An economical song built around a major-key dominant chain and a bridge that turns major subdominant into minor. It gives developing improvisers room to make a small idea sound complete.
Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-04T21:21:41Z 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
Entry
Year
Recording / session / release evidence
Listen
01
1937
Exactly Like You, 21/4/37, OLA 1702-1 ,"Fremeaux FA 305, Classics 748, Affinity 1003, EMI 780671-2, Mosaic MD6-190(6 CD Set)."," - Paris - QHCF - Stephane Grappelly (v), Django Reinhardt, Pierre Ferret, Marcel Bianchi (g), Louis Vola (b)"
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02
1937
Exactly Like You, 29/5/37, Fremeaux FA 305," - BBC Jazz Show Programme - Stephane Grappelli (v), Django & Joseph Reinhardt (g), Pierre Ferret (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
Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields introduced the song in the 1930 International Revue. Djangopedia lists Django recordings from April and May 1937. The song’s simple outline supports both vocal phrasing and instrumental swing.
Tune details
Music: Jimmy McHugh
Words: Dorothy Fields
Published / composed: 1930
Original key: Not established
Study level: Approachable repertoire
Melody & head
Use the lyric’s natural phrase lengths even in an instrumental performance.
Compare the tempo, key, introduction and final cadence with the first entry. Make F♯–F–E and A–A♭–G sound like sung phrases.
Session evidence
Exactly Like You, 29/5/37, Fremeaux FA 305," - BBC Jazz Show Programme - Stephane Grappelli (v), Django & Joseph Reinhardt (g), Pierre Ferret (g), Louis Vola (b)."
Count its form and check its key before joining in. The A sections move C→D7→G7→C. The bridge repeatedly contrasts F and Fm before returning to C; this minor-subdominant change supplies much of its colour.
Chart & Form
The A sections move C→D7→G7→C. The bridge repeatedly contrasts F and Fm before returning to C; this minor-subdominant change supplies much of its colour.
The source’s last bridge cell reads Dm7 / C7. Other editions can differ at this cadence; compare it with the melody and selected track.
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.
Christiaan van Hemert · 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.
Checked 2026-10-02
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.
Django and a fictional clarinetist stand far apart on two narrow platforms; one melody ribbon runs between them, its middle changing from bright to dark before both return together. The near-parallel shapes with one small difference express the title and minor-subdominant voice leading.
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
Keep B natural available as G7’s third at the cadence.
Pitch choices
C-major material at home, adjusted to F♯ over D7.
Use F-minor chord tones when the bridge darkens rather than ignoring A♭.
Improvise one chorus using only the two three-note descending lines above. Give each line a different rhythm on its next appearance.
Comping & voicings
Plain shells and a light four-to-the-bar feel make the dominant chain easy to follow. Voice the F-to-Fm shift quietly but clearly.
Voicing note sets
D7: D–F♯–C; G7: G–B–F; C6: C–E–A.
F: F–A–C → Fm: F–A♭–C.
Keep the accompaniment clear
Start with a quiet, even pulse. Leave an entire phrase unfilled and listen to how the melody breathes.
Playing F natural throughout D7 because the tune’s home key is C.
Adding dense extensions that obscure the melody or duplicate the pianist’s register.
Practice room
Start at 90–110; build toward 140–180 bpm
Your assignment
Improvise one chorus using only the two three-note descending lines above. Give each line a different rhythm on its next appearance.
Loop these changes
D7 → G7 → C
F → Fm → C
Last bridge bars → final A
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 D7 → G7 → C up one whole step by naming each chord’s function before finding a guitar shape.
Return to C major and play the original melody without the chart.
At the session
Exactly Like You — C major; 32 bars, AABA. Agree the tempo, pickup, solo order and ending before the count.
Start together
Use a short C turnaround with a clear melody pickup.
Finish together
Hold C6 or agree on a repeated final phrase before starting.
Confirm the bridge’s last cadence; the inherited chart has a C7 reading where other editions may differ.
Playing F natural throughout D7 because the tune’s home key is C.
Arranging the tune
Solo guitar
A descending inner voice can support the head with only occasional bass notes.
Trio or larger group
Confirm the bridge’s last cadence; the inherited chart has a C7 reading where other editions may differ.
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 the major-to-minor subdominant with All of Me. The voice-leading device transfers, while the melody and phrase placement remain different.
The source’s last bridge cell reads Dm7 / C7. Other editions can differ at this cadence; compare it with the melody and selected track.
Compare the session evidence below before attributing one arrangement to every Django performance. Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields introduced the song in the 1930 International Revue. Djangopedia lists Django recordings from April and May 1937. The song’s simple outline supports both vocal phrasing and instrumental swing.
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: Create one original editorial illustration for Djangopedia’s “Exactly Like You” guide. Landscape 1536×1024, opaque. Etching-like editorial linework, cool grey and pale teal. Two SMALL musicians, Django with guitar and a fictional clarinetist, stand on separate low geometric platforms, BOTH COMPLETELY INSIDE THE CENTRAL 60% OF THE IMAGE WIDTH. Left musician at 38% of width, right musician at 62%; both entire bodies, heads, instruments, elbows and platforms fit between x=30% and x=70%, y=20% and y=78%. They face inward; a single luminous melody ribbon bridges the narrow gap, changing briefly from bright to dark to express major-to-minor subdominant voice leading. Deliberately broad empty drawn texture at both outer edges is expendable in mobile cropping. Keep no figures or instruments near the image edges. Minimal abstract background of pale teal air, subtle parallel lines and charcoal shapes; no city, river, cliff, landscape panorama or bridge. The tune is an economical 32-bar AABA C-major swing standard by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields, introduced in 1930; this is an imagined musical conversation, not a historical recording session. Clearly hand-drawn editorial art, no photorealism, no source photograph recreation, no copied artwork, no text, letters, numbers, music notation, logos, watermarks, signature, border or yellowed patina. Objective correction: the first illustration lost BOTH musicians’ heads and bodies in a narrow 343×310 cover crop. Ensure this central composition retains BOTH heads and instruments in such a crop.
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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