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Player guide

After You've Gone

A compact early standard that starts on the subdominant and takes an extra four bars to finish its thought. Its direct melody is a useful anchor for hearing major-to-minor colour and keeping an irregular chorus intact.

If you study one thing

Hear all twenty bars as one complete sentence.

Original linocut editorial illustration for After You've Gone
Original Djangopedia illustration · AI-assisted, 2026
Illustration credits
Chart keyG major (legacy chart)
Form20-bar chorus; four extra closing bars
FeelSwing
Meter4/4
MusicTurner Layton
Guide coverage12 / 12 sections present

Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-04T09:39:28Z 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
011934After You've Gone, Aug. 1934,"Fremeaux FA 302, Classics 703."," - Paris - Django Reinhardt, Joseph Reinhardt (g), Juan Fernandez (b)."—
021936After You've Gone, 4/5/36,OLA 1060-1 ,"Fremeaux FA 305, Affinity AFS 1003, Classics 739, JSP 344, Jazz Time 790560-2, EMI 780671-2, Mosaic MD6-190(6 CD Set)."," - Paris - QHCF - Stephane Grappelly (v), Django Reinhardt, Joseph Reinhardt, Pierre Ferret (g), Lucien Simoens (b), Freddy Taylor (vo)"—
031949After You've Gone, Jan-Feb 1949,CW 49,"Fremeaux FA 317, RCA ND 70929-2, RCA ND 90448"," - Rome - Django Reinhardt (g), Stephane Grappelly (v),Gianni Safred (p), Carlo Pecori (b), Aurelio de Carolis (d)"▶ Listen

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

History & Listening

Turner Layton and Henry Creamer published the song in 1918. The inherited Django page lists performances in 1934, 1936 and 1949. The 20-bar chorus is central to the tune: treating it as a conventional 16- or 32-bar song changes its shape.

Tune details

Music: Turner Layton

Words: Henry Creamer

Published / composed: 1918

Original key: Not established

Study level: Intermediate; unusual chorus length

Melody & head

  • Sing the entire closing phrase without stopping at bar 16.
  • Separate the head from any double-time embellishment you learn from a solo.

Start with the inherited Django session ↗

Listening task: Sing the entire closing phrase without stopping at bar 16. Count the head before comparing solo choruses.

Session evidence

After You've Gone, Aug. 1934,"Fremeaux FA 302, Classics 703."," - Paris - Django Reinhardt, Joseph Reinhardt (g), Juan Fernandez (b)."

Compare another documented take ↗

Compare the tempo, key, introduction and final cadence with the first entry. Hear all twenty bars as one complete sentence.

Session evidence

After You've Gone, Jan-Feb 1949,CW 49,"Fremeaux FA 317, RCA ND 70929-2, RCA ND 90448"," - Rome - Django Reinhardt (g), Stephane Grappelly (v),Gianni Safred (p), Carlo Pecori (b), Aurelio de Carolis (d)"

Study the backing-track arrangement ↗

Count its form and check its key before joining in. In G, the opening C→Cm→G supplies IV→iv→I. E7 then points away from home, while A7 and D7 restore the dominant chain. The final eight bars move more quickly and extend the close.

Chart & Form

In G, the opening C→Cm→G supplies IV→iv→I. E7 then points away from home, while A7 and D7 restore the dominant chain. The final eight bars move more quickly and extend the close.

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.

Legacy chart
1C
2Cm
3G
4E7
5A7
6D7
7G
8G7
9C
10Cm
11G
12E7
13Am/E7
14Am/Cm
15G/B7
16Em/A7
17G
18Am7/D7
19G
20G/G7
Original chart text & notation
[[Image:After_you've_gone.gif]]

| C/// | Cm/// | G/// | E7/// |

| A7/// | D7/// | G/// | G7/// 

| C/// | Cm/// | G/// | E7/// ||

| Am/E7/ | Am/Cm/ | G/B7/ | Em/A7/ | G/// | Am7/D7/ | G/// | G/G7/ :||
Original source ↗

Play along

Study Django's Solo

Performed studies, transcriptions, TAB, notation and lessons for studying Django’s solo. Inclusion does not certify note-for-note accuracy.

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

The 1918 Layton/Creamer standard has a twenty-bar G-major chorus with a major-to-minor turn. Django entries span 1934–1949. The current photograph shows Django standing with a bicycle in a wide street group; use only the outward-moving, spacious cue.

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.

Video thumbnail: Angelo Debarre - After you've gone (Selmer Guitar)Angelo Debarre - After you've gone (Selmer Guitar)Angelo Debarre, Serge Camps and Frank Anastasio · Henri SELMER ParisBal Blomet reunion — Selmer session · Watch-page identity, tune, performers and Gypsy jazz context checked 2026-10-07; date/session details remain source claims.Reunion performance by the Gypsy Guitars trio at Bal Blomet, published by Henri SELMER Paris. The original album’s year is not assigned to this later performance.✓ FeaturedVideo thumbnail: Joscho Stephan & Olli Soikkeli - After You've GoneJoscho Stephan & Olli Soikkeli - After You've GoneJoscho Stephan, Olli Soikkeli and Volker Kamp · Joscho Stephan2021 · Gypsy jazz trio · Watch-page identity, tune, performers and Gypsy jazz context checked 2026-10-07; date/session details remain source claims.Two contemporary Gypsy jazz guitarists and bassist Volker Kamp interpret the standard during a September 2021 studio visit.Select videoVideo thumbnail: After you've gone - Hot Club du NaxAfter you've gone - Hot Club du NaxHot Club du NaxVocal Hot Club ensemble · Watch-page identity, tune, performers and Gypsy jazz context checked 2026-10-07; date/session details remain source claims.Vocal ensemble version with Isobel Cope, guitars, violin and bass.Select videoVideo thumbnail: After You've Gone - London Django Collective Live at Cable CafeAfter You've Gone - London Django Collective Live at Cable CafeLondon Django CollectiveLive Hot Club ensemble · Watch-page identity, tune, performers and Gypsy jazz context checked 2026-10-07; date/session details remain source claims.Live performance at the Cable Cafe; the source identifies the London Django Collective.Select videoVideo thumbnail: After you've goneAfter you've goneTchavolo Schmitt · Tchavolo Schmitt - Θέμα2008 · Miri Familia — artist release · Watch-page identity, tune, performers and Gypsy jazz context checked 2026-10-07; date/session details remain source claims.Artist recording issued on Miri Familia; the release year is not an independently established session date.Select video

Improvisation

Target notes & voice leading

  • E→E♭→D outlines C→Cm→G.
  • G♯ gives E7 its dominant quality; C♯ identifies A7.
  • Keep F♯→G audible at D7→G without placing the return four bars early.

Pitch choices

  • Use G-major chord tones on arrivals, and Cm arpeggios for the minor subdominant.
  • Follow the local thirds through E7, A7 and D7 rather than running G major over all three.

Count five groups of four bars. Play a two-bar idea followed by two bars of space in each group, changing only the final answer in group five.

Comping & voicings

Give the C-to-Cm change a clear inner voice. Light quarter notes work well; reserve a stronger arrival for the actual end of the 20-bar cycle.

Voicing note sets

  • C: C–E–G; Cm: C–E♭–G; G6: G–B–E.
  • E7: E–G♯–D; A7: A–C♯–G; D7: D–F♯–C.

Keep the accompaniment clear

  • Start with a quiet, even pulse. Leave an entire phrase unfilled and listen to how the melody breathes.
  • Returning to the top after sixteen bars.
  • Adding dense extensions that obscure the melody or duplicate the pianist’s register.

Practice room

Start at 90–110; explore 150–190 bpm

Your assignment

Count five groups of four bars. Play a two-bar idea followed by two bars of space in each group, changing only the final answer in group five.

Loop these changes

  • C → Cm → G
  • E7 → A7 → D7
  • Final eight bars → opening C

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 C → Cm → G up one whole step by naming each chord’s function before finding a guitar shape.
  • Return to G major (legacy chart) and play the original melody without the chart.

At the session

After You've Gone — G major (legacy chart); 20-bar chorus; four extra closing bars. Agree the tempo, pickup, solo order and ending before the count.

Start together

  • Use a G turnaround, then explicitly cue the C opening.

Finish together

  • Agree on the final G instead of automatically playing the G7 that restarts the chorus.

Call G, twenty bars, and count the closing extension together before trading solos.

  • Returning to the top after sixteen bars.

Arranging the tune

Solo guitar

Keep the melody above a simple bass line and let E→E♭→D connect the opening chords.

Trio or larger group

Call G, twenty bars, and count the closing extension together before trading solos.

Vocal considerations

Choose the singer’s comfortable key, then transpose the whole arrangement, including the introduction. Use the original lyric phrasing to shape breathing.

Further study

  • Compare the four-bar closing extension with an ordinary 16-bar song. Write a melodic answer that makes the extra time necessary rather than sounding like a counting correction.
  • 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. Turner Layton and Henry Creamer published the song in 1918. The inherited Django page lists performances in 1934, 1936 and 1949. The 20-bar chorus is central to the tune: treating it as a conventional 16- or 32-bar song changes its shape.

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 legacy page ↗

  • Inherited chart, recording rows and historical source claims

Composition background and credits ↗

  • Composition history and published credits

Gonzalo Bergara — backing track ↗

  • Backing-track identity, creator and view count; embed availability metadata

Feature photograph — Gypsy Jazz UK historical archive ↗

  • Photo identification, photographer and date
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: Original editorial feature illustration for After You've Gone. Make a bold two-colour linocut in russet and ivory: an unoccupied street bending away through five rhythmic groups of architectural shapes, a small guitar-shaped shadow and a departing bicycle silhouette suggesting the title’s absence and forward swing. Treat this as a lyrical title metaphor, not a historical journey or session. Open lateral composition, carved texture, the musical turn from brightness into a quieter shaded bend. No portrait. Original Djangopedia editorial illustration, clearly non-photographic. Do not copy a photograph, known artwork or specific artist. Landscape 1536 by 1024 feature image, important subjects within the middle 75% for responsive hero cropping. No lettering, numbers, musical notation glyphs, logos, signature, watermark, fake archival markings, caption or border. One finished candidate only.

Research & rights notes
  • Exact original composition date and registered credits where not independently sourced
  • Legacy date/matrix extraction and personnel spelling
  • Chart variants and specialist review of editorial music analysis

Photograph rights are documented separately in its credit. They do not establish the rights status of the composition or recording.