Chord changes on half beats/up beats

[Josh729]

I have been trying to figure out how to insert a chord change on the half beat or the "and" of the beat. Is this possible? Thank you!

[NathanFuto]

I also would like to know how to do this. A song I would like to do this on is Desire by U2.

How do you Push Chords using I Real b?

Cheers!

[Pianodaddyo]

I think this workaround might solve the problem:
Try adding an additional 4 'beats' in each measure of 4/4, for a total of 8 per measure. Each 'beat' will be interpreted as an 8th, so you conceivably could have eight chords in a bar of 4/4. Hope that works. I don't do it regularly, but had to do it recently.

[Jeffajohnson]

I asked essentially the same question (see next thread in this forum) and iRb support said it currently can't be done. I tried the eighth-note approach suggested here and it didn't work. IRb refuses to play a tune that has the "wrong" number if chords in a measure.

[Fingers]

Classically trained musicians expect the music (the printed thing on the music stand) to show every detail. When you switch to jazz, the "music" (the iRealB lead sheet or chart) is just diagrammatic, because the music (melody, rhythm, and harmony) has moved into your head, i.e., between your ears, no longer in front of your eyes. You get to (you are forced to, you are free to) choose how to syncopate, whether and how to alter chords or even reharmonize, to make up your own melodic line, etc, using the outline of the chart as a starting place. Try listening to a performed jazz tune while looking at the iRealB chart instead of the iRealB canned comping

[ark]

When you switch to jazz, the "music" (the iRealB lead sheet or chart) is just diagrammatic, because the music (melody, rhythm, and harmony) has moved into your head, i.e., between your ears, no longer in front of your eyes. You get to (you are forced to, you are free to) choose how to syncopate, whether and how to alter chords or even reharmonize, to make up your own melodic line, etc, using the outline of the chart as a starting place.

Nevertheless, there are times when it would be useful to be able to say that a chord is supposed to be pushed or pulled half a beat as an indication to the player(s).

[MCJazzer]

I have found out a way to make a chord land on an upbeat (offbeat, half beat, whatever you wanna say) in a somewhat limited way:

Assuming you're in 4/4, you create a bar of 3/4, but (this part is important!) use FOUR spaces for that 3/4 bar. Then, place a chord on the 3rd space of that bar (the 3rd SPACE, not the 3rd beat) and that chord will play on the 2nd half of beat #2 of the 3/4 bar. Then, you have to make up for the missing beat by creating either a 5/4 bar immed. following, or another 3/4 bar followed by a 2/4 bar. 3 + 5 (or 3 + 3 + 2) = 2 bars of 4/4 - right? Don't forget to change the time sig. back to 4/4 after you do all this silliness.

The neat thing about this work-around is that it sounds different depending on which rhythm style you use. Many of the Latin styles (Samba, etc.) naturally place the piano chords ahead of the beat, esp. ahead of beat #1, & I try lots of diff. rhythm styles to get things just how I want. I suppose this kind of messing w/ the time signatures just to get some syncopation in the chord changes might work for placing chords on other off-beats (say, the end of beat #4), but I haven't been able to figure out how to do that yet.

If you really have to have lots of chords land on off-beats, my advice is:

a) use Band-in-the Box, it does a nice job of "pushing" chords. Just be ready to settle for the rinky-dink sounds of their rhythmic styles - whatever iReal's small shortcomings, I haven't heard one rhythmic style in BinB I'd trade for the realism of the sounds in iReal - to me, they aren't even in the same ballpark (kudos to iReal's developers!).

b) export your iReal song as a Midi file, & then put it into whatever software you have that can edit Midi files - I sometimes bring my Midi files into GrgBnd on my Mac, & push the notes/chords around as much as I want.

[dflat]

...you create a bar of 3/4, but (this part is important!) use FOUR spaces for that 3/4 bar...

Yes this should work, we do have space 3 to play anticipated in 3/4, and on the 3rd beat if it is in space 4 - the hihat might not be exactly correct in your 3/4+5/4 depending on the style chosen, nor the bass line typical (the root would be on beat 4) but in a midi file you can always change anything you do not like
Thanks for your post, I am sure others will like to use it.

[Bobsax]

7 Eight Test - Unknown Composer
This is just an experiment I did after reading this thread
It wouldn't. Work in 7/8 with each space as an eighth note but it did work in 7/4 so you can simulate 7/8 by just playing it fast

[Davecan]

b) export your iReal song as a Midi file, & then put it into whatever software you have that can edit Midi files - I sometimes bring my Midi files into GrgBnd on my Mac, & push the notes/chords around as much as I want.

I tried this method and it seems to have worked, but now I don't know how to get the edited midi file back into iRealPro. Here's what I did:
1. Exported song in midi format.
2. Opened it on a PC with Reaper.
3. Edited the bass and piano parts.
4. Re-saved all 3 parts as a midi file inDropbox.
5. Stuck on how to import the edited midi file into iRealPro...maybe I'm missing something obvious, but help would be appreciated.


Thanks