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Virtual Practice Room for Jazz Vocalists
Virtual Practice Room is an interactive digital practice platform for vocalists, developed by jazz vocalist and educator Sopio Murusidze as part of her Master’s degree in Music Technology. The platform brings together vocal training, jazz harmony, ear training and improvisation in a structured environment designed to support independent practice.
The platform offers a wide range of exercises, from vocal warm-ups and range development to scales, chords, chord-scale relationships and jazz progressions. Each exercise includes sheet music, practice instructions and audio accompaniment, allowing singers to choose different accompaniment settings and tempos according to their individual needs and level of development.
Built in Max/MSP, with audio materials created in Ableton Live and notation produced in Sibelius, the platform combines music technology with contemporary jazz vocal pedagogy. The exercises are designed to develop vocal technique, aural skills, rhythmic precision, harmonic awareness and improvisational ability, while encouraging singers to become more independent and intentional in their practice.
At its core, Virtual Practice Room explores a simple idea: how can technology give jazz vocalists more effective tools to practice the musical skills that traditionally require a pianist, rhythm section or teacher?
Explore the Practice Room
The Virtual Practice Room is organized into four main practice areas, allowing vocalists to focus on different aspects of vocal and musical development. Each category progresses from focused exercises toward skills that can be applied directly to jazz repertoire and improvisation.
Range Boost
A collection of vocal exercises designed to develop and maintain vocal range, flexibility, coordination and control. Exercises can be practiced at different tempos and within a comfortable register, allowing singers to work progressively according to their individual range.
Scales
Scale-based exercises combine vocal technique with ear training and improvisational vocabulary. The section includes chromatic, major and minor pentatonic, blues and modal exercises, as well as chord-scale practice, helping singers strengthen pitch accuracy while becoming more comfortable navigating the tonal language of jazz.
Chords
Exercises built around major and minor triads, seventh chords, dominant, half-diminished and diminished harmony help vocalists hear and internalize chord structures. By singing chord tones and arpeggios, students develop harmonic awareness and a stronger connection between what they hear, understand and sing.
II–V–I Progressions
Exercises centered on one of the fundamental harmonic progressions in jazz bring the skills developed in the previous sections into a musical context. Vocalists practice navigating changing harmony, connecting chords and scales, and developing the aural and harmonic fluency needed for improvisation.
Across all four areas, users can practice with adjustable tempos and different accompaniment options, supporting both focused technical work and increasingly independent musical practice.
Currently in development — available for public use in 2027
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