ScatAbility

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!

I can't believe how well-thought-out this app is. As a jazz pianist and vocalist, I know that quality music apps don't come along every day but this one has pretty much blown me away. If I would have had access to something like this when I was a teenager, I would have learned to improvise so much faster! What a resource! Whether you are a beginner, or an advanced student of jazz, this app will help you. I have been performing professionally for nearly 20 years, and I am even having a blast, utilizing all that it has to offer. There are great play-along tracks. You can listen to other professional singers show you how to scat over a wide variety of jazz styles. With one push of a button, you can mute the singer and have the background track all to yourself. With the push of another button, you can easily record yourself and save it, as well as export it in order to track your progress and maybe even send to your teacher. In the information section, there are ideas about how to teach, using the app in classroom settings, with individuals as well as groups. There are even ideas for games that you can play with your students. There are call and response exercises with wonderful common jazz licks and phrases. It's like a tool box with all the basic tools in it. The developers seem to have thought of everything. You can listen through your phone's external speaker, but there is also an option to use the speaker that you use when you talk on the phone, right against your ear. You can be listening to these tracks in a public place, and no one will ever know. And while you sing along with a particular exercise, it is very easy to look at the lead sheet while you listen. You can see each chord and there is a highlight bar that moves as the music goes along. The exercises are in comfortable keys, both for women and men, and the guest artists that performed on the tracks are on point. I really can't say enough good things about Scatability. Just about everything that you wish the app had, it has. I will be requiring my students to download it, and telling all my musician friends about it for the foreseeable future!