A gentle standard for major–minor subdominant colour, with an inherited chart that needs careful reading.
If you study one thing
Loop F–Fm–C and sing A–Ab–G.
Original AI-generated illustration for Djangopedia; not a historical photograph. Illustration credits
Chart keyC
Form32 printed bars in the inherited arrangement; opening requires checking
FeelSwing
Meter4/4
MusicSaul Chaplin
Guide coverage10 / 12 sections present
Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-18T23:08:32Z 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
1938
Please Be Kind, 1/9/38, DR 2904-1 ,"Fremeaux FA 308, JSP 342, Classics 793, Verve 516 931-2, Music Memoria 87948"," - London - Django Reinhardt (g), Stephane Grappelly (p)"
—
A dash means no video has been associated with this exact historical recording. Tune-level listening resources remain available above.
History & Listening
Release metadata credits Chaplin and Cahn. A Grappelli-labelled search result proved to be a historical Django/Hot Club recording, so it was excluded from the proposed modern-performance collection.
Tune details
Music: Saul Chaplin
Words: Sammy Cahn
Documented in archive: 1938
Original key: Not established
Study level: Intermediate; loop f–fm–c and sing a–ab–g
Melody & head
A gentle standard for major–minor subdominant colour, with an inherited chart that needs careful reading.
The opening of the inherited grid needs verification; no guessed correction has been inserted.
A gentle standard for major–minor subdominant colour, with an inherited chart that needs careful reading.
Session evidence
Please Be Kind, 1/9/38, DR 2904-1 ,"Fremeaux FA 308, JSP 342, Classics 793, Verve 516 931-2, Music Memoria 87948"," - London - Django Reinhardt (g), Stephane Grappelly (p)"
Chart & Form
The grid includes Gm–C9–F and a later F–Fm–C colour change. Its opening symbols are unusual, so use the clearly interpretable subdominant passage for practice while checking the start against the recording.
Inherited archive chart retained without harmonic or notation edits. The playing notes below discuss this particular version, not a definitive score.
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
The grid includes Gm–C9–F and a later F–Fm–C colour change. Its opening symbols are unusual, so use the clearly interpretable subdominant passage for practice while checking the start against the recording.
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.
Loop F–Fm–C and sing A–Ab–G. Add the melody only after the chromatic inner voice is secure.
Comping & voicings
Keep the accompaniment gentle and connected. Do not turn an uncertain opening symbol into a confident reharmonization.
Voicing note sets
Keep the accompaniment gentle and connected. Do not turn an uncertain opening symbol into a confident reharmonization.
Keep the accompaniment clear
First establish an even pulse; add rhythmic variation only when the melody leaves space.
The opening of the inherited grid needs verification; no guessed correction has been inserted.
Practice room
65–105 bpm
Your assignment
Loop F–Fm–C and sing A–Ab–G. Add the melody only after the chromatic inner voice is secure.
Loop these changes
Loop F–Fm–C and sing A–Ab–G. Add the melody only after the chromatic inner voice is secure.
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 printed bars in the inherited arrangement; opening requires checking. 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 opening of the inherited grid needs verification; no guessed correction has been inserted.
The opening of the inherited grid needs verification; no guessed correction has been inserted.
Arranging the tune
Solo guitar
Keep the melody uppermost and begin with a single bass note under each harmony. Keep the accompaniment gentle and connected. Do not turn an uncertain opening symbol into a confident reharmonization.
Trio or larger group
Keep the accompaniment gentle and connected. Do not turn an uncertain opening symbol into a confident reharmonization.
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.
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 a landscape 1536x1024 original midcentury jazz serigraph illustration. A singer and guitarist sharing a quiet small-club stage, audience silhouettes and softly curved lamps; dusty pink, burgundy, warm ivory. Bold angular cut-paper silhouettes, limited flat spot-color palette, tactile screenprint ink and paper grain, elegant balanced composition. No text, lettering, logos or watermark. Not a historical photograph or documented event. Distinctive polished editorial artwork for a jazz tune guide.
Research & rights notes
Exact YouTube-to-matrix/take associations are not established. Historical rows remain inherited archive evidence.
Unusual opening chord symbols need verification; no new qualifying backing or modern performance is proposed.
No qualifying new Django solo recreation was confirmed in this bounded search.
No qualifying available backing track is proposed; a gap is preferable to a different tune.
No new qualifying notable-performance selection is proposed for this tune.
