Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-18T10:57:12Z 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.
1 historical recording entries · source text preserved
Entry
Year
Recording / session / release evidence
Listen
01
1935
Blue Moon, 2/3/35, OLA 346-1 ,"Fremeaux FA 302, JSP 344, Conifer CDHD 230, EMI JazzTime 251277-2","- Paris - Coleman Hawkins (ts), Michel Warlop & Orchestra featuring Django Reinhardt (g)."
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A dash means no video has been associated with this exact historical recording. Tune-level listening resources remain available above.
History & Listening
Blue Moon is credited to Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart; the familiar published song dates from 1934. The inherited Django entry records a March 1935 Paris performance with Coleman Hawkins and Michel Warlop’s orchestra. Listen for the guitar’s place inside that ensemble instead of assuming a string-quintet setting. The guide uses the existing C-major grid; the proposed play-alongs include other keys and an explicitly labelled Latin alternative.
Tune details
Music: Richard Rodgers
Words: Lorenz Hart
Source-attributed publication / composition: 1934
Original key: Not established
Study level: Early intermediate; melodic phrasing and bridge contrast
Melody & head
Compare the short guitar responses with the saxophone phrases in the inherited recording. Count the bridge separately and notice how the ensemble announces the return.
The QGVideos track is in E-flat; the Latin track is in D. Neither can be played directly from the C chart without transposition.
Compare the short guitar responses with the saxophone phrases in the inherited recording. Count the bridge separately and notice how the ensemble announces the return.
Session evidence
Blue Moon, 2/3/35, OLA 346-1 ,"Fremeaux FA 302, JSP 344, Conifer CDHD 230, EMI JazzTime 251277-2","- Paris - Coleman Hawkins (ts), Michel Warlop & Orchestra featuring Django Reinhardt (g)."
In the A sections, the inherited C–Am6–Dm7–G7 movement repeatedly returns to the tonic. Shape one complete melody phrase over that cycle rather than beginning a new lick with every chord. The bridge first confirms C, then uses Fm6–B-flat7 toward E-flat. Its last bars prepare G7 and the return. Hear that E-flat destination before practising a fast connection back to C. Check the video key before playing with the chart.
Chart & Form
In the A sections, the inherited C–Am6–Dm7–G7 movement repeatedly returns to the tonic. Shape one complete melody phrase over that cycle rather than beginning a new lick with every chord. The bridge first confirms C, then uses Fm6–B-flat7 toward E-flat. Its last bars prepare G7 and the return. Hear that E-flat destination before practising a fast connection back to C.
Inherited chart is preserved verbatim as historical study material, not silently corrected or newly authenticated. Check the specific caveats below and match the arrangement and key to the selected video. External teaching material remains on its creator’s site.
E identifies C major; B and F identify the pull of G7.
In the bridge, hear G as a stable note of E-flat rather than treating every note as part of C major.
Pitch choices
Begin with the named chord tones. Add passing notes only after the melody and cadence are secure.
Sing the first A section and play only its phrase-ending notes. Add a two-note answer in the spaces. Then practise the bridge alone, landing clearly in E-flat and returning to C without changing the pulse.
Comping & voicings
Keep the rhythm transparent under the sustained melody. Establish four even beats before trying a Latin accompaniment; the second proposed track changes both feel and key.
Voicing note sets
Start with E–B for C-major colour and B–F for G7; add a bass note only when the melody remains clear.
Keep the accompaniment clear
First establish an even pulse; add rhythmic variation only when the melody leaves space.
The QGVideos track is in E-flat; the Latin track is in D. Neither can be played directly from the C chart without transposition.
Practice room
Begin at 70–90 quarter-note bpm
Your assignment
Sing the first A section and play only its phrase-ending notes. Add a two-note answer in the spaces. Then practise the bridge alone, landing clearly in E-flat and returning to C without changing the pulse.
Loop these changes
Sing the first A section and play only its phrase-ending notes.
Metronome
Count quarter notes first. Then place the click on beats 2 and 4 at half the click rate, keeping the phrase length unchanged.
Transposition
Move one short cadence to a nearby key by naming its chord tones, then return to the chosen study key.
At the session
C major (inherited chart); 32-bar AABA refrain. Agree the arrangement, pickup and ending before counting in.
Start together
Count a clear tempo and use the final cadence of the agreed arrangement.
Finish together
Cue the final tonic together; agree any tag before starting.
The QGVideos track is in E-flat; the Latin track is in D. Neither can be played directly from the C chart without transposition.
The QGVideos track is in E-flat; the Latin track is in D. Neither can be played directly from the C chart without transposition.
Arranging the tune
Solo guitar
Keep the melody uppermost and begin with a single bass note under each harmony. Start with E–B for C-major colour and B–F for G7; add a bass note only when the melody remains clear.
Trio or larger group
Keep the rhythm transparent under the sustained melody. Establish four even beats before trying a Latin accompaniment; the second proposed track changes both feel and key.
Vocal considerations
Choose a comfortable singing key and transpose the accompaniment as a whole; lyrics are not reproduced here.
This player guide combines inherited recording evidence and editorial study notes. Musical study notes are editorial suggestions; compare them with the recording.
Recording attribution and, where supplied, distributor credits; not a verified take association.
Illustration credit & provenance
Original AI-assisted illustration created for Djangopedia
Original AI-assisted editorial artwork inspired by the tune’s mood. It does not depict a documented historical event.
Generated with the native image-generation tool on 2026-10-18; original editorial artwork, not a historical photograph.
Prompt: Create an original horizontal 3:2 editorial serigraph illustration for the jazz tune Blue Moon. A lone anonymous angular guitarist beneath an oversized blue crescent moon, abstract midnight rooftops and a small warm window. Mid-century jazz screen-print vocabulary: bold simplified silhouettes, asymmetrical negative space, flat limited ink palette of midnight blue, powder blue, warm ivory and one muted coral accent, slightly rough ink edges and subtle paper grain. Crisp graphic shapes, whimsical quiet mood, handmade silk-screen print appearance, no gradients, no photorealism, no letters, no words, no border. Entire composition is original and does not reproduce any existing artwork. Keep the guitar and head fully within the frame.
Research & rights notes
A verified full Django-solo recreation was not found in the bounded search.
The inherited chart and proposed backing keys differ.
Blue Moon - Backing track / Play-alongQGVideosSwing · 110 BPM · 3m43s · Video available when checked; creator-described attribution.Standard jazz backing in E-flat major, 110 bpm. Transpose the inherited C-major chart before playing along.✓ Featured
Blue Moon - Latin Gypsy Jazz Backing Track in D (165 bpm)Gypsy Jazz EssentialsLatin · 165 BPM · 3m25s · Video available when checked; creator-described attribution.Latin gypsy-jazz alternative in D major, 165 bpm; both feel and key differ from the inherited C-major study grid.Select video
Blue Moon // Joscho Stephan Trio feat. Costel NițescuJoscho StephanVideo available when checked; creator-described attribution.Performer attribution follows the video title and channel description. Proposed listening selection; no popularity ranking implied.✓ Featured
"Blue Moon" Jam with Frank VignolaFrank VignolaVideo available when checked; creator-described attribution.Performer attribution follows the video title and channel description. Proposed listening selection; no popularity ranking implied.Select video