iReal Pro app

[brianlcox]

Hi All,

I just bought this app and was wondering if any of you are using it.

I have been putting off this type of practice for a while now as it's such a pain for me to get my looper and amp out (as I practice in the living room after the kids go to bed). Until now I have been using youtube backing tracks, which are okay, but I'm hoping that this will give me more flexibility to practice exactly the progressions I want to work on.

Just downloaded it, but it's almost midnight, so I guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow to really check it out.

[shufflebeat]

Love it.

Mostly use it for rehearsing bits and pieces, structuring songs by exporting audio to Reaper, then replacing the various elements with recordings and exporting chordsheets on PDF.

Well written, easy to use, versatile and reliable. No frills but all the necessaries (for me).

[RyanR]

It is a nice practice tool. Much more accessible (and way cheaper) than band in a box.

I bought Band in the box one time and wanted to like it but it is so complex and has such as weird interface as to be borderline unusable (IMHO). Plus Band in a box has no documentation.

I was able to use iReal Pro instantly.

Don't look for high quality sounds though. Some can be OK, especially some of the Jazz, but in general it is more about blocking out or practicing basic songs vs making nice music.

One thing about iReal pro I have not played with. It can export in MIDI format which can then be imported into Logic Pro or similar programs. I'm not really comfortable working with MIDI but those that are could probably do some nice things with the resulting files.

[shufflebeat]

Originally Posted by RyanR

...Don't look for high quality sounds though. Some can be OK, especially some of the Jazz, but in general it is more about blocking out or practicing basic songs vs making nice music.

One thing about iReal pro I have not played with. It can export in MIDI format which can then be imported into Logic Pro or similar programs. I'm not really comfortable working with MIDI but those that are could probably do some nice things with the resulting files.

Wise words.

I've found the MIDI implementation is a bit flaky as there seems to be the odd missing "note off" message which can be frustrating. It may not be an iReal issue but Reaper is otherwise rock solid with MIDI so I'd be surprised if it was that.

Still pretty useful once checked over though. Looking at the MIDI parts it's very obvious to see the mechanics of the style and it can be robotic. I've never tried to apply variable quantising (grooves) to the raw MIDI but I can imagine it would respond well.

[fakedrummer]

Great practice tool with many songs. You can also put in your own changes to help you get ideas going over them. It is also useful if you are playing with a singer that doesn’t play songs in the standard keys.