Adaptive Learning for Jazz Standards: Mastering and Retaining Your Repertoire
In a recent post, I highlighted the iRepertoire app for its effectiveness in managing and recalling jazz standards, but I also mentioned a limitation: the inability to control how frequently tunes from a playlist are suggested. This led me to explore other tools that might address this gap, and I found that the Brainscape flashcard app is well suited for this purpose.
Brainscape allows users to create custom sets of flashcards and uses an adaptive learning system. When reviewing a card, you can rate your familiarity with the content on a scale from 1 to 5. If you're less familiar with a particular tune, the app will show that card more frequently, helping you build mastery. As you become more comfortable, the card appears less often.
To test this out, I uploaded a deck of flashcards by creating a CSV file that includes all the jazz standards from the Manhattan School of Music jazz repertoire list, which I downloaded a few years ago. These are all well-known tunes, mostly found in the original Real Book, Volume 1 from the 70s. These 150 tunes are divided into five lists corresponding to grade levels, and each of those lists has been set up as a separate deck on Brainscape.
The flashcard program typically requires a question on the front and an answer on the back, which doesn't quite apply in this case. So, instead, I pasted a series of short, inspirational quotes generated by ChatGPT on the back of each card (with apologies).
The deck is now live and free for anyone to use. Feel free to check it out and see if it’s useful. I believe this approach offers an effective way to work on both developing and retaining your repertoire.