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Player guide

Hot Lips

A bright riff tune for secondary dominants and precise, relaxed ensemble attacks.

If you study one thing

Sing the riff on one pitch, then move it onto a B-flat chord tone.

Django Reinhardt seated and playing guitar at the Aquarium, New York, circa November 1946.
William P. Gottlieb / Library of Congress
Aquarium, New York, N.Y. · circa November 1946 · Photo credits
Chart keyBb
Form32 bars in four eight-bar phrases in the inherited chart
FeelSwing
Meter4/4 study pulse; confirm the arrangement
MusicHenry Busse, Henry Lange
Guide coverage12 / 12 sections present

Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-19T04:10:08Z 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.

1 historical recording entries · source text preserved
EntryYearRecording / session / release evidenceListen
011937Hot Lips, 22/4/37, OLA 1707-1 ,"Fremeaux FA 305, Affinity AFS 1003, Classics 748, Mosaic MD6-190(6 CD Set).", - Paris - QHCF -—

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

History & Listening

The publisher identifies the 1937 quintet recording in its swing-era session sequence. The inherited solo study is retained; new lessons are labelled by the actual soloist they teach.

Tune details

Music: Henry Busse, Henry Lange

Words: Lou Davis

Documented in archive: 1937

Original key: Not established

Study level: Intermediate; melody, pulse and arrangement awareness

Melody & head

  • A bright riff tune for secondary dominants and precise, relaxed ensemble attacks.
  • A Stochelo solo lesson studies Stochelo unless the creator explicitly identifies a Django recreation.

Study the inherited Django recording evidence ↗

A bright riff tune for secondary dominants and precise, relaxed ensemble attacks.

Session evidence

Hot Lips, 22/4/37, OLA 1707-1 ,"Fremeaux FA 305, Affinity AFS 1003, Classics 748, Mosaic MD6-190(6 CD Set).", - Paris - QHCF -

Study the proposed backing arrangement ↗

The B-flat head alternates tonic and F7. A contrasting passage moves through F and C7; later D7–Gm–C7–F7 returns home. Hear the third of D7 as the clear change into the minor destination. Check the video key before playing with the chart.

Chart & Form

The B-flat head alternates tonic and F7. A contrasting passage moves through F and C7; later D7–Gm–C7–F7 returns home. Hear the third of D7 as the clear change into the minor destination.

Inherited chart retained exactly. Harmonic comments refer to this edition; ambiguous symbols are flagged rather than silently corrected.

Inherited text chart
1Bb
2Bb
3F7
4F7
5F7
6F7
7Bb
8F7
9Bb
10Bb
11F
12F
13C7
14C7
15F
16F7
17Bb
18Bb
19F7
20F7
21F7
22F7
23Bb7
24Bb7
25D7
26D7
27Gm
28Gm
29C7
30F7
31Bb
32F7 :
Original chart text & notation
[[Image:Hot_lips.gif]]


| Bb/// | Bb/// | F7/// | F7/// | F7/// | F7/// | Bb/// | F7/// |

| Bb/// | Bb/// | F/// | F/// | C7/// | C7/// | F/// | F7/// |

| Bb/// | Bb/// | F7/// | F7/// | F7/// | F7/// | Bb7/// | Bb7/// |

| D7/// | D7/// | Gm/// | Gm/// | C7/// | F7/// | Bb/// | F7/// :||
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

Behind the photograph

Documented public-domain Gottlieb photograph, proposed as an editorial portrait. It does not document this tune or its recording session. Existing uses are retained; additional reuse requires approval with this batch.

Part of William P. Gottlieb’s documented Aquarium photographs in New York, circa November 1946. The catalogue supplies the location and approximate date; this is not evidence of a particular tune being played.

Explore this photograph, its context & credits →

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

  • The B-flat head alternates tonic and F7. A contrasting passage moves through F and C7; later D7–Gm–C7–F7 returns home. Hear the third of D7 as the clear change into the minor destination.
  • Sing the destination note before playing the connecting phrase.

Pitch choices

  • Begin with the named chord tones. Add passing notes only after the melody and cadence are secure.

Sing the riff on one pitch, then move it onto a B-flat chord tone. At the D7–Gm point, reduce the solo to F-sharp resolving to G.

Comping & voicings

Use buoyant short chords and a clean release. Keep the two-feel or four-feel consistent while the head supplies its own syncopations.

Voicing note sets

  • Use buoyant short chords and a clean release. Keep the two-feel or four-feel consistent while the head supplies its own syncopations.

Keep the accompaniment clear

  • First establish an even pulse; add rhythmic variation only when the melody leaves space.
  • A Stochelo solo lesson studies Stochelo unless the creator explicitly identifies a Django recreation.

Practice room

80–120 bpm, then increase gradually

Your assignment

Sing the riff on one pitch, then move it onto a B-flat chord tone. At the D7–Gm point, reduce the solo to F-sharp resolving to G.

Loop these changes

  • Sing the riff on one pitch, then move it onto a B-flat chord tone. At the D7–Gm point, reduce the solo to F-sharp resolving to G.

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

Bb; 32 bars in four eight-bar phrases in the inherited chart. 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.

A Stochelo solo lesson studies Stochelo unless the creator explicitly identifies a Django recreation.

  • A Stochelo solo lesson studies Stochelo unless the creator explicitly identifies a Django recreation.

Arranging the tune

Solo guitar

Keep the melody uppermost and begin with a single bass note under each harmony. Use buoyant short chords and a clean release. Keep the two-feel or four-feel consistent while the head supplies its own syncopations.

Trio or larger group

Use buoyant short chords and a clean release. Keep the two-feel or four-feel consistent while the head supplies its own syncopations.

Vocal considerations

Choose a comfortable singing key and transpose the accompaniment as a whole; lyrics are not reproduced here.

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 ↗

Reissue publisher discography and credits ↗

  • Source-attributed title, performer and recording context; not a claim that every inherited field is independently verified.

Inherited chart and recording evidence ↗

  • Original archive evidence retained.
Photograph credit & rights

William P. Gottlieb / Library of Congress · Aquarium, New York, N.Y. · circa November 1946

Gottlieb collection photographs entered the public domain on February 16, 2010, according to the source file page.

Photograph source ↗ · Rights details ↗

Used to illustrate Django’s life; no connection to this tune’s recording session is claimed.

Research & rights notes
  • Exact video-to-matrix/take associations are not established. Historical rows remain inherited evidence.
  • The original composition/publication year has not been independently established for this guide; recording years are separate evidence.