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Player guide

Margie

An open, direct song that gives the rhythm section room to swing. Long tonic and subdominant stretches make melodic development more useful than constant substitutions.

If you study one thing

Make a simple motif carry the long chord areas.

Original editorial illustration for Margie: walking figure beside wide rhythm.
Original Djangopedia illustration · AI-assisted, 2026
Illustration credits
Chart keyE♭ major
Form32 printed bars, two related halves
FeelSwing
Meter4/4
MusicCon Conrad, J. Russel Robinson
Guide coverage12 / 12 sections present

Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-06T18:39:07Z by admin. Coverage measures presence, not accuracy. Content review does not certify rights or musical perfection.

See what is here and what is missing
  • ✓ Recording evidence
  • ✓ Key & form
  • ✓ Chart
  • ✓ History
  • ✓ Playing notes
  • ✓ Practice plan
  • ✓ Backing track
  • ✓ Django recording
  • ✓ Django solo study aid
  • ✓ Illustration
  • ✓ Sources
  • ✓ Difficulty

Django's Recordings

Django recordings for this tune. Uploader dates and take labels remain source claims; only an evidenced exact association enables a row’s Listen control.

3 historical recording entries · source text preserved
EntryYearRecording / session / release evidenceListen
011940Margie, 22/2/40, OSW 117-1 ,"Fremeaux FA 310, Classics 831"," - Paris - Andre Ekyan(as),Django & Joseph Reinhardt(g),Emmanuel Soudieux(b)"—
021940Margie, 22/10/40, OSW 141-1,"Fremeaux FA 310, Classics 831", - Paris - Noel Chiboust et Son Orchestre featuring Django Reinhardt (g)—
031951Margie, 10/2/51, "Vogue 228E 6010, Vogue LP (NEC Plus Ultra 502008)"," - Paris - Django Reinhardt (g), Bernard Hullin (tpt), Hubert Fol (as), Raymond Fol (p), Pierre Michelot (b), Pierre Lemarchand (d)"—

A dash means no video has been associated with this exact historical recording. Tune-level listening resources remain available above.

History & Listening

Margie is credited here to Con Conrad, J. Russel Robinson. The source date is 1920; publication, composition and later lyric adaptations may have separate dates. The inherited archive lists 3 recording entries, with dated entries spanning 1940–1951. These are archive rows, not a claim that every entry is a distinct released take. The linked recording rows preserve the original discographical wording. Compare their dates, matrices and personnel when choosing a performance to study.

Tune details

Music: Con Conrad, J. Russel Robinson

Words: Benny Davis

Published / composed / adapted — see history: 1920

Original key: Not established

Study level: Intermediate; advanced where the inherited roadmap needs reconstruction

Melody & head

  • Keep the main melodic statement clear and singable even at a lively tempo.

Study a documented Django entry ↗

Listening task: Keep the main melodic statement clear and singable even at a lively tempo. Mark the key, pickup, phrase lengths and ending before comparing another version.

Session evidence

Margie, 22/2/40, OSW 117-1 ,"Fremeaux FA 310, Classics 831"," - Paris - Andre Ekyan(as),Django & Joseph Reinhardt(g),Emmanuel Soudieux(b)"

Compare another archive entry ↗

Compare the first and last listed entries for tempo, instrumentation and arrangement. Do not infer identical takes from a shared title. Make a simple motif carry the long chord areas.

Session evidence

Margie, 10/2/51, "Vogue 228E 6010, Vogue LP (NEC Plus Ultra 502008)"," - Paris - Django Reinhardt (g), Bernard Hullin (tpt), Hubert Fol (as), Raymond Fol (p), Pierre Michelot (b), Pierre Lemarchand (d)"

Check the practice arrangement ↗

The selected backing track is labelled F; this inherited chart is in E♭. Transpose the whole chart up a tone or use a matching E♭ arrangement.

Chart & Form

E♭ moves through E♭7 to A♭. C7–F7–B♭7 prepares the return, while the second half has its own G7 colour and final cadence.

Chord symbols and source cell divisions are preserved from Djangopedia. Slashes mark rhythm; 0 is inherited diminished notation whose exact voicing should be checked against the melody. This is a chord reference, not a melody transcription.

Inherited chord reference · source cells
1Eb
2Eb
3Eb
4Eb7
5Ab
6Ab
7Ab
8Ab
9Eb
10Eb
11C7
12C7
13F7
14F7
15Bb7
16Bb7
17Eb
18Eb
19Eb
20Eb7
21Ab
22Ab
23G7
24G7
25Eb
26Eb
27Eb
28C7
29Fm7
30Bb7
31Eb/ E0
32Fm7/ Bb7
Original chart text & notation
| Eb/// | Eb/// | Eb/// | Eb7/// | Ab/// | Ab/// | Ab/// | Ab/// |

| Eb/// | Eb/// | C7/// | C7/// | F7/// | F7/// | Bb7/// | Bb7/// |

| Eb/// | Eb/// | Eb/// | Eb7/// | Ab/// | Ab/// | G7/// | G7/// |

| Eb/// | Eb/// | Eb/// | C7/// | Fm7/// | Bb7/// | Eb/ E0/ | Fm7/ Bb7/ :||
Original source ↗

Play along

Preferred: Jazz Backing Track MARGIE (F) Dixieland New Orleans Dixie Traditional Classic Sousaphone Bassotuba ↗

Jazzing · The selected backing track is labelled F; this inherited chart is in E♭. Transpose the whole chart up a tone or use a matching E♭ arrangement. · 3:41

Checked 2026-10-01

How this resource was selected

Most-viewed suitable match selected from the captured search results after title/composition review; not a complete YouTube ranking. Source counts were captured on 1 October 2026. Coaching, unrelated songs and non-backing performances are excluded.

Study Django's Solo

Performed studies, transcriptions, TAB, notation and lessons for studying Django’s solo. Resources are described by their creator; inclusion does not certify note-for-note accuracy.

Preferred: Margie | Django Reinhardt | Gypsy Jazz Transcription ↗

Guitareal Jazz Transcriptions · Owner-approved study selection. YouTube identity and player availability checked 6 October 2026; musical accuracy and exact take not independently certified.

Owner selected 6 October 2026. Django transcription/TAB study; a new played recreation is not demonstrated.

Similar tunes

Follow a shared key, a harmonic idea or a familiar form. Keys refer to this site’s chart editions; other recordings may use a different key.

Related chord movement

No sufficiently supported harmonic comparison has been added yet.

Same form

No match is established in the current chart metadata.

Behind the illustration

A small standing Django walks casually carrying a closed guitar case across a wide open daylight square; two long coloured bands support a small recurring gesture. The simple motif over long tonic stretches feels sociable and unforced, without a biographical meeting.

An original editorial interpretation of the tune. This is an illustration, not an archival photograph or a documented reconstruction of a recording session.

Original Djangopedia illustration · AI-assisted, 2026

Illustration credits & provenance →

Notable Gypsy Jazz Performances

Selected performances by notable Gypsy Jazz players and ensembles. Inclusion is editorial and does not imply an objective popularity ranking.

Improvisation

Target notes & voice leading

  • Lower D to D♭ as E♭ becomes E♭7.
  • Connect E on C7 to E♭ on F7, then D on B♭7.

Pitch choices

  • Start with the chord tones of each written harmony. Lower D to D♭ as E♭ becomes E♭7.
  • Use passing notes only after the destination chord and phrase length are secure; this guide does not assign one scale indiscriminately to the whole tune.

Play a two-note motif across the long E♭ and A♭ passages. Change only its final note when the harmony moves, then leave one full bar of silence.

Comping & voicings

Let the four-bar A♭ area breathe. Use dynamic shape across the phrase instead of adding a passing chord on every beat.

Voicing note sets

  • E♭6: E♭–G–C; A♭6: A♭–C–F; B♭7: B♭–D–A♭.

Keep the accompaniment clear

  • Keep a quiet, even swing pulse, adjusting its density to the melody and ensemble.
  • Practise one chorus with only two chord attacks per bar, then restore four without changing tempo.
  • Overcomplicating a long stable harmony and obscuring the song’s phrase.
  • Crowding the melody with dense extensions or doubling another accompanist’s register.

Practice room

Start around 100–140 bpm; increase only after the form stays secure

Your assignment

Play a two-note motif across the long E♭ and A♭ passages. Change only its final note when the harmony moves, then leave one full bar of silence.

Loop these changes

  • Lower D to D♭ as E♭ becomes E♭7.
  • Connect E on C7 to E♭ on F7, then D on B♭7.

Metronome

Begin with four quarter-note clicks. Halve the click rate and hear beats 2 and 4 while maintaining the same phrase lengths.

Transposition

  • Transpose the first complete phrase up a whole step, including its cadence. Name chord functions before finding new fingerings.
  • Return to E♭ major and play the melodic phrase from memory.

At the session

Margie — E♭ major; 32 printed bars, two related halves. Agree the pickup, tempo and ending before counting in.

Start together

  • Suggested rehearsal entry: give two clear bars of count-in and start the agreed pickup or first melody note. This is not claimed as a historical Django introduction.

Finish together

  • Agree a final melody statement and hold its tonic arrival; remove any turnaround intended to restart the chorus. Check the chosen arrangement for tags or a separate coda.

32 printed bars, two related halves. Keep the head and solo chorus lengths explicit at the count-in.

  • Overcomplicating a long stable harmony and obscuring the song’s phrase.

Arranging the tune

Solo guitar

Start with melody and bass only. Add the following colour without interrupting the melody: Lower D to D♭ as E♭ becomes E♭7.

Trio or larger group

Let the four-bar A♭ area breathe. Use dynamic shape across the phrase instead of adding a passing chord on every beat. Agree the full roadmap and signal the last head before it starts.

Vocal considerations

Choose a comfortable vocal key and transpose the whole arrangement, including its introduction and ending.

Further study

  • Compare a chorus with no passing chords against one with a single approach into each main destination. Choose the additions that improve the phrase rather than merely increase activity.
  • Chord symbols and source cell divisions are preserved from Djangopedia. Slashes mark rhythm; 0 is inherited diminished notation whose exact voicing should be checked against the melody. This is a chord reference, not a melody transcription.
  • Compare the linked archive entries before attributing one arrangement to all Django performances. Keep composition history separate from the dates of Django’s recordings.

Explore related tunes

Inherited media links

Sources & credits

This player guide combines inherited recording evidence and editorial study notes. Musical study notes are editorial suggestions; compare them with the recording.

Djangopedia — inherited chart and recording rows ↗

  • Inherited notation and discographical claims; not independent verification

Composition credits and background ↗

  • Writer credits and source date where supplied

Jazzing — practice backing ↗

  • Video identity, view-count snapshot and embed metadata

Feature photograph — source collection ↗

  • Photo identification and provenance; reuse rights remain unverified
Illustration credit & provenance

Original Djangopedia illustration · AI-assisted, 2026

An original editorial interpretation of the tune. This is an illustration, not an archival photograph or a documented reconstruction of a recording session.

Generated with the native image-generation tool on 2026-10-08; original editorial artwork, not a historical photograph.

Prompt: Use case: illustration-story. One original editorial feature illustration for Djangopedia's guide “Margie”. Landscape 1536 × 1024, opaque background. Scene: A small standing Django walks casually carrying a closed guitar case across a wide open daylight square; two long coloured bands support a small recurring gesture. The simple motif over long tonic stretches feels sociable and unforced, without a biographical meeting. Musical basis from the guide: An open, direct song that gives the rhythm section room to swing. Long tonic and subdominant stretches make melodic development more useful than constant substitutions. The supplied chart is E♭ major; form: 32 printed bars, two related halves; feel: Swing. These describe musical inspiration, not visible writing. Historical context: Margie is credited here to Con Conrad, J. Russel Robinson. The source date is 1920; publication, composition and later lyric adaptations may have separate dates. Do not illustrate disputed historical claims or suggest this imagined scene is an archival session. Medium: mid-century editorial. Dominant palette: jade brick red and clean white. Composition: walking figure beside wide rhythm. Human presence: one small Django figure. Strong intentional design, clearly drawn/painted, distinctive material marks; keep essential subject safely within the central 70 percent width and middle 80 percent height for card crops. Maintain enough visual substance at thumbnail size. Broad inspiration observed in old photo, ONLY scale/rhythm and never a reference image: two standing figures; tall vertical portrait; light-dark pairing. Independently invent every pose, perspective, clothing, setting and lighting. Avoid: No handshake, Louis Armstrong likeness, centered hero portrait. No photorealism, archival simulation, generated text, letters, numbers, labels, fake musical notation, logo, signature, watermark, fake dates, yellowed-paper patina, recognizable artwork or copied photograph. No imitation of any named artist. Render the art edge to edge without borders, mockup or typography. Batch A diversity compensation: avoid blue sky, drifting clouds, cypress trees, moon discs, generic Paris landmarks and curving terrace backdrops unless explicitly essential to the stated scene. Keep this composition tied to its precise stated subject; do not add an unrequested landscape or city. For figure scenes keep the specified standing/walking pose; no seated centered guitar portrait. For abstracts keep purely graphic materials and forms.

Research & rights notes
  • Specialist review of original editorial playing advice
  • Original key and precise composition date where not independently established
  • Inherited notation, session details and arrangement variants
  • Photograph reuse permissions

Photograph provenance and rights are stated separately. Attribution does not establish permission.