Name that Join !

Bob Keller

Harvey Mudd College

The Lego Bricks approach to harmony, introduced by Conrad Cork, is based on two major concepts:

• Bricks, which are chord progressions that recur across a number of different tunes, and
  
  
• Joins, which are changes in tonality that connect the bricks together.

There are 12 joins, based on the 12 chromatic changes of tonality. The standard presentation of joins is from a resolved chord I' to another resolved chord I through a I'-ii-V-I progression, where I' is in the first tonality and ii-V-I is in the second. Each join has a name as follows:

Half-steps from I' to I	Interval from I' to I	Join Name	Half-steps from I' to ii	Interval from I' to ii	Example Chord Progression	Sound
0	unison	Homer	2	M 2^nd	CM7 – Dm7 – G7 – CM7
1	m 2^nd	Cherokee	3	m 3^rd	CM7 – Ebm7 – Ab7 – DbM7
2	M 2^nd	Woody	4	M 3^rd	CM7 – Em7 – A7 – DM7
3	m 3^rd	Highjump	5	4^th	CM7 – Fm7 – Bb7 – EbM7
4	M 3^rd	Bauble	6	tritone	CM7 – F#m7 – B7 – EM7
5	4^th	Bootstrap	7	5^th	CM7 – Gm7 – C7 – FM7
6	tritone	Stella	-4	Down M 3^rd	CM7 – Abm7 – Db7 – GbM7
7	5^th	Backslider	-3	Down m 3^rd	CM7 – Am7 – D7 – GM7
-4	Down M 3^rd	Half Nelson	-2	Down M 2^nd	CM7 – Bbm7 – Eb7 – AbM7
-3	Down m 3^rd	Sidewinder	-1	Down m 2^nd	CM7 – Bm7 – E7 – AM7
-2	Down M 2^nd	New Horizon	0	unison	CM7 – Cm7 – F7 – BbM7
-1	Down m 2^nd	Downwinder	1	m 2^nd	CM7 – C#m7 – F#7 – BM7

Note: (M = major, m = minor)

The Challenge: In the tables below are linked 12 midi files, each of which plays the sound of one of the progressions above, but organized randomly within each set.

Your task is to determine which join corresponds to which sound. Answers will posted at a future time.

Note that the roots are in the base line, and the other notes of the chords are not generally in root position, but rather rootless- and open-voiced, as if being played behind a jazz soloist. (These files were produced using Impro-Visor.)

Set 1: with Straight Cadences
Number	Sound
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12

Set 2: with Sad Cadences
Number	Sound
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
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11
12