Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-15T13:12:27Z 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
1947
Clair de Lune, 16/4/47, ST 1985 ,"Fremeaux FA 313, Classics 1001,Vogue 228E 6005","Same date - Django Reinhardt (g), Michel de Villers (cl,as), Eddie Bernard (p), Joseph Reinhardt (g), Willy Lockwood (b), Al Craig (d)"
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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
This is Joseph Kosma's Clair de Lune, not Debussy's piano work. The archive preserves a Paris session dated 16 April 1947 with matrix ST 1985. Specialist discussion places Django's recording in E-flat minor, while the inherited study chart uses D minor. That difference is valuable to a player: a familiar guitar shape is not evidence of the original recording's key. The brief form rewards attention to tone, melodic space and the placement of a resolving note.
Tune details
Music: Joseph Kosma
Documented in archive: 1947
Original key: Not established
Study level: Intermediate; exposed phrasing and minor-key voice leading
Melody & head
Listen for the relationship between guitar and clarinet; leave enough space to hear the sustained ends of phrases.
Selecting Debussy videos or assuming D minor is the recorded key.
Listen for the relationship between guitar and clarinet; leave enough space to hear the sustained ends of phrases.
Session evidence
Clair de Lune, 16/4/47, ST 1985 ,"Fremeaux FA 313, Classics 1001,Vogue 228E 6005","Same date - Django Reinhardt (g), Michel de Villers (cl,as), Eddie Bernard (p), Joseph Reinhardt (g), Willy Lockwood (b), Al Craig (d)"
Read the supplied sixteen-bar D-minor chart as a study version. Its minor tonic and dominant returns need a clear distinction between C natural in the minor color and C♯ when A7 resolves. Compare the bass movement with the melody before adding substitute chords. Check the video key before playing with the chart.
Chart & Form
Read the supplied sixteen-bar D-minor chart as a study version. Its minor tonic and dominant returns need a clear distinction between C natural in the minor color and C♯ when A7 resolves. Compare the bass movement with the melody before adding substitute chords.
D-minor inherited chart retained. E-flat minor is a source-described recording key, not a silent transposition of this chart.
Clair de Lune (80 bpm) - Gypsy jazz Backing track / Jazz manouche
Guitare Improvisation
Swing · 80 BPM · 5m5s · Video available when checked; creator-described attribution.
Creator-described gypsy-jazz play-along. Check the key and full arrangement before joining in; the guide chart may use another key. Tempo is the creator’s stated value.
source-described; accuracy not independently verified
Creator presents a study of Django’s recorded solo. Use it alongside the original recording; exact transcription accuracy has not been independently reviewed.
F defines the minor tonic; do not flatten it further into an unrelated blues inflection.
Sustain a common tone where possible while the bass changes.
Pitch choices
Begin with the named chord tones. Add passing notes only after the melody and cadence are secure.
Play the melody without accompaniment, then add one bass note per bar. Transpose a short phrase from the inherited D-minor version to E-flat minor before comparing with Django.
Comping & voicings
Use sparse shells and longer releases so the melody remains exposed. A ballad needs a dependable inner pulse even when the lead line leans behind the beat.
Voicing note sets
Dm6: D–F–A–B.
A7: A–C♯–G; Gm6: G–B♭–D–E.
Keep the accompaniment clear
First establish an even pulse; add rhythmic variation only when the melody leaves space.
Selecting Debussy videos or assuming D minor is the recorded key.
Practice room
Start at 60–80; retain a relaxed ballad pulse
Your assignment
Play the melody without accompaniment, then add one bass note per bar. Transpose a short phrase from the inherited D-minor version to E-flat minor before comparing with Django.
Loop these changes
A7 → Dm
A complete eight-bar phrase with no fills
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
D minor (inherited study chart); 16-bar study chorus. 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.
Selecting Debussy videos or assuming D minor is the recorded key.
Selecting Debussy videos or assuming D minor is the recorded key.
Arranging the tune
Solo guitar
Keep the melody uppermost and begin with a single bass note under each harmony. Dm6: D–F–A–B.
Trio or larger group
Use sparse shells and longer releases so the melody remains exposed. A ballad needs a dependable inner pulse even when the lead line leans behind the beat.
Vocal considerations
No vocal arrangement is prescribed; use the instrumental melody as the phrasing reference.
This player guide combines inherited recording evidence and editorial study notes. Musical study notes are editorial suggestions; compare them with the recording.
Kosma study repertoire; linked only, no chart copied.
Illustration credit & provenance
Original Djangopedia illustration · AI-assisted, 2026
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 2026-10-15; original editorial artwork, not a historical photograph.
Prompt: Use case: illustration-story. One original Djangopedia jazz tune guide illustration. High resolution landscape 3:2, 1536x1024 or larger. Original playful mid-century modern graphic illustration mixed with 1930s–1950s Paris and Art Deco. Angular geometric construction, expressive silhouettes, bold confident outlines, flat limited colors, subtle vintage print grain. Balanced professional editorial artwork with personality. No text, no lettering, no logos, no watermark. Not a photograph or documented event. Do not imitate any particular artist. Focal objects within safe 10% margins. Quiet Paris rooftops under a large stylized moon reflected in a curving river, angular windows and a tiny pair of walking silhouettes far below, lyrical breathing space, decorative geometric moonbeams. Soft violet, deep navy, sage and warm cream. No giant musician portrait.
Research & rights notes
Composition date and lyricist credit are not securely reconciled; sources differ.
Exact transfer pitch and take identity require audio comparison.
Original composition/recording rights not independently cleared. Video metadata and musical suitability are separate checks.
Clair de Lune (80 bpm) - Gypsy jazz Backing track / Jazz manoucheGuitare ImprovisationSwing · 80 BPM · 5m5s · Video available when checked; creator-described attribution.Creator-described gypsy-jazz play-along. Check the key and full arrangement before joining in; the guide chart may use another key. Tempo is the creator’s stated value.✓ Featured
Gypsy Jazz / Manouche - Clair De Lune - Django Changes 70bpm (Play along / Backing Track )DC Music SchoolSwing · 70 BPM · 5m45s · Video available when checked; creator-described attribution.Creator-described gypsy-jazz play-along. Check the key and full arrangement before joining in; the guide chart may use another key. Tempo is the creator’s stated value.Select video
Gypsy Jazz - "Clair De Lune" - Rhythm Future QuartetmagicfiddleVideo available when checked; creator-described attribution.Performer attribution follows the video title and channel description. Proposed listening selection; no popularity ranking implied.✓ Featured
Stochelo Rosenberg - Clair de lune (4K)PARAMAX FILMSVideo available when checked; creator-described attribution.Performer attribution follows the video title and channel description. Proposed listening selection; no popularity ranking implied.Select video