A fleet turnaround tune with a bridge only a semitone above home. It is an unusually good test of whether you hear chord function or merely remember familiar guitar shapes.
If you study one thing
Practise the E♭ bridge until it feels as familiar as D.
Studio Harcourt / Wikimedia Commons France · 1944 · Photo credits
Chart keyD major
Form32 bars, AABA; bridge in E♭ major
FeelSwing
Meter4/4
MusicDjango Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli
Guide coverage12 / 12 sections present
Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-04T17:07:23Z 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
✓ Photograph
✓ 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.
Daphne, Jan-Feb 1949, CW 34, "Fremeaux FA 317, RCA ND 70929-2, RCA ND 90448, Suisa CD 32"," - Rome - Django Reinhardt (g), Stephane Grappelly (v),Gianni Safred (p), Carlo Pecori (b), Aurelio de Carolis (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
The original archive places the tune in Django’s late-1930s repertoire and includes the London session of 31 January 1938. The joint Reinhardt–Grappelli composition remains a practical study in moving a tonal pattern to a neighbouring key.
Tune details
Music: Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli
Documented in archive: 1937
Original key: Not established
Study level: Intermediate
Melody & head
Keep the A-section phrase endings light enough for the next pickup.
Practise the bridge melody without a capo or shape shortcut.
Count its form and check its key before joining in. The A section cycles D–Bm–Em–A7, with D7 leading to G and a diminished approach back home. The bridge repeats a similar cycle in E♭, then A7 restores the pull to D.
Chart & Form
The A section cycles D–Bm–Em–A7, with D7 leading to G and a diminished approach back home. The bridge repeats a similar cycle in E♭, then A7 restores the pull to D.
Chord symbols follow the inherited Djangopedia chart. Slashes are rhythmic marks; chord quality and turnaround choices may differ from the backing track. This is a chord reference, not a melody transcription.
Django Reinhardt - Daphne (Guitar Solo Transcription) Stimer ST-48
Martin Traussnigg
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.
Chosen as a view of Django from 1944, to place the study beside his changing performing life. The closest dated recording entry here is 1947. This is an editorial pairing; the photograph is not claimed to depict a performance or session of this tune.
A formal Studio Harcourt portrait. The credited studio and year come from the linked file record. The portrait is not a recording-session photograph.
Introduce C natural as the seventh of D7, then resolve it down to B in G; F♯ remains D7’s third.
In E♭, land on G and B♭ to announce the new centre.
Use C♯ over the final A7 to pull the ear back to D.
Pitch choices
D major for the A-section framework, adjusted to D7 where needed.
E♭ major in the bridge; dominant chord tones at the return.
Play the A turnaround in D and immediately in E♭. Next improvise across the last two bridge bars into D using only four notes, then expand the rhythm.
Comping & voicings
Use compact sixth and seventh shapes. The half-step key shift can be physically simple, but the last A7 must be deliberate.
Voicing note sets
D6: D–F♯–B; Em7: E–G–D; A7: A–C♯–G.
E♭6: E♭–G–C; Fm7: F–A♭–E♭; B♭7: B♭–D–A♭.
Keep the accompaniment clear
Start with a quiet, even pulse. Leave an entire phrase unfilled and listen to how the melody breathes.
Returning from the bridge a bar early because the new key feels unfamiliar.
Adding dense extensions that obscure the melody or duplicate the pianist’s register.
Practice room
Start at 100–120; build toward 160–200 bpm
Your assignment
Play the A turnaround in D and immediately in E♭. Next improvise across the last two bridge bars into D using only four notes, then expand the rhythm.
Loop these changes
D7 → G → G♯ diminished
E♭ → Cm → Fm → B♭7
E♭ → A7 → D
Metronome
Start below the suggested tempo. First hear four quarter-note clicks, then halve the click rate and place clicks on beats 2 and 4. Keep the same phrase length.
Transposition
Move D7 → G → G♯ diminished up one whole step by naming each chord’s function before finding a guitar shape.
Return to D major and play the original melody without the chart.
At the session
Daphne — D major; 32 bars, AABA; bridge in E♭ major. Agree the tempo, pickup, solo order and ending before the count.
Start together
A short D turnaround or direct count-in keeps the opening clear.
Finish together
On the last A, replace the restart turnaround with a held D6 if the band agrees.
Announce D major and the E♭ bridge when calling the tune with unfamiliar players.
Returning from the bridge a bar early because the new key feels unfamiliar.
Arranging the tune
Solo guitar
Keep a simple bass anchor under turnaround melody; use fuller voicings only at the end of each eight-bar phrase.
Trio or larger group
Announce D major and the E♭ bridge when calling the tune with unfamiliar players.
Vocal considerations
This guide studies an instrumental arrangement. Any later lyric adaptation requires its own credit and chosen key.
Further study
Compare the G♯ diminished approach with a dominant substitute. Resolve individual voices before judging a substitution by its chord name.
Chord symbols follow the inherited Djangopedia chart. Slashes are rhythmic marks; chord quality and turnaround choices may differ from the backing track. This is a chord reference, not a melody transcription.
Compare the session evidence below before attributing one arrangement to every Django performance. The original archive places the tune in Django’s late-1930s repertoire and includes the London session of 31 January 1938. The joint Reinhardt–Grappelli composition remains a practical study in moving a tonal pattern to a neighbouring key.
This player guide combines inherited recording evidence and editorial study notes. Musical study notes are editorial suggestions; compare them with the recording.
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Django Reinhardt - Daphne (Guitar Solo Transcription) Stimer ST-48Martin Traussniggsource-described; accuracy not independently verifiedCreator presents a study of Django’s recorded solo. Use it alongside the original recording; exact transcription accuracy has not been independently reviewed.✓ Featured
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Django Reinhardt 's Daphne - Bireli Lagrene & Richard Galliano (jazz manouche live)Biréli Lagrène and Richard Galliano · CharlieGipsy Project and Friends — live · Watch-page identity, tune, performers and Gypsy jazz context checked 2026-10-07; date/session details remain source claims.Live jazz manouche collaboration featuring Richard Galliano on accordion.Select video
Daphne - Gypsy Jazz Style GuitarDamjan Pejcinoski Quartet · Damjan PejcinoskiGypsy jazz quartet — Maldives · Watch-page identity, tune, performers and Gypsy jazz context checked 2026-10-07; date/session details remain source claims.Quartet performance recorded at Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru in the Maldives; this upload is a band performance rather than a TAB lesson.Select video
Feigeli Prisor - DaphnéFeigeli Prisor and Jetto Winterstein · Guido Giotta2016 · Acoustic jam near Roermond · Watch-page identity, tune, performers and Gypsy jazz context checked 2026-10-07; date/session details remain source claims.Guitar jam recorded on 30 July 2016, as identified by the uploader.Select video