Form32 bars in four eight-bar phrases in the inherited chart
FeelSwing
Meter4/4 study pulse; confirm the arrangement
MusicWalter Donaldson
Guide coverage10 / 12 sections present
Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-19T04:10:12Z 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
1935
I've Had My Moments, Sept.1935, P 77538 ,"Fremeaux FA 303, Classics 727, JSP 341, Rhapsody RHCD6"," - Stephane Grappelly (v), Django Reinhardt, Joseph Reinhardt, PierreFerret (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
The early quintet recording remains the historical starting point, with later Fapy Lafertin and Lollo Meier versions offering useful acoustic comparisons.
Tune details
Music: Walter Donaldson
Words: Gus Kahn
Documented in archive: 1935
Original key: Not established
Study level: Intermediate; melody, pulse and arrangement awareness
Melody & head
A C-major tune for passing diminished harmony and a dominant chord turning minor.
The symbol A0 is retained as inherited diminished notation; verify its exact voicing in your edition.
A C-major tune for passing diminished harmony and a dominant chord turning minor.
Session evidence
I've Had My Moments, Sept.1935, P 77538 ,"Fremeaux FA 303, Classics 727, JSP 341, Rhapsody RHCD6"," - Stephane Grappelly (v), Django Reinhardt, Joseph Reinhardt, PierreFerret (g), Louis Vola (b)."
Chart & Form
The opening C–diminished–Dm7–G7 cycle gains colour from a passing diminished chord. C7–F and D7–Dm7–G7 provide contrasting dominant and minor approaches.
Inherited chart retained exactly. Harmonic comments refer to this edition; ambiguous symbols are flagged rather than silently corrected.
The opening C–diminished–Dm7–G7 cycle gains colour from a passing diminished chord. C7–F and D7–Dm7–G7 provide contrasting dominant and minor approaches.
Sing the destination note before playing the connecting phrase.
Pitch choices
Begin with the named chord tones. Add passing notes only after the melody and cadence are secure.
Loop C–A diminished–Dm7–G7 using the smallest possible voice movement. Then play the last phrase and distinguish D7 from Dm7 by its third.
Comping & voicings
Keep the diminished chord lighter than the arrival that follows. Use the D7-to-Dm7 change as an inner-voice detail rather than a loud effect.
Voicing note sets
Keep the diminished chord lighter than the arrival that follows. Use the D7-to-Dm7 change as an inner-voice detail rather than a loud effect.
Keep the accompaniment clear
First establish an even pulse; add rhythmic variation only when the melody leaves space.
The symbol A0 is retained as inherited diminished notation; verify its exact voicing in your edition.
Practice room
80–120 bpm, then increase gradually
Your assignment
Loop C–A diminished–Dm7–G7 using the smallest possible voice movement. Then play the last phrase and distinguish D7 from Dm7 by its third.
Loop these changes
Loop C–A diminished–Dm7–G7 using the smallest possible voice movement. Then play the last phrase and distinguish D7 from Dm7 by its third.
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
C; 32 bars in four eight-bar phrases in the inherited chart. 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.
The symbol A0 is retained as inherited diminished notation; verify its exact voicing in your edition.
The symbol A0 is retained as inherited diminished notation; verify its exact voicing in your edition.
Arranging the tune
Solo guitar
Keep the melody uppermost and begin with a single bass note under each harmony. Keep the diminished chord lighter than the arrival that follows. Use the D7-to-Dm7 change as an inner-voice detail rather than a loud effect.
Trio or larger group
Keep the diminished chord lighter than the arrival that follows. Use the D7-to-Dm7 change as an inner-voice detail rather than a loud effect.
Vocal considerations
Choose a comfortable singing key and transpose the accompaniment as a whole; lyrics are not reproduced here.
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’s mood. It does not depict a documented historical event.
Generated with the native image-generation tool on 2026-10-19; original editorial artwork, not a historical photograph.
Prompt: Use case: stylized-concept. Asset: horizontal 1536x1024, 3:2 Djangopedia tune illustration for I’ve Had My Moments. Original scene: A mantelpiece clock, three abstract framed memories and a guitarist at a small table, the clock circles repeated in quiet rhythmic patterns. Medium: authentic-feeling 1950s silk-screen editorial print, flat separate ink layers, boldly simplified shapes, long expressive angular silhouettes, spare wiry line accents, off-register overlaps, small areas of crosshatching, slight dry ink and paper texture. Strong asymmetric composition with generous negative space; witty and musical, sophisticated rather than children's cartoon. Limited palette: petrol teal, coral red, warm cream and black. All heads and instrument bodies wholly inside frame unless otherwise specified. No letters, words, numbers, captions, borders, logos, watermark, realistic shading, gradients or photographed paper. Invent an entirely new composition, not a reproduction of any existing print. No claim of a documented historical scene.
Research & rights notes
Exact video-to-matrix/take associations are not established. Historical rows remain inherited evidence.
The original composition/publication year has not been independently established for this guide; recording years are separate evidence.
No sufficiently reliable new backing was selected in this bounded search; the gap remains explicit.
No qualifying Django solo-study recreation selected. Other players’ solos and melody lessons do not fill this gap.
I've Had My Moments - Fapy Lafertin New QuartetSINTI MUSICVideo available when checked; creator-described attribution.Performer attribution follows the video title and channel description. Proposed listening selection; no popularity ranking implied.✓ Featured
I’ve had my moments Lollo MeierArie MeierVideo available when checked; creator-described attribution.Performer attribution follows the video title and channel description. Proposed listening selection; no popularity ranking implied.Select video
Fapy Lafertin & Tim Kliphuis - I had my moments DJANGO Amsterdam 2025Daniel Gueli Gypsy Jazz ChannelVideo available when checked; creator-described attribution.Performer attribution follows the video title and channel description. Proposed listening selection; no popularity ranking implied.Select video