The JammLab blog.
Why this exists, how it's built, and how players actually use it — on the practice-room floor and on stage.
- 01
iReal Pro Alternatives in 2026: What I Actually Use as a Professional Guitarist
I want to say this up front: iReal Pro is a good tool. It has earned its huge, loyal following, and if you are working through jazz standards, there is a real chance it is still the right choice for you. This is not a hit piece. But I used it for years as a practicing musician, and every session started with the same small disappointment. I would set up a progression, press play, and get a band that sounded like a ringtone. The harmony was right. The feel was not there.
7 min read - 02
How to Practice Soloing Over Chord Changes (So It Actually Sounds Musical)
When most people start soloing over chord changes, they reach for one scale and hope it fits. Sometimes it does. But the moment the progression does something interesting, that approach falls apart, and the solo starts fighting the music instead of riding it.
5 min read - 03
Why I Built JammLab
I've been a professional guitarist for about ten years, and I still am. Three years ago I also started learning to code. JammLab is a browser-based chord chart tool that plays back real instrument samples, and it came out of a problem I had back when I was still a student. I wanted to practice improvising over very specific chord progressions, with real-sounding backing tracks, and there was no good way to do it. So I built one.
6 min read