60+ Ideas for Using Impro-Visor

Use as a Notation Tool:

1. Transcribe chord changes to a leadsheet.

2. Transcribe licks from solos.

3. Transcribe entire solo.

4. Compose your own licks and save them in the database.

5. Compose entire solo.

6. Create original compositions.

7. Create harmony parts for a composition.

8. Create a bass line to accompany chord changes.

9. Enter a leadsheet in order to transpose it to any other key, for parts, etc.

10. Text a melody, maybe email to another user.

11. Teachers have students email their compositions to you.

12. Create your own fakebook.

Use for Playback/Playalong:

13. Play or improvise melody over chord changes.

14. Play drums over transcribed or improvised solo.

15. Comp the improvising soloist on chord instrument.

16. Mute the bass part and play bass with the rest of the rhythm section.

17. Transpose the leadsheet to practice in any other key.

18. Loop important sections of the leadsheet for concentration on specific sections.

19. Copy exercises from a practice book, for listening, transposition, etc.

Use for Advice:

20. View the chord tones for a chord.

21. View the color tones for a chord.

22. View scales that are suggested for a chord.

23. View the approach tones from one chord to another.

24. View cells for a chord.

25. View idioms for a chord.

26. View licks for a pair of chords.

27. View quotes for a pair of chords.

Use the Chord Stepper:

28. Listen to the chords one at a time.

29. View voicings of the chords using the Keyboard utility.

30. Play arpeggios over the chords on your instrument:

a. Up from the root

b. Up from the third, fifth, seventh

c. Down from the root

d. Down from the third, fifth, seventh

31. Play scales over the chords on your instrument (see Advice menu for scales).

Use the Contour Tool:

32. Draw the shape of a melody; Impro-Visor will fit notes to the chords.

Use the Lick Generator:

33. Generate licks for a chord progression.

34. Generate entire solo over a chorus.

35. Trade fours, eights, twos.

36. Save licks for future reference.

37. Explore concrete melodies from abstract melodies.

38. Sight-read licks as they are generated, for sight-reading practice.

39. Generate royalty-free music.

Use Grammar Learning:

40. Learn new grammars from corpus of one or more solos.

41. Create library of artist grammars.

Use the Chord Voicing Editor:

42. Learn to voice chords on piano by viewing voicings.

43. Study voice-leading in chord progressions.

44. Edit existing voicings.

45. Create new voicings.

Use MIDI Capabilities:

46. Export a MIDI file of your work, for posting on the web for example.

47. Use MIDI output to drive a third party soft synthesizer or hardware synthesizer.

48. Use MIDI instrument to record input in real-time (limited capability).

49. Use MIDI instrument to step-enter notes.

Import and Export:

50. Export a chorus as MusicXML (for importing to other tools).

51. Import MusicXML file by using the MusicXML2Impro-Visor plug-in for MuseScore (third-party free open source software).

52. Import chords-only from Band-in-a-Box using biabconverter (get from users’ group)

Use the Playback Style Editor:

53. Edit an existing style for customization.

54. Create your own style.

55. Learn a style file from a MIDI file and accompanying chord changes.

Use the Road Map capability:

56. Create a map of common building blocks and keys from chord symbol input.

57. Create a chord progression for a new tune by composing small building blocks.

58. Play building blocks individually or in combination using a specific style.

59. Define new building blocks.

Use the Note Coloration capability:

60. Transcribe solos from famous players, see what “outside” notes they played.

61. Enter a melody or solo with note coloration turned off. See if you can identify the colors the notes would have been, then check your answer by turning coloration on.