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Player guide

Time On My Hands

A warm song with an unexpected E7 colour early in the phrase and an altered-dominant route later on. Its long chord areas invite patient melodic development.

If you study one thing

Connect E7 smoothly into the G-minor cadence.

Original editorial illustration for Time On My Hands: top-down still gesture and long shadow.
Original Djangopedia illustration · AI-assisted, 2026
Illustration credits
Chart keyF major
Form32 printed bars with a contrasting middle passage
FeelBallad / gentle swing
Meter4/4
MusicVincent Youmans
Guide coverage12 / 12 sections present

Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-06T18:41:23Z 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
  • ✓ 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.

2 historical recording entries · source text preserved
EntryYearRecording / session / release evidenceListen
011939Time On My Hands, 21/3/39, 4974-1/2HPP ,"Fremeaux FA 308, JSP 343, Classics 793, Conifer HD 206, Music Memoria 87949 (Wrong Matrix ? 49974-HPP), Gitanes 159 854-2"," - Paris - QHCF - Stephane Grappelly (g), Django Reinhardt, Joseph Reinhardt,Pierre Ferret (g), Emmanuel Soudieux (b)"—
021949Time On My Hands, Jan-Feb 1949, CW 55 ,"Fremeaux FA 317, Jazz Time 827447-2"," - Rome - Django Reinhardt (g), Stephane Grappelly (v),Gianni Safred (p), Carlo Pecori (b), Aurelio de Carolis (d)."—

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

History & Listening

Time On My Hands is credited here to Vincent Youmans. The source date is 1930; publication, composition and later lyric adaptations may have separate dates. The inherited archive lists 2 recording entries, with dated entries spanning 1939–1949. These are archive rows, not a claim that every entry is a distinct released take. The linked recording rows preserve the original discographical wording. Compare their dates, matrices and personnel when choosing a performance to study.

Tune details

Music: Vincent Youmans

Words: Harold Adamson, Mack Gordon

Published / composed / adapted — see history: 1930

Original key: Not established

Study level: Intermediate; advanced where the inherited roadmap needs reconstruction

Melody & head

  • Keep the relaxed long phrase intact through the chromatic dominant colours.

Study a documented Django entry ↗

Listening task: Keep the relaxed long phrase intact through the chromatic dominant colours. Mark the key, pickup, phrase lengths and ending before comparing another version.

Session evidence

Time On My Hands, 21/3/39, 4974-1/2HPP ,"Fremeaux FA 308, JSP 343, Classics 793, Conifer HD 206, Music Memoria 87949 (Wrong Matrix ? 49974-HPP), Gitanes 159 854-2"," - Paris - QHCF - Stephane Grappelly (g), Django Reinhardt, Joseph Reinhardt,Pierre Ferret (g), Emmanuel Soudieux (b)"

Compare another archive entry ↗

Compare the first and last listed entries for tempo, instrumentation and arrangement. Do not infer identical takes from a shared title. Connect E7 smoothly into the G-minor cadence.

Session evidence

Time On My Hands, Jan-Feb 1949, CW 55 ,"Fremeaux FA 317, Jazz Time 827447-2"," - Rome - Django Reinhardt (g), Stephane Grappelly (v),Gianni Safred (p), Carlo Pecori (b), Aurelio de Carolis (d)."

Check the practice arrangement ↗

The inherited chart is in F major. Confirm the backing track’s sounding key, pickup and complete form before playing; an instrument label may describe a transposed score.

Chart & Form

F gives way to E7 before Gm–C7 returns home. A7 and D7 augmented colours lead through G7, while the last phrase uses Cm6 before the final cadence.

Chord symbols and source cell divisions are preserved from Djangopedia. Slashes mark rhythm; 0 is inherited diminished notation whose exact voicing should be checked against the melody. This is a chord reference, not a melody transcription.

Inherited chord reference · source cells
1F
2F
3E7
4E7
5Gm
6Gm
7C7/ Gm
8C7
9F
10F
11E7
12E7
13Gm
14Gm
15A7
16A7
17D7+
18D7+
19G7
20Gm/ C7
21F/ Dm
22G7
23Gm
24C7
25F
26F
27Cm6
28D7+
29G7
30Gm/ C7
31F
32F
Original chart text & notation
[[Image:Time_on_my.gif]]


| F/// | F/// | E7/// | E7/// | Gm/// | Gm/// | C7/ Gm/ | C7/// | 

| F/// | F/// | E7/// | E7/// | Gm/// | Gm/// | A7/// | A7/// |

| D7+/// | D7+/// | G7/// | Gm/ C7/ | F/ Dm/ | G7/// | Gm/// | C7/// |

| F/// | F/// | Cm6/// | D7+/// | G7/// | Gm/ C7/ | F/// | F/// :||
Original source ↗

Play along

Preferred: Time On My Hands (Jazz/Swing feel) 90 bpm : Backing Track ↗

Guitare Improvisation · The inherited chart is in F major. Confirm the backing track’s sounding key, pickup and complete form before playing; an instrument label may describe a transposed score. · 6:01

Checked 2026-10-01

How this resource was selected

Most-viewed suitable match selected from the captured search results after title/composition review; not a complete YouTube ranking. Source counts were captured on 1 October 2026. Coaching, unrelated songs and non-backing performances are excluded.

Study Django's Solo

Performed studies, transcriptions, TAB, notation and lessons for studying Django’s solo. Resources are described by their creator; inclusion does not certify note-for-note accuracy.

Preferred: Django Reinhardt - Time On My Hands Transcription ↗

Miguel Mateu Jazz Guitar · Owner-approved study selection. YouTube identity and player availability checked 6 October 2026; musical accuracy and exact take not independently certified.

Owner selected 6 October 2026. Django transcription/TAB study; a new played recreation is not demonstrated. Uploader attributes 1939; exact take unverified.

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

A quietly resting hand beside a guitar's upper bout and a plain closed pocket-watch shape without marks; long shadows curve toward a small unexpected coloured accent. Patient melodic time and early dominant surprise inspire the stillness, no readable dial.

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.

Improvisation

Target notes & voice leading

  • Hear G♯ on E7 moving toward G over Gm.
  • Connect B on G7 to B♭ on Gm before C7 resolves into F.

Pitch choices

  • Start with the chord tones of each written harmony. Hear G♯ on E7 moving toward G over Gm.
  • Use passing notes only after the destination chord and phrase length are secure; this guide does not assign one scale indiscriminately to the whole tune.

Loop F–E7–Gm–C7 with a single upper voice, then build a four-note motif that survives the G7-to-Gm change.

Comping & voicings

Let the E7 colour remain audible without accenting it heavily. Keep the altered D7 voicing sparse and check its fifth against the melody.

Voicing note sets

  • F6: F–A–D; E7: E–G♯–D; Gm7: G–B♭–F; C7: C–E–B♭.

Keep the accompaniment clear

  • Keep a quiet, even swing pulse, adjusting its density to the melody and ensemble.
  • Practise one chorus with only two chord attacks per bar, then restore four without changing tempo.
  • Treating E7 as proof of a lasting modulation to A minor when the printed phrase goes elsewhere.
  • Crowding the melody with dense extensions or doubling another accompanist’s register.

Practice room

Start around 60–90 bpm and preserve the full phrase

Your assignment

Loop F–E7–Gm–C7 with a single upper voice, then build a four-note motif that survives the G7-to-Gm change.

Loop these changes

  • Hear G♯ on E7 moving toward G over Gm.
  • Connect B on G7 to B♭ on Gm before C7 resolves into F.

Metronome

Begin with four quarter-note clicks. Halve the click rate and hear beats 2 and 4 while maintaining the same phrase lengths.

Transposition

  • Transpose the first complete phrase up a whole step, including its cadence. Name chord functions before finding new fingerings.
  • Return to F major and play the melodic phrase from memory.

At the session

Time On My Hands — F major; 32 printed bars with a contrasting middle passage. Agree the pickup, tempo and ending before counting in.

Start together

  • Suggested rehearsal entry: give two clear bars of count-in and start the agreed pickup or first melody note. This is not claimed as a historical Django introduction.

Finish together

  • Agree a final melody statement and hold its tonic arrival; remove any turnaround intended to restart the chorus. Check the chosen arrangement for tags or a separate coda.

32 printed bars with a contrasting middle passage. Keep the head and solo chorus lengths explicit at the count-in.

  • Treating E7 as proof of a lasting modulation to A minor when the printed phrase goes elsewhere.

Arranging the tune

Solo guitar

Start with melody and bass only. Add the following colour without interrupting the melody: Hear G♯ on E7 moving toward G over Gm.

Trio or larger group

Let the E7 colour remain audible without accenting it heavily. Keep the altered D7 voicing sparse and check its fifth against the melody. Agree the full roadmap and signal the last head before it starts.

Vocal considerations

Choose a comfortable vocal key and transpose the whole arrangement, including its introduction and ending.

Further study

  • Compare the source's Cm6 and D7+ passage with a simpler dominant approach, keeping melody notes and duration unchanged.
  • Chord symbols and source cell divisions are preserved from Djangopedia. Slashes mark rhythm; 0 is inherited diminished notation whose exact voicing should be checked against the melody. This is a chord reference, not a melody transcription.
  • Compare the linked archive entries before attributing one arrangement to all Django performances. Keep composition history separate from the dates of Django’s recordings.

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 — inherited chart and recording rows ↗

  • Inherited notation and discographical claims; not independent verification

Composition credits and background ↗

  • Writer credits and source date where supplied

Guitare Improvisation — practice backing ↗

  • Video identity, view-count snapshot and embed metadata

Feature photograph — source collection ↗

  • Photo identification and provenance; reuse rights remain unverified
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: Use case: illustration-story. One original editorial feature illustration for Djangopedia's guide “Time On My Hands”. Landscape 1536 × 1024, opaque background. Scene: A quietly resting hand beside a guitar's upper bout and a plain closed pocket-watch shape without marks; long shadows curve toward a small unexpected coloured accent. Patient melodic time and early dominant surprise inspire the stillness, no readable dial. Musical basis from the guide: A warm song with an unexpected E7 colour early in the phrase and an altered-dominant route later on. Its long chord areas invite patient melodic development. The supplied chart is F major; form: 32 printed bars with a contrasting middle passage; feel: Ballad / gentle swing. These describe musical inspiration, not visible writing. Historical context: Time On My Hands is credited here to Vincent Youmans. The source date is 1930; publication, composition and later lyric adaptations may have separate dates. Do not illustrate disputed historical claims or suggest this imagined scene is an archival session. Medium: monotype with graphite. Dominant palette: steel grey muted green and white. Composition: top-down still gesture and long shadow. Human presence: one hand and instrument only. Strong intentional design, clearly drawn/painted, distinctive material marks; keep essential subject safely within the central 70 percent width and middle 80 percent height for card crops. Maintain enough visual substance at thumbnail size. Broad inspiration observed in old photo, ONLY scale/rhythm and never a reference image: wide ensemble in travel setting; tall instruments; layered distance. Independently invent every pose, perspective, clothing, setting and lighting. Avoid: No band, airport scene, numbers on watch or multiple malformed fingers. No photorealism, archival simulation, generated text, letters, numbers, labels, fake musical notation, logo, signature, watermark, fake dates, yellowed-paper patina, recognizable artwork or copied photograph. No imitation of any named artist. Render the art edge to edge without borders, mockup or typography. Batch B diversity compensation: make light and midtone areas substantial; avoid near-black dominant backdrops, violet monochrome, empty chair/stool/bench compositions, repeated sunset terraces and generic cloud panoramas. Preserve the stated tune-specific scene. Human figures remain standing or peripheral except an explicitly named ensemble; no centered seated Django portrait. For graphic images use clearly plain colour shapes, no ruled parallel staffs, circles with stems, note-like marks or typography.

Research & rights notes
  • Specialist review of original editorial playing advice
  • Original key and precise composition date where not independently established
  • Inherited notation, session details and arrangement variants
  • Photograph reuse permissions

Photograph provenance and rights are stated separately. Attribution does not establish permission.