as such and plays it a AAB, just 24 measures, no recap of A. This is fixed by correcting the chart to follow the rules the Player feature observes.

Many of the charts were user written before the Player was introduced and do not confirm to the rules. I think there is a campaign going on by iRealBook and users to correct the charts to be fully Player compatible and at some point, you might want to just reload. In the mean time, I guess it is learn the rules and edit your own as needed.

BTW, I have a bunch of backing tracks and BiB, both of which are probably better than iRB so my best use so far for the Player feature is to queue up a song and play it through the car stereo, scat singing solos over the top. Good for working out melody and solo ideas.

CB