A direct major-key head opens into a bridge with a descending minor line. Its clear contrast between sections makes it useful for learning both swing phrasing and moving inner voices.
Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-04T17:07:35Z by admin. Coverage measures presence, not accuracy. Content review does not certify rights or musical perfection.
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✓ Recording evidence
✓ Key & form
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✓ Playing notes
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✓ Django recording
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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
Entry
Year
Recording / session / release evidence
Listen
01
1934
Dinah, Dec.1934, P 77161,"Fremeaux FA 302, Classics 703, JSP 341, OR 0062, JZCD 376, Jazz Archives ZET 752."," - Paris - QHCF: Stephane Grappelly (v), Django Reinhardt, Joseph Reinhardt, Roger Chaput (g), Louis Vola (b)."
—
02
1937
Dinah, OLA 2148-1 ,"Fremeaux 306, Affinity AFS 1003, EMI 780671-2 ", Warlop out
A dash means no video has been associated with this exact historical recording. Tune-level listening resources remain available above.
History & Listening
Harry Akst wrote the music, with words by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young, in 1925. The inherited archive places Django’s first listed version in December 1934 with the Quintette du Hot Club de France.
Tune details
Music: Harry Akst
Words: Sam M. Lewis, Joe Young
Published / composed: 1925
Original key: Not established
Study level: Beginner to intermediate
Melody & head
Keep the head’s short answers distinct from one another.
Sing the bridge’s inner line as well as the top melody.
Listening task: Keep the head’s short answers distinct from one another. Count the head before comparing solo choruses.
Session evidence
Dinah, Dec.1934, P 77161,"Fremeaux FA 302, Classics 703, JSP 341, OR 0062, JZCD 376, Jazz Archives ZET 752."," - Paris - QHCF: Stephane Grappelly (v), Django Reinhardt, Joseph Reinhardt, Roger Chaput (g), Louis Vola (b)."
Count its form and check its key before joining in. G and a blues-coloured C7 frame the A sections before Am–D7 returns home. The bridge moves through Em, Em with a major seventh and Em7 before A7 and the final ii–V.
Chart & Form
G and a blues-coloured C7 frame the A sections before Am–D7 returns home. The bridge moves through Em, Em with a major seventh and Em7 before A7 and the final ii–V.
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.
Highest displayed view count among matching backing-track videos returned by relevance and view-count YouTube searches. Not a complete platform-wide ranking.
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.
A fictional acoustic quintet, two rhythm guitars, lead guitar, violin and double bass, seen from above in a wide semicircle. A bright simple opening arc gives way to three descending dark bands across the floor, then brightens again for the head.
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
E→D♯→D creates the bridge’s descending inner line over E minor.
G♯ is the third of E7 only if that substitution is actually played; the source bridge begins on Em.
F♯→G makes the D7 return clear.
Pitch choices
G-major melodic material on the A sections, with C7’s B♭ acknowledged.
E-minor chord tones with the explicit descending chromatic line in the bridge.
Play the bridge using only E, D♯ and D as an upper voice above a steady E bass, then reconnect it to the full melody.
Comping & voicings
Use a quiet, steady pompe. In the bridge, move one inner voice rather than jumping to four unrelated grips.
Voicing note sets
G6: G–B–E; C7: C–E–B♭; D7: D–F♯–C.
Em: E–G–B; Em(maj7): E–G–D♯; Em7: E–G–D.
Keep the accompaniment clear
Start with a quiet, even pulse. Leave an entire phrase unfilled and listen to how the melody breathes.
Flattening the distinctive bridge into one unchanging E-minor scale.
Adding dense extensions that obscure the melody or duplicate the pianist’s register.
Practice room
Start at 100–120; explore 150–200 bpm
Your assignment
Play the bridge using only E, D♯ and D as an upper voice above a steady E bass, then reconnect it to the full melody.
Loop these changes
G → C7 → G
Em → Em(maj7) → Em7
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 → C7 → 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
Dinah — G major; 32 bars, AABA. Agree the tempo, pickup, solo order and ending before the count.
Start together
A brief G turnaround or direct count works; cue any pickup.
Finish together
Finish on G6 after the last A, leaving out the restart turnaround.
Agree on the bridge line and the number of head choruses before soloing.
Flattening the distinctive bridge into one unchanging E-minor scale.
Arranging the tune
Solo guitar
Use the descending line beneath sustained melody notes and avoid overfilling their space.
Trio or larger group
Agree on the bridge line and the number of head choruses before soloing.
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 a moving seventh over a stable minor chord with a genuinely new chord root. This distinction makes voice leading easier to hear.
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. Harry Akst wrote the music, with words by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young, in 1925. The inherited archive places Django’s first listed version in December 1934 with the Quintette du Hot Club de France.
This player guide combines inherited recording evidence and editorial study notes. Musical study notes are editorial suggestions; compare them with the recording.
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 “Dinah”. Landscape 1536 × 1024, opaque background.
Scene: A fictional acoustic quintet, two rhythm guitars, lead guitar, violin and double bass, seen from above in a wide semicircle. A bright simple opening arc gives way to three descending dark bands across the floor, then brightens again for the head.
Musical basis from the guide: A direct major-key head opens into a bridge with a descending minor line. Its clear contrast between sections makes it useful for learning both swing phrasing and moving inner voices. The supplied chart is G major; form: 32 bars, AABA; feel: Swing. These describe musical inspiration, not visible writing. Historical context: Harry Akst wrote the music, with words by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young, in 1925. Do not illustrate disputed historical claims or suggest this imagined scene is an archival session.
Medium: lithographic illustration. Dominant palette: saffron cobalt and white. Composition: semicircular call and response. Human presence: five small figures. 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: lively compact group; central horizontal guitar; varying heights. Independently invent every pose, perspective, clothing, setting and lighting.
Avoid: No crowded candid portrait, cups, source room or sepia. 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.
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.
DINAH - Stephane Wrembel trioStephane Wrembel, Thor Jensen and Ari Folman-Cohen · Stephane Wrembel2016 · Venetian Club, PhiladelphiaLive trio performance in Philadelphia in 2016, published by Stephane Wrembel.✓ Featured
Dinah - The Joscho Stephan Trio live 2020Joscho Stephan, Fredi Gebhardt and Stefan Berger · Jazz Club Hannover by Gartenheim2020 · Live in HannoverTrio performance recorded in December 2020 and described by the venue as a Django-style arrangement.Select performance
Dinah - Swing Guitar Cover- Tracy Kim TrioTracy Kim, Joe Kim and Dax Smith · Tracy Kim MusicSwing / Gypsy jazz trioTrio performance of the standard; Patreon etudes and lessons are separate linked teaching resources.Select performance
Sébastien Giniaux and Brad Brose - Django in June 2016 DinahSébastien Giniaux and Brad Brose · Brad BDjango in June — uploader identificationInformal guitar-duo performance. The uploader’s title says Django in June 2016, but the displayed upload date precedes that event; no performance year is asserted here.Select performance