Plaudits for this edition

One of the very few seminal contributions to jazz theory to emerge from the U.K, this
book, with its clear, modular approach has opened musical doors and enhanced the
understanding and development of thousands of musicians since the first edition was
published in 1985.
Charles Alexander, Musician and Director of JAZZWISE publications.

It is terrific -- the best book I've ever seen on helping people to learn to improvize!
Philip Johnson-Laird, Stuart Professor of Psychology, Princeton University, USA

A remarkable achievement. Cork has not only given us a reliable way in to

understanding the inner mechanisms of the jazz harmonic and formal language, but he
has also provided us with a series of insights that have relevance to a wide range of
disciplines. His concepts are being applied in such diverse fields as linguistics, cognitive
psychology, computing and aesthetics. As with the potential applications of any great
idea, the only limiting factor remains our imagination. The New Guide to Harmony with
LEGO Bricks remains top of my recommended reading list for students at every level.
He is to be congratulated.

It is recommended reading for anyone who wants to know more about musical
creativity. The New Guide to Harmony with LEGO Bricks goes straight to the heart of
the matter. It is so refreshing to find a work that avoids the tired old myths about jazz,
and seeks instead to establish a whole new view of the art form. Don't lend this one
out - you're unlikely to get it back!

At last, we have the Plain English, no-nonsense version of 'How It Works', applied to
Jazz. Whether you're an established musicologist or simply an enthusiastic listener, you
should have this on your bookshelf. The New Guide to Harmony with LEGO Bricks has
a great deal to offer.
Robin Dewhurst, Head of Popular Music, Faculty of Media, Music & Performance, University of Salford, UK

Full of wisdom. He looks with fresh eyes at much of the traditions and concepts of jazz
and music in general. Cork's approach is thorough and, where appropriate, he is not
afraid to be light-hearted or controversial. Amen.
Graham Collier, Director of Jazz, Royal Academy of Music. London

It is excellent, and I shall certainly recommend it to my jazz tutors and students. The
conversational tone makes it sound as if the author is there in the room with the
student. I like very much the way he backs up principles with practical advice (for both
learning and playing) that obviously comes from years of first hand experience. It all
very much fits within my schema of jazz understanding and so its methods make
complete sense to me.
Louise Gibbs, Lecturer in Charge for Music, Goldsmiths College, University of London.

I like the first premise of this book - that the music comes first. The chapters on how
to listen and what to listen for are very valuable to a beginner. I would recommend this
book to students who have started to learn, and know something of the history of the
music and love it; they will have a good time.
Eddie Harvey, leading Jazz Educator, musician and arranger.

It is excellent.
John Robert Brown, Director of Jazz Studies, City of Leeds College of Music, UK

This wonderful book.

Henry Lowther, master trumpeter.
Harmony with LEGO Bricks

Table of Contents
Foreword and Acknowledgements __________________________________________ 1
A Note on the 2008 Printing _______________________________________________ 3
Introduction_________________________________________________________ 6
1. Where This Book Is Coming From ____________________________________ 6
2. Is This Book for You? _______________________________________________ 7
3. What Kind Of Book Is It? ___________________________________________ 8
It is not a theory manual __________________________________________________________ 8
Have you got time to do it any other way? ____________________________________________ 8
Try a LEGO bricks taste test _______________________________________________________ 8
4. If You Can’t Hear It You Can’t Play It ________________________________ 9
This book is not about ‘harmony’ ___________________________________________________ 9
This book shows you how to learn a repertoire ________________________________________ 9
Use Harmony with LEGO Bricks alongside Lionel Grigson’s A Jazz Chord Book ___________ 10
5. How This Book Does It _____________________________________________ 11
No jargon _____________________________________________________________________ 11
Music Music Music _____________________________________________________________ 11
WEAM _______________________________________________________________________ 12
Imperialist orthodoxies: the WEAM mindset _________________________________________ 12
6. How to Get the Best Out Of This Book ________________________________ 13
Use your ears __________________________________________________________________ 13
Make up your own set of Companion Recordings before you start ________________________ 13
Join the world wide community of LEGO brick layers._________________________________ 14
7. How This Book Is Organised: An Overview ____________________________ 14
I What to Listen for in Jazz ____________________________________________________ 14
II Perspectives and Polemics____________________________________________________ 15
III Just Do It _______________________________________________________________ 15
IV The Transition from Listening to Playing______________________________________ 15
V A Kit of LEGO Bricks to Build Songs With _____________________________________ 16
VI How and what to Practise __________________________________________________ 16
VII A LEGO Bricks Approach to Some Core Repertoire_____________________________ 16
VIII More Things to Think About _______________________________________________ 17
IX The New Guide to Harmony with LEGO Bricks Playalong _______________________ 17
Appendices____________________________________________________________________ 17
8. Summary ________________________________________________________ 18
Part I: What to Listen For In Jazz ______________________________________ 20
1. Introduction ______________________________________________________ 20
What Is This Thing Called?_______________________________________________________ 20
Only Connect __________________________________________________________________ 20
Stop Look and Listen____________________________________________________________ 20
Make a Set of Companion Recordings ______________________________________________ 21
Don't Expect Too Much Too Soon _________________________________________________ 21
Theme and Variations ___________________________________________________________ 21
An Introduction to Song Shapes ___________________________________________________ 22
The Way Jazz Players Use Songs __________________________________________________ 24
Table of Contents

Creativity and the Sound Of Surprise _______________________________________________ 25

Summary So Far _______________________________________________________________ 25
2. Some Common Overall Song Shapes__________________________________ 26
AABA _______________________________________________________________________ 26
Other Songs with Bridges ________________________________________________________ 30
Songs of Two Halves____________________________________________________________ 30
Blues_________________________________________________________________________ 31
3. Big Building Blocks for Songs _______________________________________ 32
Rhythm Changes _______________________________________________________________ 32
Other Songs Using Some or All of Rhythm Changes___________________________________ 33
Other Turnaround Fronts _________________________________________________________ 33
Pennies Endings ________________________________________________________________ 34
Donna Lee Openings ____________________________________________________________ 35
Starlight ______________________________________________________________________ 36
On-Off-On Plus Dropback________________________________________________________ 37
4. New Bottle, Old Wine ______________________________________________ 38
War-horse number one: How High the Moon _________________________________________ 38
War-horse number two: What is This Thing Called Love _______________________________ 39
The New Bottle Prevails _________________________________________________________ 39
5. What Is This Thing Called Harmony? ________________________________ 40
A first look at last things _________________________________________________________ 40
These Things Called Changes _____________________________________________________ 41
In The Mood __________________________________________________________________ 42
6. Cadences - The Basic LEGO Brick ___________________________________ 44
A musical story ________________________________________________________________ 44
Time and Changes ______________________________________________________________ 44
Straight cadences _______________________________________________________________ 45
Sad cadences __________________________________________________________________ 45
A whole song built from cadences _________________________________________________ 45
Basic Bells and Whistles for Ordinary Cadences ______________________________________ 46
7. Using LEGO Bricks to Map a Song___________________________________ 47
Joins _________________________________________________________________________ 47
Magic Moments and Super Glue___________________________________________________ 47
Making the Map________________________________________________________________ 48
Mapping Blue Bossa ____________________________________________________________ 49
Never Mind the LEGO Brick, Feel the Join __________________________________________ 52
Home from home _______________________________________________________________ 53
Bridge Starts___________________________________________________________________ 55
8. All the Joins There Are _____________________________________________ 58
Repeats of the Same Cadence _____________________________________________________ 58
New Horizons _________________________________________________________________ 59
Downwinders __________________________________________________________________ 59
Cherokees_____________________________________________________________________ 60
Woodys ______________________________________________________________________ 60
Highjumps ____________________________________________________________________ 60
Baubles_______________________________________________________________________ 60
Sidewinders ___________________________________________________________________ 60
Half Nelsons___________________________________________________________________ 61
Backsliders ____________________________________________________________________ 61
Stellas ________________________________________________________________________ 61
Bootstraps ____________________________________________________________________ 62
9. A Final Hover over Hovers__________________________________________ 62
10. Summary of Part I_________________________________________________ 63
11. From Here... ______________________________________________________ 64
Harmony with LEGO Bricks

Part II Perspectives & Polemics - Junking the WEAM baggage ______________ 66

Jazz on Its Own Terms __________________________________________________ 66
History is Bunk _________________________________________________________ 67
Lead Kindly Light? _____________________________________________________________ 67
The myth of complex chord sequences ______________________________________________ 68
The myth of ‘simple’ chord sequences ______________________________________________ 70
Evidence______________________________________________________________________ 71
Problems of appropriate jazz terminology ___________________________________________ 71
Blue notes_____________________________________________________________________ 72
The definitive difference _________________________________________________________ 72
The end of history? _____________________________________________________________ 73
The Song as Raga - A Brief Survey of Jazz History and Practice ________________ 73
The Freedom Principle __________________________________________________________ 73
Copyright Royalties _____________________________________________________ 77
Cherokee - A Case Study _________________________________________________ 78
Cherokee must be difficult, because everyone says it is_________________________________ 78
Now it can be told: Cherokee - the facts ____________________________________________ 79
Summary of Part II _____________________________________________________ 81
Part III Just do it____________________________________________________ 84
Just do it ______________________________________________________________ 84
Now see what you’ve done ________________________________________________ 84
Deep roots and rootless voicings___________________________________________________ 84
Where to Now? _________________________________________________________ 85
Before we go ___________________________________________________________ 85
Knowing and Learning __________________________________________________ 88
For musicians only______________________________________________________________ 88
The Mean Streets: Where it’s at ___________________________________________ 88
The Map ______________________________________________________________ 89
What’s out there________________________________________________________________ 89
The cycle _____________________________________________________________________ 90
Judging Distances ______________________________________________________________ 93
Nomenclature __________________________________________________________________ 95
Now, how solid are you? _________________________________________________________ 97
Conclusion to ‘The Map’_________________________________________________________ 99
The Motor: Gettin’ Around ______________________________________________ 99
Resources _____________________________________________________________________ 99
Straight Cadences in All Keys____________________________________________________ 100
Chord Symbols: How to Write Down the Sounds you Know___________________ 102
Parent Scales _________________________________________________________________ 103
The trouble with chord symbols __________________________________________________ 104
Back to basics: the ‘straight’ sounds _______________________________________________ 105
Sad sounds and their symbols ____________________________________________________ 107
That’s (nearly) all folks _________________________________________________________ 109
Substitution: Colouring a sequence without altering the direction ______________ 112
Sweet Substitutes: a Summary ___________________________________________________ 113
Summary and Further Reading Suggestions________________________________ 114
Part V A Kit of LEGO Bricks to Build Songs With ________________________ 116
Table of Contents

The Story So Far ______________________________________________________ 116

The Way LEGO Bricks Build Songs ______________________________________ 116
Putting the pieces together_______________________________________________________ 117
A Note about Reading Changes __________________________________________ 117
The Grigson Grid and the layout of chord sequences__________________________________ 117
Cadences: The Basic Building Block ______________________________________ 119
Four-square straight cadences ____________________________________________________ 119
Four-square sad cadences _______________________________________________________ 119
Offset cadences _______________________________________________________________ 119
Launchers - quick cadences______________________________________________________ 120
Slow launchers: conventional take-off _____________________________________________ 120
Bells and Whistles 1: Basic Variations on cadences __________________________________ 121
Bells and Whistles 2: oblique routes to resolutions ___________________________________ 127
Turnarounds: The Other Main Building Block _____________________________ 130
Plain Old Turnarounds: POTs ____________________________________________________ 130
Suspended Plain Old Turnarounds: SPOTs _________________________________________ 131
Rhythm Turnarounds ___________________________________________________________ 132
IV ‘n’ Back __________________________________________________________________ 132
Pennies Turnaround ____________________________________________________________ 134
Fancy Colours in Turnarounds ___________________________________________________ 134
Putting the Pieces Together – a Summary of the System ______________________ 137
Cadences (in alphabetical order) __________________________________________________ 137
Turnarounds (in alphabetical order) _______________________________________________ 139
Miscellaneous (in alphabetical order) ______________________________________________ 140
Classified List of Joins__________________________________________________________ 141
Joins which go through all keys __________________________________________________ 141
Joins which move in Whole Tones ________________________________________________ 141
Joins which move in Flat Thirds __________________________________________________ 142
Joins which move in Major Thirds ________________________________________________ 142
The Join which moves in Flat Fifths _______________________________________________ 142
The Join which isn’t moving anywhere ____________________________________________ 142
Part VI How and What to Practise_____________________________________ 144
Pedagogy Right and Wrong _____________________________________________ 144
Horses for courses: why WEAM music lessons won’t do for jazz _______________________ 144
The malign norms at work: the outside-in approach __________________________________ 146
The basis for a proper jazz pedagogy ______________________________________________ 147
The Best Way to Practise________________________________________________ 148
You do want to be a better improviser? ____________________________________________ 148
The rainbow’s end _____________________________________________________________ 148
Don’t get hung up practising scales _______________________________________________ 149
Heads you win ________________________________________________________________ 150
Context is more important than content ____________________________________________ 151
The jazz phrase comes first ______________________________________________________ 152
Use Transcribed Solos - But Use Them Properly ____________________________ 157
The etude fallacy ______________________________________________________________ 157
How to sort out published transcriptions____________________________________________ 158
Use Playalongs ________________________________________________________ 160
Playalongs are better than a metronome ____________________________________________ 160
Playalongs put you among the changes_____________________________________________ 160
A realistic ‘broad-fronted’ practice regime _________________________________ 161
Summary of Part VI____________________________________________________ 161
Part VII A LEGO Bricks Approach to Some Core Repertoire _______________ 164
Harmony with LEGO Bricks

Searching for Patterns in Changes ________________________________________ 164

Listen to Lionel _______________________________________________________________ 164
How do I recognise and understand what I’m looking at? ______________________________ 164
How to read the LEGO brick ‘walls’. An introduction to ‘brickspeak’ ___________________ 165
A whole book of LEGO brick walls _______________________________________________ 165
Time to go to work_____________________________________________________________ 165
The Core Repertoire ___________________________________________________ 167
I’ll Remember April ___________________________________________________________ 167
Blue Bossa ___________________________________________________________________ 168
Tune Up _____________________________________________________________________ 169
Autumn Leaves _______________________________________________________________ 170
Hot House ___________________________________________________________________ 172
Cherokee ____________________________________________________________________ 173
On Green Dolphin Street ________________________________________________________ 174
Invitation ____________________________________________________________________ 175
You Stepped Out of a Dream ____________________________________________________ 176
Here’s That Rainy Day _________________________________________________________ 177
Ornithology (How High The Moon) _______________________________________________ 178
Ladybird _____________________________________________________________________ 179
Donna Lee ___________________________________________________________________ 180
All the Things You Are _________________________________________________________ 181
Rhythm changes_______________________________________________________________ 182
Scrapple from the Apple ________________________________________________________ 183
I Can’t Get Started _____________________________________________________________ 184
Basic Bebop Blues _____________________________________________________________ 185
Swedish Blues ________________________________________________________________ 186
Out of Nowhere _______________________________________________________________ 187
Groovin’ High ________________________________________________________________ 188
Woody ‘n’ You _______________________________________________________________ 189
Little Willie Leaps _____________________________________________________________ 190
Stella by Starlight______________________________________________________________ 191
Part VIII More Things to Think About _________________________________ 194
1. Scales __________________________________________________________ 194
Introduction __________________________________________________________________ 194
How many scales are there? _____________________________________________________ 194
Beyond the parent scales ________________________________________________________ 197
Why the ‘octave’ has twelve notes ________________________________________________ 200
2. Reading and Writing Sheet Music ___________________________________ 203
What a written down piece of music is for __________________________________________ 204
Key signatures, and why you shouldn’t use them_____________________________________ 205
Open Key ____________________________________________________________________ 206
Make the layout on the page look like the music _____________________________________ 206
Be a User Not a Victim: write and transcribe your own music __________________________ 206
As you get better.....____________________________________________________________ 207
3. Why Giant Steps Is a Doddle _______________________________________ 207
The Giant Steps Board Game ____________________________________________________ 208
Giant Steps ___________________________________________________________________ 209
Coltrane substitutions __________________________________________________________ 210
4. Using Harmony with LEGO Bricks in the Classroom ____________________ 210
Teaching the core repertoire _____________________________________________________ 211
Part IX The Harmony with LEGO Bricks Playalong ______________________ 214
Special note to all readers of this book _____________________________________ 214
Overview _____________________________________________________________ 214
The Playalong Recordings Themselves ____________________________________ 216
Table of Contents

The Playalong Recording _______________________________________________________ 216

Stereo Separation and using your Balance Control to get the effect you want ______________ 216
Side by Side with the Harmony with LEGO Bricks Playalong __________________ 217
Introduction __________________________________________________________________ 217
Cycle Movement for all Instruments_______________________________________________ 217
We Can Get Started ____________________________________________________________ 218
Cycle Movement ______________________________________________________________ 218
Changes for Concert Pitch Instruments____________________________________ 229
Cadences ____________________________________________________________________ 229
Straight cadences demonstrating LEGO brick Joins __________________________________ 232
Cadence variations_____________________________________________________________ 237
Surprise endings! ______________________________________________________________ 240
Super-tension endings __________________________________________________________ 242
Turnarounds __________________________________________________________________ 243
Cadences using substitution _____________________________________________________ 245
Coltrane substitutions __________________________________________________________ 248
Alternative approach chords to II- V7______________________________________________ 249
Summary of tracks on the Playalong CDs __________________________________ 251
Disc 1 _______________________________________________________________________ 251
Disc 2 _______________________________________________________________________ 251
Transposed changes for the Playalong _____________________________________ 253
Cadences ____________________________________________________________________ 254
Straight cadences demonstrating LEGO brick Joins __________________________________ 260
Cadence variations_____________________________________________________________ 269
Surprise endings! ______________________________________________________________ 274
Turnarounds __________________________________________________________________ 277
Cadences using substitution _____________________________________________________ 279
Coltrane substitutions __________________________________________________________ 282
Alternative approach chords to II- V7______________________________________________ 283
Appendix A: Other Playalongs Relevant To This Book ____________________ 286
Classified Playalong Reference Listing ____________________________________________ 286
Appendix B: Discography____________________________________________ 290
Songs Listing _________________________________________________________________ 291
Albums Listing _______________________________________________________________ 295
Appendix C: Bibliography ___________________________________________ 301
Index ____________________________________________________________ 303
Foreword and Acknowledgements

Foreword and Acknowledgements

I really owe so much to so many people that I can only begin to acknowledge my indebtedness. My
profoundest apologies to anyone I miss out.
Perhaps at the deepest level, the most gratitude is due to the LEGO group, the manufacturers of LEGO
bricks, whose inspirational holistic product has for, as long as I can remember, shown me that reality can
be modelled to advantage as a series of modular components. This has helped me to think through a
variety of problems to good effect, not just in music, but in my other career in computing too. The
tolerance of the LEGO group in permitting me to use LEGO bricks both actually and as concepts (in what
must have seemed to them a singularly eccentric venture) has my sincere and enduring gratitude.
Of my fellow musicians, it was the late Lionel Grigson who provided the occasion for the first real
breakthrough in my thinking about harmony. Oliver Bennett gave me the benefit of his broad humanistic
vision and his passion for jazz throughout the years preceding the first edition, during which the contents
of these pages struggled to be born. Simon Holland, of the Open University, and Dr Laurie Kay of the
University of Kent at Canterbury, both helped me more than they ever knew by responding to the ideas
and precepts in the first edition. But Richard Yorke gave the most detailed attention of anyone to the text
of that edition, while Rob MacTavish helped so much with the computerised production, that he read the
book and went out and bought a saxophone. Without either of them, at that stage, no improvement would
have been possible. Evan Parker’s acute and perceptive reading of various drafts, combined with his
untiring willingness to engage in debate, is responsible for the honing and improvement of many sections.
The late Stan Barker took a day of his time out to interrogate the book (and, I think, me) and pronounced
himself satisfied.
In the final stages of the preparation of this edition, Dr Andy Hamilton argued every point with me, and
ran up some huge phone bills in the process. And John Runcie (like Andy, another rigorous academic who
just happens to be a great player) proofread the final version and made innumerable valuable suggestions.
After that, any mistakes are of course, mine alone.
But, with Arnold Schoenberg, I can truly say, ‘This book I learned from my pupils’. Some of these have
come to me in formal circumstances, and have been of normal student age, notably during the years I
directed Jazz Studies at De Montfort University Leicester. Some situations have been less formal,
generally involving grizzled, seasoned semi-professional players attending extra mural classes, and warily
looking to improve their playing (or maybe just avoid the Sunday afternoon washing up). Some others,
like Jamie Thompson, have seemed alarmingly young at the start, but been searingly intelligent and acute
throughout.
Maybe the most unlikely, but at the same time most valuable help in the preparation of this edition has
come from two dedicated non-musicians, Alan Ross, who sells me my books as well as my records, and
my wife Alison. Watching them both unerringly recognise everything the book describes gave me the
courage to insist to budding musicians and self-proclaimed jazz lovers that if they couldn’t hear it they
couldn’t play it
I wrote the original version of this book in Picardy in the summer of 1985. Prior to that I had spent a long
time trying to work out why I could remember clearly every chord sequence I had played in my student
days, but had increasingly to use books like Lionel Grigson’s A Jazz Chord Book as a crutch when playing
subsequent additions to my repertoire. Gradually the idea of Harmony with LEGO Bricks emerged - in
effect simply a rationalisation of the way I had done it before, and I took myself off to the French
countryside to write it all down.
I was then able to use it as the prime teaching document for jazz at the then Leicester Polytechnic, (now
De Montfort University Leicester), as well as in private tuition, with primary school children, and on
courses for practising players in Birmingham, Leicester and elsewhere. All of this showed me that while
the ideas in the book certainly held up, the whole presentation of it was only effective if you were starting
from my starting point. Using it ‘in the trenches’ (in Phil Woods’s phrase) enabled me to see what the
definitive shape should be. So the first re-write happened.
In the summer of 1986, the Arts Council of Great Britain awarded me a bursary, which enabled me to
prepare and distribute, from 1988 onwards, the new edition. This is something for which I continue to be
grateful. In the years which have passed since then, the same processes which produced that revised
version have continued unabated.

1
Harmony with LEGO Bricks

In those (too many) years between deciding to re-write the book in this way, and ultimate publication, I
have stumped the country, giving one-off lectures and master classes on the new methodology, to anyone
who would listen. Despite occasionally feeling that I had been set up as an Aunt Sally from the lunatic
fringe, and that it was hoped the audience would come away more prepared to go along with orthodox
practice, these sessions were invaluable in marshalling my arguments to deal with standard objections. In
particular, the students at the Royal Academy of Music, London, and those at University College Salford
were alert and perceptive, and helped considerably in the formulation of the fine print of the exegesis of
this book. My thanks are due to the members of staff at those institutions who got me the gigs, Robin
Dewhurst at Salford and Graham Collier at the Royal Academy.
With regard to users’ experience of what became the 1988/1990 edition, two factors in particular emerged.
First, that many (though by no means all) of them never acquired a sufficient overview of the subject
matter. They stopped using the book as soon as their playing improved. And because there was a step by
step approach, they knew nothing of what came after.
The other, more significant one, was my distress at the number of times I was told by students that they
couldn’t tell How High the Moon from I Got Rhythm, and that it was cruel and unreasonable of me to
expect them to! I now see that there was some significance in the fact that the students with the most
problems were the ones who were or had been stars in various prestigious ‘Youth Jazz Orchestras’. The
ones in other words who appeared to be most like ‘jazz’ students at auditions, and who could reasonably
be expected to have had the least difficulty. The trouble was, they had spent all their time in a tightly
disciplined purely playing environment, and had never actually listened to anything.
On the other hand, and at the other end of the expectation spectrum, I frequently met non-musicians who
had no trouble in identifying, not just chord sequences in their entirety, but also borrowed bits, like an I
Got Rhythm bridge turning up in another song. I already knew that the whole ground could be covered by
ear alone. But these (quite numerous) non-musicians gave me the courage to insist on that approach for
everybody. Around the same time I came across Anton Webern, in his short but very exciting book of
lectures The Path to the New Music. Here he triumphantly managed to spell out the What to Listen for of
his allegedly difficult art to non-musicians in Vienna in 1932 and 1933. His insistence on always trusting
the ears to lead one endorsed my determination to try to do something similar for jazz.
The ‘learn by listening’ approach thus answered both problems. The musician would be encouraged to
play only after learning the whole system of presentation. And the non-musician would be able to
understand everything except actually how to produce and control the sounds.
So, I re-wrote it again, and it became twice as big, but, I hope, ten times as useful, and that is the edition
you now have.

2
Foreword and Acknowledgements

A Note on the 2008 Printing

This printing is still the same book as the revised and extended 1996 edition. But it is not exactly the
same. So if you are working with another LEGO bricklayer, you will be better advised to go by section
headings rather than page numbers to compare notes.
All that has happened, basically, is that a number of errata have been corrected, along with the emendation
of some typographical errors. I took the opportunity at the same time, to eliminate some verbal infelicities,
and to add the occasional extra bit of clarification. A few of the recommended listening tracks have been
changed, and the Playalong documentation now gives CD track information, rather than detailing what is
on what side of the cassette. And I developed the charts of the system at the end of Part V from work
originally done by tireless bricklayer Phil Clark.
This printing was originally scheduled for 2000 and later for 2004. Both times, my health meant that I was
unable to complete the job satisfactorily. But during 2007, the world wide community of LEGO
bricklayers has rallied round and done the job for me. Ludo Beckers of Antwerp did a remarkable and
thorough job of finding all the typos – including ones I had not noticed. Then John Elliott of Edinburgh
arrived like a tornado and went through it again, making countless valuable suggestions, as well as
enhancing the book’s power by providing the summaries you will now find at the end of the didactic
chapters, reinstating the LEGO brick ‘walls’ in the repertoire chapter, which readers of the previous
edition may recall, and using better software to reset the music examples in Part IX. This book would not
have happened without Ludo and John. Thanks guys.

3
Harmony with LEGO Bricks

A Note on the 2021 PDF e-Book Edition

In memory of Conrad Cork 1940–2021
Conrad died on 25th April 2021
Before Conrad retired, he brought out a final edition in 2008 of the New Guide to Harmony with LEGO
Bricks. It is now 2021 and quite a lot has changed. We are delighted to be able to ensure that the book is
still available, and the reader is asked to note the following updates.

Play-along backing tracks:

• The Play-along CD intended to allow students to learn to play and improvise over the various
bricks and joins is no longer available. Instead, MP3s of the CD tracks are available for free
download from the dropback.co.uk website where the e-book form of Harmony with LEGO
Bricks can be purchased. Please don’t request the free play-along CD mentioned in the front of
the 2008 print edition.
• The iRealPro app (emerging, by coincidence in 2008) is a very popular alternative for providing
play-alongs which can be adapted to the student’s needs such as groove, key and tempo. The
Forum contains several LEGO harmony practice charts which have been donated by other
students of LEGO, including the equivalent of all the tracks on the original book CD.

Companion recordings:
• The companion recordings mentioned on p13 that the reader was urged to acquire can now be
accessed for free using streaming services such as Spotify (emerging, by coincidence in 2008).
On Spotify, one of the users has very helpfully made public playlists of all the tracks mentioned
in Harmony with LEGO Bricks Part I.

Related publications and materials:

• If you want a complete repertoire of over 230 songs presented in LEGO bricks form, take a look
at the PDF e-book Insights in Jazz by John Elliott, which you can find at dropback.co.uk – the
book also contains a comprehensive pictorial presentation of how the LEGO bricks approach
works. If you are already a musician, this is an excellent place to start. The website contains
details about the book, table of contents and free sample pages. The MP3 audio tracks of the
bricks of chords defined in the Insights in Jazz book are freely available for download.
• You can buy Insights in Jazz from the Dropback site in electronic form as a PDF file. The book
has over 300 pages and there are significant benefits to being able to electronically search the
book for patterns as well as print out the pages you want for yourself.
• Also at Dropback, you will find free podcasts containing LEGO lessons and demonstrations,
sometimes a ‘family’ of related bricks, sometimes a whole song, or anything else the world-wide
community has asked for. These should help enormously. They bring the book and the approach
to life.
• Lionel Grigson’s A Jazz Chord Book to which Harmony with LEGO Bricks refers for the best
chord changes is no longer available. However, you cannot copyright a chord progression and
many of the changes used in A Jazz Chord Book were used in the roadmaps available in Insights
in Jazz.

The ‘brick-layers’ community:

• Meantime however, you may want to consider joining the Google Groups “LEGO Bricks” group.
This was originally set up by inveterate LEGO Bricklayer Ludo Beckers of Antwerpen and has
been managed for the past ten years or so by John Elliott of Edinburgh. It is for people of any
degree of experience who are interested in using the Harmony with LEGO Bricks system. There
are lots of useful resources there and all the help you will ever need, from some of the nicest
people on the net.
• So, if you have any questions, remarks or something to share concerning Harmony with LEGO
Bricks, here's the place for it. To subscribe and for more options, visit
http://groups.google.com/group/LEGO-bricks

4
Index

Index
128, 129, 131, 136, 140, 156, 165, 166, 167, 172,
173, 175, 181, 182, 184, 189, 206, 223, 237, 238,
A 240, 241, 249
A Foggy Day, 134, 292 Broadway, 55, 57, 59, 291
AABA, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 39, Brown, Clifford, 24, 30, 32, 34, 45, 53, 55, 80, 121,
45, 53, 55, 57, 62, 63, 76, 79, 121, 131, 151, 172, 152, 156, 158, 291, 292, 293, 295, 296
173, 177, 182, 183, 184, 189 Bullock, Alan, 301
ABAC, 30, 34, 63, 117, 120, 121, 174, 177, 178, 185, But Not For Me, 128, 129, 291
187, 188, 190 Byard, Jaki, 27, 93, 295, 296
Aebersold, Jamey, 134, 160, 182, 214, 216
Afternoon in Paris, 56, 57, 59, 60, 111, 119, 169, 291
Alice in Wonderland, 57, 59, 119, 291
C
All God’s Chillun Got Rhythm, 190, 290 Cadence, 16, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54,
All of Me, 17, 34, 35, 121, 291 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 72, 76, 79, 84, 85,
All the Things You Are, 59, 60, 152, 181, 287, 288, 96, 100, 101, 102, 107, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113,
289, 291 114, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125,
Amen, 112, 113, 114, 130, 137 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 134, 137, 138,
Anthropology, 33, 182, 289, 291 141, 151, 152, 153, 154, 156, 165, 166, 167, 168,
At Long Last Love, 40, 41, 44, 45, 79, 105, 106, 107, 169, 170, 172, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180,
291 181, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 200,
Autumn Leaves, 10, 21, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 50, 77, 92, 210, 211, 214, 215, 217, 229, 232, 233, 234, 237,
111, 119, 122, 123, 168, 170, 171, 238, 239, 287, 238, 239, 240, 241, 243, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249,
288, 289, 291 269
Carr, Ian, 301
Carter, Benny, 27, 55, 56, 74, 134, 292, 296
B Central Park West, 60, 61, 237, 291
Backslider, 51, 52, 141, 168 Chaloff, Serge, 59, 291, 296
Baker, Chet, 25, 41, 46, 77, 124, 157, 291, 295, 298 Cherokee, 9, 10, 14, 15, 29, 30, 45, 51, 52, 59, 60, 62,
Baker, David, 103, 152, 153, 206 65, 67, 68, 69, 78, 79, 80, 117, 119, 120, 124, 141,
Bartok, 96, 110, 112, 113, 127, 136, 249, 301 165, 166, 168, 173, 191, 208, 240, 241, 243, 246,
Bauble, 54, 57, 59, 60, 141, 142, 169, 170, 175, 178, 252, 277, 280, 286, 288, 291
187, 191, 208, 249 Chimes Blues, 71, 132, 292
Baubles Bangles and Beads, 54, 57, 59, 60, 119, 167, Clark, Sonny, 22, 121, 124, 293, 296
291 Clayton, Buck, 33, 294, 296
Beautiful Love, 45, 60, 119, 291 Cline, Patsy, 37, 292, 296
Bemsha Swing, 27, 29, 291 Cohn, Al, 122, 295, 296
Bennink, Han, 299 Coker, Jerry, 95, 301
Berrigan, Bunny, 295 Cole, Richie, 35, 45, 292, 296
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, 33, 38, 58, Collapse, 123, 140, 170, 171
131, 132, 134, 291 Collier, James Lincoln, 2, 43, 79, 301
Blakey, Art, 130, 136, 290, 293, 294, 296 Coltrane, John, 10, 22, 27, 29, 38, 39, 49, 55, 58, 61,
Blue Bossa, 15, 49, 50, 51, 52, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 151, 66, 75, 76, 77, 113, 125, 128, 129, 137, 152, 159,
166, 168, 287, 288, 291 161, 169, 175, 210, 237, 248, 252, 282, 287, 288,
Blue Moon, 34, 291 290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 296, 298, 301
Blues Walk, 32, 291 Compact, 35, 36, 46, 60, 61, 119, 120, 125, 127, 128,
Body and Soul, 43, 69, 120, 125, 126, 187, 291 174, 180, 190, 191
Bootstrap, 55, 56, 57, 62, 122, 141, 177, 180, 189, Confirmation, 29, 56, 57, 60, 62, 120, 124, 167, 292
237, 238, 239, 245, 269, 279 Counce, Curtis, 122, 293, 296
Breakdown, 118, 127, 134, 176, 223 Crazy Rhythm, 55, 57, 134, 292
Brick, 3, 14, 19, 44, 45, 47, 48, 51, 52, 64, 105, 107, Crosby, Bing, 37, 294, 296
116, 117, 135, 136, 152, 164, 165, 167, 215, 232, Cycle, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 99, 100, 101,
260 102, 106, 107, 112, 113, 114, 118, 120, 122, 125,
Bridge, 2, 11, 14, 15, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 129, 130, 141, 164, 167, 168, 173, 174, 175, 176,
36, 43, 48, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 62, 63, 64, 181, 182, 190, 200, 201, 203, 207, 208, 209, 210,
70, 79, 80, 111, 117, 120, 121, 122, 124, 125, 127, 211, 215, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224,

303
H ar m o n y wi t h LEG O Br i c k s

226, 227, 228, 229, 232, 235, 237, 238, 239, 240, Getz, Stan, 60, 61, 292, 294, 295, 297
242, 245, 248, 249, 251, 253, 260, 261, 265 Giant Steps, 10, 17, 76, 112, 128, 129, 135, 193, 207,
208, 209, 210, 248
Giddins, Gary, 70, 79, 301
D Gillespie, Dizzie, 30, 36, 39, 68, 71, 78, 135, 184, 292,
Daahoud, 55, 57, 59, 123, 292 297
Dameron, Tadd, 39, 156 Gitler, Ira, 80, 156, 301
Damone, Vic, 27, 36, 295, 296 Goddard, Chris., 69, 75, 301
Darn That Dream, 58 Gone With the Wind, 60, 292
Davis, Miles, 10, 23, 27, 35, 36, 37, 42, 59, 60, 62, 70, Good Bait, 27, 33, 34, 159, 292
71, 76, 78, 121, 132, 134, 145, 169, 170, 182, 185, Gordon, Dexter, 37, 55, 56, 58, 59, 61, 69, 121, 159,
286, 290, 292, 294, 295, 296 237, 292, 293, 295, 297
Desmond, Paul, 38, 46, 123, 292, 296 Green, Urbie, 131, 293, 297
Diminished, 71, 72, 104, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, Grigson, Lionel, 1, 10, 13, 70, 77, 92, 93, 95, 102,
124, 127, 133, 145, 176, 180, 186, 196, 199, 226, 105, 107, 113, 117, 118, 119, 120, 123, 133, 134,
227, 228, 234, 251 136, 150, 154, 159, 164, 165, 180, 184, 200, 206,
Diminished seventh, 110, 111 207, 209, 211, 235, 249, 301
Dippermouth Blues, 43, 71, 106, 111, 292
Dizzy, 30, 36, 39, 68, 69, 71, 72, 76, 78, 135, 184,
292, 297, 301
H
Dogleg, 140 Half Nelson, 61, 70, 119, 135, 141, 142, 179, 209,
Dolphy, Eric, 27, 59, 126, 293, 294, 296 235, 236, 237, 247, 251, 252, 268, 281
Dominant, 12, 25, 46, 101, 102, 106, 107, 108, 109, Harris, Barry, 49, 53, 60, 80, 185, 292, 297
110, 112, 113, 118, 119, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, Harrison, Max, 67, 301
129, 130, 134, 135, 155, 160, 167, 173, 175, 179, HATE, 70, 73, 76, 147
180, 181, 186, 187, 188, 190, 191, 199, 200, 208, Have you Met Miss Jones, 128
209, 218, 220, 221, 222, 223, 226, 227, 228, 229, Hawes, Hampton, 59, 80, 124, 156, 160, 291, 295, 297
237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, Hawkins, Coleman, 37, 69, 70, 74, 120, 126, 145, 152,
247, 248, 249, 251, 252, 279 291, 297
Donna Lee, 35, 39, 45, 63, 93, 111, 140, 173, 180, Hazell, Edward, 301
286, 288, 289, 292 Heartaches, 37, 38, 121, 188, 237, 292
Doo Wop, 136, 139 Henderson, Joe, 63, 293, 297
Dorham, Kenny, 36, 45, 62, 67, 122, 291, 293, 296 Hentoff, Nat, 69, 301
Downwinder, 51, 52, 62, 141, 168, 181, 214, 240, 241 Hi Beck, 134, 292
Dropback, 37, 53, 59, 140, 165, 174, 180, 181, 185, Highjump, 51, 52, 56, 57, 60, 141, 142, 167, 170, 174,
187, 188 234, 239, 242
Hodeir, Andre, 70, 73, 76, 301
Hodges, Johnny, 33, 295, 297
E Homer, 53, 56, 57, 58, 59, 141, 142, 167, 170, 174,
Easy Living, 58, 131, 292 179, 180, 181, 187, 190, 191, 238
Ellington, Duke, 11, 33, 35, 69, 71, 295, 297 Hot House, 39, 59, 61, 172, 286, 287, 288, 292
Ervin, Booker, 28, 36, 122, 123, 127, 131, 290, 291, Hover, 19, 47, 51, 61, 62, 63, 121, 124, 152, 167, 168,
293, 294, 295, 297 175, 176
Evans, Bill, 10, 54, 57, 61, 66, 75, 77, 119, 158, 291, How High the Moon, 2, 22, 38, 46, 52, 119, 120, 169,
293, 297 205, 292
Exactly Like You, 35, 36, 180
Extended cadence, 123, 127, 131, 165, 181, 238, 252,
271
I
I Can’t Get Started, 57, 59, 60, 71, 122, 131, 135, 184,
287, 292
F I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, 293
Farmer, Art, 57, 123, 160, 293, 297 I Get a Kick out of You, 53, 293
Feather, Leonard, 38, 159, 301 I Got Rhythm, 2, 10, 32, 33, 38, 80, 127, 132, 156,
Fifth House, 39, 292 182, 223, 287, 288, 293
Foggy, 134, 139, 292 I Love You, 61, 293
Four square, 46, 47, 119, 169, 178 I Remember Clifford, 129, 130, 249, 293
Fox, Charles, 71, 301 I Thought About You, 35, 117, 293
Fresh Air, 58 Indiana, 35, 39, 71, 111, 180, 288, 289, 293
Friday the Thirteenth, 136, 292 Invitation, 30, 59, 62, 63, 110, 117, 124, 125, 174,
175, 176, 181, 187, 191, 206, 240, 242, 287, 288,
293
G IV ‘n’ Back, 132, 133, 140, 173, 180, 183, 185, 244
GDS, 126, 137, 174, 246, 252, 280

304
Index

My Shining Hour, 57, 58, 294

J My Ship, 131, 294
Jackson, Milt, 133, 293, 297
Jefferson, Eddie, 34, 35, 126, 128, 291, 292, 295, 297
Johnson-Laird, P.N., 147, 301
N
Join, 14, 47, 48, 49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 60, 61, 62, Naima, 29, 294
113, 116, 117, 137, 141, 142, 154, 165, 166, 167, Navarro, Fats, 37, 56, 156, 157, 294, 298
214, 215, 217, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, New Horizon, 55, 57, 59, 60, 62, 117, 122, 125, 141,
239, 240, 241, 242, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 260, 165, 169, 172, 175, 178, 181, 184, 187, 191, 214,
261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 268 234, 240, 248, 251, 252, 264, 282
Jones, Elvin, 33, 66, 76, 291, 298 Night and Day, 118, 126, 182, 246, 252, 281, 287, 294
Jordan, Sheila, 29, 36, 190, 291, 298 Nowhere, 28, 37, 41, 58, 61, 74, 90, 125, 127, 134,
Jordu, 36, 240, 293 140, 149, 175, 187, 188, 191, 287, 288, 289, 294

K O
Keys, 16, 17, 79, 80, 85, 92, 93, 94, 100, 107, 109, Offset, 46, 47, 119
110, 114, 117, 141, 149, 150, 154, 160, 161, 173, Old Word New Imports, 34, 294
182, 185, 204, 205, 211, 214, 215, 232, 233, 235, Oleo, 10, 32, 132, 182, 286, 288, 294
237, 238, 240, 242, 243, 245, 248, 253, 287, 288 Oliver, King, 43, 71, 74, 106, 111, 132, 292, 298
Knepper, Jimmy, 154 On a Slow Boat to China, 35, 132, 294
Konitz, Lee, 9, 10, 34, 39, 46, 58, 69, 124, 126, 129, On Green Dolphin Street, 126, 174, 246, 287, 288,
134, 157, 159, 160, 249, 292, 294, 295, 298, 299 294, 299
Kuhn, Steve, 29, 292, 298 On the Sunny Side of the Street, 56, 57, 294
On-off-on, 37, 63, 140, 171, 179, 184, 187, 188
Ornithology, 22, 38, 39, 46, 59, 178, 205, 286, 294
L Our Delight, 56, 127, 294
Lacy, Steve, 299 Out of Nowhere, 37, 58, 187, 188, 287, 288, 289, 294
Ladybird, 36, 61, 93, 135, 139, 179, 184, 287, 288,
289, 293
Launcher, 59, 60, 62, 63, 120, 121, 124, 140, 165,
P
167, 169, 172, 174, 175, 176, 179, 180, 184, 187, Parker, Charlie, 1, 27, 29, 30, 33, 36, 38, 62, 68, 69,
188, 190, 209 70, 71, 72, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, 104, 120, 149, 152,
Laura, 59, 60, 79, 119, 169, 293 153, 182, 183, 185, 194, 205, 286, 292, 294, 298,
Lead sheet, 17, 150, 158, 162, 204, 205, 206, 286 300, 301
Lendvai, Erno, 110, 301 Pennies, 33, 34, 35, 41, 63, 134, 139, 140, 244, 252,
Levine, Mark, 114 278, 294
Little Willie Leaps, 36, 70, 124, 190, 287 Pennies Ending, 33, 34, 35, 41, 63, 140, 176, 177, 181,
Litweiler, John, 67, 73, 301 185
Long cadence, 119, 123, 126, 131, 137, 165, 174, 180, Pennies turnaround, 134, 139, 244, 252, 278
190, 239, 243, 252, 272 Pepper, Art, 24, 50, 132, 290, 291, 295, 298
Lover Man, 43, 122, 123, 238, 293 Playalong, 3, 6, 17, 55, 61, 78, 107, 109, 110, 118,
Lullaby of Birdland, 43, 131, 293 120, 124, 129, 141, 153, 154, 160, 161, 167, 168,
169, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179,
180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189,
M 190, 191, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 220, 223,
Malign norms, 12, 71, 146 229, 238, 245, 248, 249, 251, 253, 286
Mama Too Tight, 130, 293, 299 Polka Dots and Moonbeams, 58, 294
Manhattan, 60, 123, 239, 293, 297 Porter, Lewis, 40, 61, 78, 79, 147, 301
Map, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 47, 48, 51, 52, 63, 87, 88, 89, POT, 130, 131, 132, 134, 135, 136, 139, 140, 184,
97, 99, 114, 116, 148, 211 185, 191, 243
McLean, Jackie, 23, 45, 62, 122, 125, 127, 145, 292, Practise, 6, 8, 16, 18, 23, 43, 69, 88, 97, 100, 103, 107,
295, 298 109, 110, 143, 144, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 155,
McRae, Carmen, 120, 295, 298 158, 160, 162, 165, 168, 189
Mehegan, John, 95, 301 Priestley, Brian, 28, 69, 70, 72, 73, 75, 77, 181, 301
Mengelberg, Misha, 299 Pullback, 53, 54, 121, 124, 137
Merrill, Helen, 45, 133, 291, 293, 298
Mingus, Charles, 76, 135, 293, 298
Mobley, Hank, 22, 34, 35, 63, 76, 77, 294, 298
R
Monk, Thelonious, 23, 128, 294, 298 Rainbow, 113, 129, 130, 137, 237, 249, 250, 252, 284
Mulligan, Gerry, 41, 55, 291, 294, 298 Rainy, 111, 122, 123, 137, 177, 238, 239, 252, 272,
Multi-subbed, 71, 135, 184 287, 292
My Funny Valentine, 23, 41, 76, 294 Reckless Blues, 31, 32, 43, 294

305
H ar m o n y wi t h LEG O Br i c k s

Remember, 9, 13, 30, 37, 42, 53, 57, 59, 60, 62, 63, Starlight, 36, 61, 63, 76, 78, 92, 124, 125, 127, 128,
80, 110, 121, 124, 127, 129, 130, 137, 167, 170, 138, 186, 189, 190, 191, 211, 240, 241, 249, 252,
174, 237, 249, 286, 287, 288, 293, 294 273, 286, 287, 288, 290, 295
Remote Off, 37 Stella, 36, 61, 76, 78, 92, 124, 125, 127, 128, 141,
Resolution, 44, 45, 46, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 62, 109, 142, 189, 191, 237, 238, 240, 241, 249, 286, 287,
111, 113, 120, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 288, 290, 295
129, 170, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 186, 190, Stella by Starlight, 36, 76, 92, 124, 125, 127, 128, 189,
191, 210, 220, 229, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 191, 240, 241, 249, 286, 287, 288, 290, 295
238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 248, 260, 261, 262, Stitt, Sonny, 39, 56, 120, 132, 133, 290, 291, 292, 293,
263, 264, 265, 266, 268 299
Retake, 53, 54, 57, 58, 59, 60, 111, 128, 141, 142 Straight, 12, 15, 22, 33, 43, 45, 46, 48, 50, 51, 52, 53,
Reys Rita, 24, 29, 31, 46, 55, 128, 129, 291, 292, 293, 59, 60, 61, 62, 66, 69, 71, 79, 80, 84, 85, 89, 90, 96,
294, 295, 299 99, 100, 102, 105, 107, 108, 109, 110, 112, 117,
Rhythm, 2, 10, 32, 33, 36, 38, 55, 57, 63, 69, 80, 120, 118, 119, 120, 122, 123, 124, 125, 127, 128, 130,
127, 132, 133, 134, 139, 140 131, 132, 138, 141, 152, 153, 165, 167, 168, 169,
Rhythm changes, 32, 33, 34, 35, 38, 48, 63, 69, 132, 170, 172, 175, 176, 177, 178, 184, 185, 188, 189,
133, 140, 182, 183, 184, 185, 243, 286, 287, 288, 190, 191, 209, 210, 214, 215, 216, 217, 229, 230,
289 232, 238, 240, 241, 243, 245, 251, 252, 253, 254,
Rhythm turnaround, 111, 120, 132, 133, 139, 140, 255, 256, 260, 274, 298
182, 243, 252, 277 Sub-Conscious Lee, 39
Roach, Max, 30, 36, 39, 45, 53, 67, 80, 295, 299 Substitution, 8, 15, 16, 72, 84, 87, 107, 110, 112, 113,
Robbins Nest, 33, 37, 123, 294 125, 126, 127, 130, 134, 135, 138, 172, 173, 187,
Rollins, Sonny, 35, 72, 75, 80, 132, 182, 286, 294, 299 188, 191, 245, 249, 252, 279
Roman numerals, 103 Supertension, 110, 124, 125, 138, 175, 242, 252, 276
Round Midnight, 36, 69, 189, 240, 294 Surprise, 11, 15, 20, 25, 84, 94, 101, 108, 124, 125,
Rudd, Roswell, 136, 292, 299 138, 174, 175, 178, 189, 191, 240, 241, 242, 252,
Russell, George, 70, 73, 79, 103, 114, 128, 152, 201, 274
301 Suspended, 28, 29, 54, 62, 126, 131, 132, 140, 181,
Russell, Ross, 70, 73, 79, 103, 114, 128, 152, 201, 301 182, 190, 191, 243, 246

S T
Sad, 23, 42, 43, 45, 46, 48, 50, 51, 52, 59, 60, 61, 62, Take the ‘A’ Train, 62, 63, 121, 295
63, 99, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 119, 120, 123, 125, Tatum, Art, 69, 80
131, 138, 139, 141, 148, 152, 165, 168, 170, 172, Tension, 41, 42, 44, 45, 55, 62, 63, 68, 105, 106, 110,
174, 175, 176, 178, 180, 186, 187, 189, 190, 191, 121, 124, 125, 132, 138, 165, 167, 171, 183, 189,
200, 214, 215, 217, 226, 229, 231, 232, 239, 240, 217, 218, 220, 229, 241, 242, 244, 252, 275, 276
241, 242, 249, 251, 252, 257, 258, 259, 274 The More I See You, 35, 294
Satellite, 38, 294 The Night has 1000 Eyes, 59
Scales, 17, 25, 73, 81, 89, 94, 95, 96, 97, 99, 103, 104, There Will Never Be Another You, 47, 48, 61
110, 111, 114, 116, 144, 146, 148, 149, 150, 152, These Foolish Things, 34, 131, 295
153, 154, 155, 156, 162, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, Thompson, Lucky, 34, 293, 299
198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 233 Torme, Mel, 291, 299
Scrapple from the Apple, 33, 172, 183, 286, 294 Tristano, Lennie, 37, 39, 121, 291, 292, 293, 299
Shank, Bud, 131, 294, 299 Tritone, 107, 112, 113, 125, 126, 127, 134, 135, 138,
Shapiro, Nat, 69, 301 176, 180, 187, 245, 246, 279
Shepp, Archie, 35, 93, 130, 293, 299 Tune Up, 59, 60, 79, 169, 175, 178, 286, 287, 288,
Sidewinder, 60, 141, 142, 167, 170, 174, 176, 181, 295
182, 186, 190, 234 Turnaround, 32, 33, 34, 47, 71, 111, 130, 132, 133,
Sinatra, Frank, 13, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 53, 291, 293, 134, 135, 136, 139, 140, 152, 170, 173, 179, 182,
295, 299 183, 184, 188, 243, 244
Slow, 35, 120, 132, 294 Two-goes, 183, 184, 238
Smith, Bessie, 31, 32, 43, 74, 294, 299
Smith, Stuff, 63, 295, 299
Snow, Valaida, 32, 33, 292, 293, 299 U
So What, 62, 76, 197, 294 Ullman, Michael, 301
Speak Low, 22, 29, 41, 127, 128, 152, 249, 294
SPOT, 131, 132, 134, 135, 140, 177, 182, 184, 186,
188, 190, 243 V
Squaty Roo, 33, 294
Stablemates, 61, 78, 126, 127, 138, 176, 247, 252, Vaughan, Sara, 30, 54, 78, 293, 299
281, 295 Voicing, 15, 84, 85, 100, 101, 102, 109, 112
Stallybrass, Oliver, 301

306
Index

Woody ‘n’ You, 56, 57, 60, 122, 125, 189, 238, 240,
W 288, 295
Wallington, George, 127, 294, 300
WEAM, 12, 13, 15, 16, 43, 48, 49, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69,
70, 71, 72, 73, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 81, 94, 96, 101,
Y
103, 105, 107, 113, 136, 144, 145, 146, 149, 150, Yardbird, 61, 113, 127, 128, 134, 138, 173, 179, 180,
151, 153, 158, 161, 162, 194, 200, 202, 203, 204, 188, 191, 249, 252, 283, 295
205, 206 Yardbird Suite, 127, 128, 249, 295
Weaver of Dreams, 61, 119, 120, 295 You Can Depend on Me, 55, 57, 60, 295
Wells, Dicky, 33, 35, 132, 291, 293, 300 You Stepped Out of a Dream, 60, 61, 176, 287, 288,
What is This Thing Called Love, 39, 57, 287, 288, 295 289, 295
When Lights are Low, 27 Young, Lester, 25, 35, 56, 69, 75, 80, 134, 147, 152,
Whispering, 37, 38, 39, 295 291, 292, 294, 300, 301
Wilen, Barney, 36, 135, 293, 300
Williams, Martin, 74, 76, 119, 301
Woideck, Carl, 68, 69, 301 Z
Woody, 36, 55, 56, 57, 60, 122, 124, 125, 141, 184,
Zeitlin, Denny, 38, 294, 300
189, 191, 238, 240, 288, 295

307
 About the author

C
onrad Cork read English at Nottingham
University but has been a jazz musician
and writer all his professional life.

As a musician he has, over the years, led a

series of his own groups, playing a variety of
instruments, as well as from time to time
appearing with jazz ‘names’, ranging from
Adelaide Hall to Derek Bailey, taking in Joe
Harriot and Lee Konitz along the way.

As a jazz writer he has published many critical

and educational articles in periodicals such as
Jazz Monthly, Jazz Journal International, the
British Journal of Music Education, and Music
Teacher. Harmony with LEGO Bricks, first
published in 1985, is now established in jazz
curricula, as well as being regularly cited in the
psychological literature.

As a student of the cognitive psychology of

improvisation he has co-written papers which
have been translated into several languages and
been presented in Japan, Sweden and Peru.

As an academic, for more than 12 years he directed the jazz component of the influential Performing
Arts Degree course at the then Leicester Polytechnic, now De Montfort University, Leicester. These
days, he is frequently to be found propounding his system at collages and conferences across the country.
And he continues to teach privately, including a rising number of correspondence students from around
the world. As a campaigner for jazz he served on the Music Advisory Panel of the Arts Council of Great
Britain for a number of years, during which time he regularly chaired committees charged with
allocation of grants and bursaries. These included jazz, improvised music, electro-acoustic music, and
several one-off investigations. The 1995 Arts Council consultative green paper Review of Jazz in
England took his definition of the music as its starting point, saying to go beyond it ‘would not be
productive or possible’.

For health reasons, he plays very little now, and finds his time increasingly taken up with running a
computer software consultancy. Not surprisingly perhaps, he feels that the principles of Object
Orientation seem remarkably similar to those expounded in Harmony with LEGO Bricks!
 Harmony with LEGO Bricks
A passionate compendium of wit, wisdom and sheer down-to-earth practicality. This
book strips away all the trappings of conventional music lessons, and shows you
directly how to become a better jazz musician and be proud of it. Even complete
beginners will find everything they need here.

If you only buy one jazz book, make it this one!

Can you imagine not only being able to carry a whole repertoire in your head, but to be
able to glance at a new chord sequence, and not only remember it instantly, but be able
straightaway to play it in any key without consciously transposing? Even ‘jam-session
terrors’ like Cherokee become as easy as if they only had one chord!
Do you have the time to do it any other way?
Since its first publication more than a decade ago, Harmony with LEGO Bricks has
sold thousands of copies all over the world and attracted a huge following.
It is the only book by another author recommended by Lional Grigson in his definitive
A Jazz Chord Book.
See what jazz authorities have said about Harmony with LEGO Bricks.
Harmony with LEGO Bricks is probably the closest you could come to the
indispensible teach-yourself text. It helps you learn a large number of songs, and
most important, to play them in every key. Full of good sense.
Andy Hamilton in Wire magazine.

Every musician who succeeds in memorising a large number of chord sequences

surely does so in some such way as Conrad Cork describes in the excellent and
thorough book.
Lional Grigson, late Professor of Harmony, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and author of
‘Practical Jazz’, A Jazz Chord Book’ and many others.

The cunning of its method, potentiated by a combination of passion, intelligence,

and experience, make this book an ideal basic text for its subject. Set it beside
George Russell’s Lydian Chromatic Concept and get to work!
Evan Parker, poll-winning master saxophonist.

A highly original approach to the problem of improvising on standard jazz

sequences – we wish it well.
Jazz College (UK) Ltd.