A swing-era riff tune for practising ensemble precision and short, convincing statements.
If you study one thing
Play the head’s first rhythmic cell on one pitch.
Original AI-generated illustration for Djangopedia; not a historical photograph. Illustration credits
Chart keyNot established
FormNot established
FeelSwing
Meter4/4
MusicEdgar Sampson, Benny Goodman
Guide coverage9 / 12 sections present
Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-18T23:08:25Z 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
1945
Don't Be That Way,"Fremeaux FA 312, Jass JCD 628, Vogue 228E 6004","1/12/45 - Paris - ""Django Djams"" - The A.T.C. Small Group Broadcast - AFN Django Reinhardt (g), Larry Mann (p), Bob Decker (b), Red Lacky (d)"
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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
The instrumental tune is associated with Sampson and Goodman; Parish’s lyric belongs to its later song history. The 1934 date refers to the tune’s early history, not the later lyric publication.
Tune details
Music: Edgar Sampson, Benny Goodman
Words: Mitchell Parish
Source-attributed publication / composition: 1934
Original key: Not established
Study level: Intermediate; play the head’s first rhythmic cell on one pitch
Melody & head
A swing-era riff tune for practising ensemble precision and short, convincing statements.
Do not confuse a band’s arranged hits with universal chord changes or mandatory stops.
Study the inherited Django recording evidence
A swing-era riff tune for practising ensemble precision and short, convincing statements.
Session evidence
Don't Be That Way,"Fremeaux FA 312, Jass JCD 628, Vogue 228E 6004","1/12/45 - Paris - ""Django Djams"" - The A.T.C. Small Group Broadcast - AFN Django Reinhardt (g), Larry Mann (p), Bob Decker (b), Red Lacky (d)"
Learn the riff as a rhythm before choosing scale patterns. With no inherited chart, identify the cadence after each riff and use those arrivals to build a trustworthy roadmap. Check the video key before playing with the chart.
Chart & Form
Learn the riff as a rhythm before choosing scale patterns. With no inherited chart, identify the cadence after each riff and use those arrivals to build a trustworthy roadmap.
A complete chord chart has not yet been verified. The exercises are editorial listening and practice suggestions, not a replacement score.
No readable chord chart has been added for this title.
Don't Be That Way (Goodman/Sampson) - Backing track + music sheet
Werner Schmedding
2m57s · Video available when checked; creator-described attribution.
Creator-provided play-along; instrumentation and feel vary by selection. Check the key and full arrangement before joining in; the guide chart may use another key.
Selected performances by notable Gypsy Jazz players and ensembles. Inclusion is editorial and does not imply an objective popularity ranking.
Notable Gypsy Jazz performances are being curated.
Improvisation
Target notes & voice leading
Learn the riff as a rhythm before choosing scale patterns. With no inherited chart, identify the cadence after each riff and use those arrivals to build a trustworthy roadmap.
Sing the destination note before connecting it to the preceding chord.
Pitch choices
Begin with the named chord tones. Add passing notes only after the melody and cadence are secure.
Play the head’s first rhythmic cell on one pitch. Repeat it on a chord tone at the next phrase boundary without adding extra notes.
Comping & voicings
Use a buoyant, detached pulse and leave room for ensemble riffs. Agree stops before the count-in instead of copying them unexpectedly from a big-band record.
Voicing note sets
Use a buoyant, detached pulse and leave room for ensemble riffs. Agree stops before the count-in instead of copying them unexpectedly from a big-band record.
Keep the accompaniment clear
First establish an even pulse; add rhythmic variation only when the melody leaves space.
Do not confuse a band’s arranged hits with universal chord changes or mandatory stops.
Practice room
80–120 bpm, then increase gradually
Your assignment
Play the head’s first rhythmic cell on one pitch. Repeat it on a chord tone at the next phrase boundary without adding extra notes.
Loop these changes
Play the head’s first rhythmic cell on one pitch. Repeat it on a chord tone at the next phrase boundary without adding extra notes.
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
Confirm the chosen arrangement key; Confirm the complete form. 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.
Do not confuse a band’s arranged hits with universal chord changes or mandatory stops.
Do not confuse a band’s arranged hits with universal chord changes or mandatory stops.
Arranging the tune
Solo guitar
Keep the melody uppermost and begin with a single bass note under each harmony. Use a buoyant, detached pulse and leave room for ensemble riffs. Agree stops before the count-in instead of copying them unexpectedly from a big-band record.
Trio or larger group
Use a buoyant, detached pulse and leave room for ensemble riffs. Agree stops before the count-in instead of copying them unexpectedly from a big-band record.
Vocal considerations
Choose a comfortable singing key and transpose the accompaniment as a whole; lyrics are not reproduced here.
Sources & credits
This player guide combines inherited recording evidence and editorial study notes. Musical study notes are editorial suggestions; compare them with the recording.
Source-attributed credits and historical context; not an exact take mapping.
Inherited Djangopedia chart and recording evidence
Existing chart and discographic rows; retained as inherited evidence.
Illustration credit & provenance
Original AI-generated illustration for Djangopedia; not a historical photograph.
Original AI-assisted editorial artwork inspired by the tune’s mood. It does not depict a documented historical event.
Generated with the native image-generation tool on 2026-10-18; original editorial artwork, not a historical photograph.
Prompt: Create original horizontal 1536x1024 3:2 editorial serigraph artwork for don t be that way. Two anonymous guitarists face one another in a small jazz cafe, one gesturing a friendly musical answer. Stage 6C visual vocabulary: simplified angular silhouettes, expressive asymmetry and negative space, flat limited inks teal, mustard, black, ivory, rough handmade ink edges, tactile paper grain. Mid-century jazz silk-screen print, restrained whimsy, strong graphic composition, no gradients, no photorealism, no words, no letters, no border. Original imagined scene, not a historical depiction. Heads and instruments fully inside frame.
Research & rights notes
Exact YouTube-to-matrix/take associations are not established. Historical rows remain inherited archive evidence.
No complete chart is present in the inherited archive. This is a listening-led study guide; confirm a reliable arrangement before a jam.
No chart key is asserted; choose and verify the key of the selected arrangement.
No qualifying new Django solo recreation was confirmed in this bounded search.
No new qualifying notable-performance selection is proposed for this tune.
Don't Be That Way (Goodman/Sampson) - Backing track + music sheetWerner Schmedding2m57s · Video available when checked; creator-described attribution.Creator-provided play-along; instrumentation and feel vary by selection. Check the key and full arrangement before joining in; the guide chart may use another key.✓ Featured
Don’t Be That Way Bass Line Play Along Backing TrackMrSunnybassSwing · 164 BPM · 6m28s · Video available when checked; creator-described attribution.Creator-provided play-along; instrumentation and feel vary by selection. Check the key and full arrangement before joining in; the guide chart may use another key. Tempo is the creator’s stated value.Select video