A crisp major-key theme gains character from a chromatic dominant in the A sections and a chain of dominants in the bridge. Clear destinations keep the energetic surface from becoming harmonically vague.
If you study one thing
Connect the bridge’s dominants as one line rather than three separate licks.
Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-05T18:26:36Z 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
1938
Stompin' At Decca, 31/1/38, DTB 3530-1 ,"Fremeaux 307, JSP 342, Classics 777, Music Memoria 87948, Conifer HD 165, Rhapsody RHCD6"," - London - QHCF - Stephane Grappelly (v), Django Reinhardt, Roger Chaput, Eugene Vees (g), Louis Vola (b)"
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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
Djangopedia’s entry places Stompin’ at Decca in London on 31 January 1938, matrix DTB 3530-1, with the Quintette. Its title distinguishes it from Stompin’ at the Savoy, a different composition also present in the archive.
Tune details
Music: Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli
Documented in archive: 1938
Original key: Not established
Study level: Intermediate to advanced
Melody & head
Keep repeated head figures crisp and avoid an accent on every note.
Learn the bridge’s final answer before raising the tempo.
Count its form and check its key before joining in. G alternates with E♭7 before a turnaround restores the tonic. The bridge moves through B7, E7 and A7, then Am–D7 sets up the final A. A minor-subdominant close colours the later A endings.
Chart & Form
G alternates with E♭7 before a turnaround restores the tonic. The bridge moves through B7, E7 and A7, then Am–D7 sets up the final A. A minor-subdominant close colours the later A endings.
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.
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.
Owner-selected illustration. A 1930s recording microphone and a spinning blank-label record loom over a joyfully stomping guitar-and-violin quintet. Their shoes form a crisp rhythmic diagonal. London studio energy, no Decca logo or text.
Original AI-assisted editorial artwork inspired by the tune; not a documented historical scene.
Original AI-assisted illustration created for Djangopedia
Stompin' At Decca - Peter Beets at the Django Reinhard NY Festival
Dorado Schmitt, Peter Beets and festival ensemble · Peter Beets
2004 · Django Reinhardt Festival, Birdland, New York · Watch title, source description and available positive-duration player checked 2026-10-05; independent performance; owner accuracy not independently verified.
Piano/guitar-led concert; year and festival personnel credited by source.
D♯→D→C♯ links B7→E7→A7 through close guide-tone movement.
C♯→C marks A7 becoming Am before D7.
Pitch choices
G-major and sixth-chord material at home; E♭7 chord tones on the chromatic interruption.
Separate dominant arpeggios in the bridge rather than applying one major scale.
Use a three-note motif on G and adapt it to E♭7. Then write one descending guide-tone line through the bridge and play it without accompaniment.
Comping & voicings
Short chord releases suit the theme. Make the first bridge B7 clear, then let close upper voices connect the dominant chain.
Voicing note sets
G6: G–B–E; E♭7: E♭–G–D♭.
B7: B–D♯–A; E7: E–G♯–D; A7: A–C♯–G.
Keep the accompaniment clear
Start with a quiet, even pulse. Leave an entire phrase unfilled and listen to how the melody breathes.
Confusing the tune with Stompin’ at the Savoy or ignoring E♭7’s D♭.
Adding dense extensions that obscure the melody or duplicate the pianist’s register.
Practice room
Start at 110–130; build toward 180–220 bpm
Your assignment
Use a three-note motif on G and adapt it to E♭7. Then write one descending guide-tone line through the bridge and play it without accompaniment.
Loop these changes
G → E♭7 → G
B7 → E7 → A7
A7 → Am → D7
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 G → E♭7 → G up one whole step by naming each chord’s function before finding a guitar shape.
Return to G major and play the original melody without the chart.
At the session
Stompin' At Decca — G major; 32 bars, AABA. Agree the tempo, pickup, solo order and ending before the count.
Start together
Count directly into the head or use a short G turnaround.
Finish together
Agree on the final G–Cm6–G colour and avoid restarting the chorus by accident.
Share the bridge changes and ending cue before attempting a fast version.
Confusing the tune with Stompin’ at the Savoy or ignoring E♭7’s D♭.
Arranging the tune
Solo guitar
Use single-note melody with brief chord punches at phrase boundaries.
Trio or larger group
Share the bridge changes and ending cue before attempting a fast version.
Vocal considerations
This guide studies an instrumental arrangement. Any later lyric adaptation requires its own credit and chosen key.
Further study
Compare E♭7’s resolution into G with the chromatic return in Out of Nowhere. The same small voice movements can serve different melodic settings.
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. Djangopedia’s entry places Stompin’ at Decca in London on 31 January 1938, matrix DTB 3530-1, with the Quintette. Its title distinguishes it from Stompin’ at the Savoy, a different composition also present in the archive.
This player guide combines inherited recording evidence and editorial study notes. Musical study notes are editorial suggestions; compare them with the recording.
Original AI-assisted illustration created for Djangopedia
Original AI-assisted editorial artwork inspired by the tune; not a documented historical scene.
Generated with the native image-generation tool on 2026-10-26; original editorial artwork, not a historical photograph.
Prompt: Use case: stylized-concept. Create one finished original landscape 1536x1024 (3:2) raster illustration for Djangopedia, tune Stompin' At Decca.
Tune context for interpretation only: Djangopedia’s entry places Stompin’ at Decca in London on 31 January 1938, matrix DTB 3530-1, with the Quintette. Its title distinguishes it from Stompin’ at the Savoy, a different composition also present in the archive.
Scene: A 1930s recording microphone and a spinning blank-label record loom over a joyfully stomping guitar-and-violin quintet. Their shoes form a crisp rhythmic diagonal. London studio energy, no Decca logo or text.
Art direction: Graphic 1950s cartoon-lithograph feeling with dry screenprinted ink: loose lively line meeting disciplined flat colour, economical expressive detail, playful but accomplished. Palette: charcoal, golden yellow, restrained rose and ivory. Subtle dry ink and paper texture, controlled print misregistration. Make it an artwork with a memorable singular idea, readable as a thumbnail and rewarding at full size; vary viewpoint and composition.
Constraints: entirely original composition, not a copy of an artist's print. No title, words, notation, logos or watermark. No photorealism, glossy 3D, gradients, airbrushed romantic haze, generic sunset or decorative hearts. If Django appears, swept-back dark hair, pencil moustache and a distinct mature individual face; period clothes, no ethnic stereotypes. Respect plausible instruments and hands, keep key subjects within frame. Use strong flat ink shapes rather than photorealistic rendering.
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.
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Stompin' At Decca - Peter Beets at the Django Reinhard NY FestivalDorado Schmitt, Peter Beets and festival ensemble · Peter Beets2004 · Django Reinhardt Festival, Birdland, New York · Watch title, source description and available positive-duration player checked 2026-10-05; independent performance; owner accuracy not independently verified.Piano/guitar-led concert; year and festival personnel credited by source.✓ Featured
Stompin' At Decca | Jonny Hepbir Quartet | UK & International Gypsy Jazz Band HireJonny Hepbir Quartet · Jonny Hepbir Trio2014 · Pangdean Barn; November 2014 · Watch title, source description and available positive-duration player checked 2026-10-05; independent performance; owner accuracy not independently verified.Violin-led quartet reading; recording date supplied by group.Select video
Canarro - Stompin at Decca (Django Reinhardt) / gipsy jazz / Fonó, BudapestCanarro2018 · Fonó, Budapest · Watch title, source description and available positive-duration player checked 2026-10-05; independent performance; owner accuracy not independently verified.Live sextet with violin, guitars, piano, bass and drums; band describes its European Gypsy Jazz style.Select video