Automating the Explanation of Jazz Chord Progressions Using Idiomatic Analysis

Musicians interested in improvising melodies often benefit from the ability to analyze chord progressions for tonality and from possession of an understanding of a range of idiomatic chord progressions. We describe automated analysis using an approach to representing idioms known as “bricks,” which can also be used in analysis of tonality. The brick nomenclature is attributed to Conrad Cork's “Lego Bricks” approach, as extended by John Elliott. We demonstrate a semi-automatic grammatical approach to analysis of chord sequences and sketch its implementation, which is available in the form of free, open-source software called Impro-Visor.