App for backing tracks and other training?

[kevets]

I just got a Line 6 AmpliFi practice amp. It has bluetooth connectivity to iOS devices (using an iPad). So, you can play over a recording.

I want to take full advantage of this, and am wondering if you folks have any apple app recommendations? Also, I am using a boss RC-3 loop station. That doesn't necessarily seem to be a great fit with the AmpliFi, but it's new to me, so maybe somebody has pointers on how best to integrate these.

What I am currently doing is recording (on the looper) the chords of a standard (today, The Nearness of You). Then I play the melody over the loop. Good practice to respect the rhythm! I'm primarily trained in solo classical guitar, so my rhythm hasn't gotten the work out it needs.

I'm also wondering how to best use something like the iPad version of garageband.

The looper has been fun and useful. So I'm wondering what others are using for practice? One thing I'm thinking of is recording some chord changes and then improvising on top of that. But I want to maximize my practice and playing time and minimize the tweaking of technology.

Thanks!

[icr]

Youtube has thousands of backing tracks. If you have an internet connection on your i-device, just play along with them (after first loading an ad-blocker). If you can't block the ads then use "Youtube to MP3" converter and convert the backing tracks to MP3. Just about any device should be able to play the MP3s.

[lawson-stone]

I am crazy about iRealPro. It is an iOS app (likely available for others too) that creates backing tracks and has a pretty nice set of styles. You can adjust the relative volume of each instrument in the track. It ships with a set of about 1300 standards, and I have not had to add to that. You can create set lists, edit tunes that are included, and create new ones. It has some other features like looping a selected region of a tune, repeating with key changes or tempo changes as a kind of learning challenge, etc.

I enjoy using this.

[Socraticaster]

+1 on iRealPro. By far the most useful app out there for backing tracks.

[mr quick]

^ iReal pro is a good app for sure


I'm well-versed on Garageband for iPad, I've been using it for years. It's my only recording platform. It's a fantastic tool for your purpose and it's very intuitive in my own opinion. It has a LOT of great built-in sounds, especially the synthesizers.

To demonstrate I made this on my iPad in like 10 minutes in response to this thread:

(name the inspiration, anyone? Mike?` )

Not exactly the best anything I've ever made but it's made 100% on the iPad, refraining from using even midi controllers. Ordinarily I would use a set of iRig keys OR use my actual keyboards/guitars to record.
The reason I use Garageband in stead of iRig most of the time is because I want my music done a very specific way, so if you're picky or would like some cool personal arrangements, THIS is your tool.

Now, if you spend some time with it it'll become second-nature and you can create some amazing stereo recordings. I have physical instruments that I use most of the time for "actual" recordings but for practice tracks like above, the onboard sounds are great.

You can have as many bars as you like(AFAIK, I've tried 118 before) and you can also loop whatever you want. There's also smart keys/bass/guitar/drums which lets you set parameters- i.e. what percussion to use or what chords, and you can choose to let it "autoplay" which comes up with riffs for you. You can also transpose on the spot if you've used the onboard sounds, great for practice routines.

If you decide to use it and have questions, just hit me up because I know it pretty well by now Good luck!

[kevets]

Awesome, thanks so much.

Don't know why I didn't think about YouTube. I have google music and therefore YouTube red, so no ads. I searched for Nearness of You backing track and the first one found is perfect.

I'll check out iRealPro.

garage band tends to mystify me. Question: how are you connecting to be able to record an electric guitar to the iPad? I'm definitely interested in this tool, just recognizing that there seems to be a steep leaning curve. I no longer have a functioning Mac and the Windows version of GB seems like a gross hack.

[mr quick]

I'm using a Focusrite iTrack solo:



About $130 I think. There are much, much cheaper alternatives afaik. Don't get the jack-plug-only iRig, the metronome/other tracks bleed.

if you have more question just ask, dude. Here or in PM

[Bambus123]

Sessionband 1,2 and 3 is also something to consider. A lot of pre-programmed backing tracks and very easy to make your own

SessionBand Jazz Music App for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch | SessionBand Jazz Volumes 1, 2 & 3

[kevets]

Wow, glad I asked. iRealPro is a wonderful training tool. Looks the youtube I found of Nearness of You was genned off of iRealPro. I downloaded the 3K+ forum contributions and there it was. There are some wonderful features - slow it down, speed it up, it highlights the measure as it goes along, so if you get off beat there's an easy way back. Chord charts are cool, but most of the voicings in what I've looked at aren't what I'd select.

So this is going to make arpeggio practice and improvisation a heck of a lot easier.

Thanks!

[kevets]

I'm using a Focusrite iTrack solo:



About $130 I think. There are much, much cheaper alternatives afaik. Don't get the jack-plug-only iRig, the metronome/other tracks bleed.

if you have more question just ask, dude. Here or in PM

That looks pretty cool. Is there a version with the new lightning connector? One thing I like about this is the powered mic for acoustic recording. But how about using an amp with this?

[mr quick]

I'm fairly certain there is.

I've actually recorded through line-out on my amps or direct in through a multi-fx board, I was gonna try some micing this weekend(my first sat + sun off since early december) but of course I became very ill on friday. Everything hurts, my eyes run and itch, I'm dizzy etc. I tried playing but it was no good. Just unease. Very unfortunate because I work 7 days a week so I try to get the most out of the rare days off. oh well. I digress.

Back to the point, I can't imagine micing this would require anything more than the average micing. Line out has worked well for me but I really wanted to try the Classic 30 miced.

[kevets]

I hope you feel better Marwin. Almost sounds like the flu

[mr quick]

Thanks, kev. I checked with Focusrite and there certainly is a lighting version available and if I understand correctly, you can use the old unit with new cables. It seems that my iPad is slowly becoming redundant...

"As a result of our ongoing development of iOS products, we have been made aware of issues between Garageband & iOS 7/8/9 on iPads with legacy connections (30pin). We have raised this with Apple, however any further resolution is unfortunately beyond our control at this point.

We would recommend trying one of the many other DAWs available for iOS such as Auria, Cubasis or HarmonicDog Multitrack (others are available).

Please note that iPads with Lightning connections will not have the above issues."

This is so typical..! I've been on an older OS for a really long time now and I thought "what harm can updating do" and so I "upgraded" just yesterday!

[Duotone]

I can highly recommend SessionBand iOS app. It creates custom backing tracks from samples of real musicians. You define the chords and then chose the musical style of your accompaniment. No idea how to share and import songs with/from the user community though.

Karaoke-version.com is another great resource for backing tracks. They also have a selection of custom backing tracks recorded by professional musicians, too. You can configure the volume for each instrument and download a customised MP3 file.

On the Mac, I love to use Go Playalong. It's a tabulature player that allows to synchronise MP3 backing tracks with tabs. The tabs then are linked to the backing track (such as the karaoke version tracks), which makes it a great tool for practice.

[boatheelmusic]

irig HD has a lightning connector to connect your guitar to garageband on an ipad or iphone.

Very reasonable, and high resolution.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/deta...FQEmhgodv1kJ7w

[Longways to Go]

I love Irealpro for practice too.

I'm wondering where can you find backing tracks with sound quality acceptable for solo performance?

[kevets]

Session Band looks like another winner.

All of these great tools nowadays. And I think the development of gamification trainers is really just starting to take off.

[davidBb]

Just chiming in with iRealPro recommendation. By downloading the 1300 standards pack and others I felt I got more into playing and enjoying jazz by looking at loads of popular progressions than reading 'heavy' theory books.

[dingusmingus]

Yep, iRealPro is great.

Are there folks here who regularly use the Session Band app? I downloaded it when it was on sale and couldn't jibe with it. It seemed time consuming to set up a song. (iReal is too, but there are so many already set up.)

Once I did, it seemed like every time it played, say, Cmi7, it would loop the same bar or two. It sounded very repetitive very fast. (The sound quality and playing were good.) Was I doing it wrong?

[BigMikeinNJ]

Reviving this: to the OP, I am relocating to a condo building, all seniors and ne d something different that I can plug headphones into, but want to know if you've used it through the amplifi speakers. Thinking of getting the 100 watt model, mostly for the 12 inch speaker. How does it sound ?? Are the amp sims very good ??

thanks

Big

[kevets]

Yes, I'm using the AmpliFi 75 (the other model is 150 W, which is too much for my needs, and heavy!).

I like the sound and have downloaded some models off of their site. But I'm not a purist and I'm not looking for much, just a clean sound. Also, I want to play my guitar more and tweak with electronics less. I started my foray into electric with a Line 6 Variax modeling guitar and a Vetta II modeling guitar. I did that because I do IT by profession, and thought this would be fun. Wrong! I spent so much time tweaking. And my god, that Variax is a heavy hunk of wood.

So now it's an Ibanez LGB30, AmpliFi 75, Boss RC-3 looper.

Where this is shining for me is the bluetooth capability. With an iPad, my complete music library, google all access (inc. youtube red), all of the book CD's I've ripped and backing tracks from iRealPro, it's just so flippin' easy to fire something fun up and be playing in seconds. I also have NextPage on my iPad Pro, and a bluetooth page turning pedal, so reading scores is also a snap

[grahambop]

Yep, iRealPro is great.

Are there folks here who regularly use the Session Band app? I downloaded it when it was on sale and couldn't jibe with it. It seemed time consuming to set up a song. (iReal is too, but there are so many already set up.)

Once I did, it seemed like every time it played, say, Cmi7, it would loop the same bar or two. It sounded very repetitive very fast. (The sound quality and playing were good.) Was I doing it wrong?

That is a bit of a limitation of that app. It doesn't have the 'variations' built in that BIAB has for example.

[grahambop]

irig HD has a lightning connector to connect your guitar to garageband on an ipad or iphone.

Very reasonable, and high resolution.

IK Multimedia iRig HD | Sweetwater.com

I use the Line 6 Sonic Port. It has the Lightning connector and loads of amp and speaker models. It doesn't have a mic input but I think they do another model which does, or which has its own mic built in possibly (more expensive obviously).

[BigMikeinNJ]

This seems like a decent alternative for me: iPad Air, 27 inch iMac, Apple TV. I'm hoping I can parlay that with the 150 model. I'm not going to be lugging it anywhere,just set it up and leave it be. I want the fattest sound and I hope it works. Thanks for your help. Once in Chicago I'll find a Guitar Center with one and take one of my archtops to try it with.

Big

[srlank]

Yep, iRealPro is great.

Are there folks here who regularly use the Session Band app? I downloaded it when it was on sale and couldn't jibe with it. It seemed time consuming to set up a song. (iReal is too, but there are so many already set up.)

Once I did, it seemed like every time it played, say, Cmi7, it would loop the same bar or two. It sounded very repetitive very fast. (The sound quality and playing were good.) Was I doing it wrong?

When i first downloaded SessionBand, I found it clumsy and unfriendly. I don't recall that it had any pre-made charts either. A month or so ago however, I went into it again, and it seemed much easier to manipulate. Also...I found that it had a bunch of standards already in it, also that you can create little drum fills pretty easily. I mostly use ireal though, cause it's got a better set-up for practice. Could be that I've just worked with it more.