ScatAbility

Great idea, but practice packs should be by level, not singer. There is no point for a beginner to buy a pack with practice tracks beyond their ability. For the price, there should be more tracks in each practice package.

I’ve been waiting for this app for months, since I teach vocal jazz and thought it would be a great practice tool for my students. However, the in-app purchases of “song packs” are priced so high (7 packs @ $10 each) that I can’t expect my students to purchase it for themselves. The song packs are “canned” Band-in-a-Box tracks, with professionals scatting over the computer-generated track. There’s only 5 tracks per pack, but you already get one from each pack for free in the sampler the app comes with - so really you’re only getting 4 tracks for your money. I would have loved to use the “call-and-response” tracks in my class as warmups, but since each song pack only includes 2 call-and-response tracks, I’d have to spend about $70 in in-app purchases to get a decent and varied selection to work with. Finally, I thought maybe I could use this in the car to scat along with myself on the way to work. Unfortunately, it doesn’t at the moment work correctly with Bluetooth audio. So, I’ve struck out there too. Two stars instead of one, because the pros doing the scatting are really some of the best vocal jazz performers and teachers on the planet. However, the pricing and organization of the song-packs is a deal-breaker. It would be a big improvement if they would a) provide more tracks for the money, b) allow you to purchase individual songs (for a student, buying a couple of tunes they really need would still be more compelling), and c) provide packs organized by track type (Etude, Call & Response, Exercise) rather than by singer. As it currently stands, it’s just not worth it.

I love Michelle Weir and the *idea* of a scat education app, but unfortunately the clunky design is so bad as to make this almost unusable (instructions are hard to find, buttons use low contrast colors so text is hard to read… I could go on). I wondered if Michelle tried to develop it herself to forego the expense of a professional designer. But then I discovered in the app credits that it was designed by one “Leaf cutter inc” company. Ironically when I clicked on the link to learn more about them, it simply closed the app! Yikes. No QA testing either apparently. Maybe if Michelle can get a real professional to fix this design horror, I’ll pay the $$ to get the demos from all the fantastic singers. Meanwhile I’ll keep going through her other excellent resources.

Downloaded scat pack 1 for $10. Didn’t download goes to an error message. When I contacted support they said it may be a memory issue… nope I have a tonne of free memory. I also have the latest model iPhone. It is definitely a bug with the app.

Amended review. They fixed it! Everything works now just as advertised! [I bought two scat packs, and have repeatedly tried to download them. The program crashes when the first download gets to about fifteen percent. I even I installed and reinstalled to no avail. And I contacted tech support but haven't gotten a single reply. Is this product defunct?]

You have the 7 of the best jazz educators on your phone, teaching you how to scat whenever you want them to. There's nothing better than to do a call and response with Kate Reid at 5am. Thanks Michele Weir!

What a great app! After spending many years using Aebersold minus tracks for practicing, finally a whole program devoted to vocalists! And I really respect Michele Weir as an educator who knew exactly how to fulfill the needs of both beginning and seasoned jazz singers. BRAVA!

Try this app!! ScatAbility is fun and easy to use! Great for practice and recreation, and it looks great!

A wonderful app that allows vocalists to have a ball while learning to scat. The app comes with a free pack of swinging background tracks consisting of etudes (great for developing scat vocabulary) as well as call and response exercises. Additional song packs of varying difficulties can be purchased. I'm so impressed with all the thought that went into making this app both useful and user friendly. It's a breeze to operate. As far as features, the singer can sing with the vocalist on a practice track and once he/she feels more competent, the sample voice can be removed for a true solo scat experience. You can also loop a particular section, record yourself, AND you can see the chord notations if you choose. Everything one needs is right here! I use this for myself as well as my students and everyone is loving it. Besides, getting to scat with the heavy hitters that are featured in this app will definitely make your day! As it develops, I'd love to have a way to print out the chord notation...although that may be a possibility I haven't discovered yet. Nevertheless, you need this app!

All I can say is WOW! This application has such wonderful potential for teaching vocal jazz. Congratulations on a great idea. I was really blown away at how well thought out this app is! I love the fact that the lead sheets are included, and that you can "mix" the levels of the combo/voice. Congratulations to you and all of the "team" that developed this app. There was a time that you would have to travel to the West Coast or New York to trade fours with these professional singers! Now you can do it in your own house for a very small investment. I have purchased three practice sets, and I am very impressed with these musical mentors to help teach young jazz singers how to scat!