Chart keyB minor (linked study/play-along version)
Form32-bar AABA study arrangement; check the chosen version
FeelSwing
Meter4/4
MusicGeorges Ulmer
Guide coverage11 / 12 sections present
Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-15T13:12:29Z 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
1947
Si Tu Savais, 14/11/47, OSW 484-1,"Fremeaux FA 315, Jazztime 789103-2, Mosaic MD6-190(6 CD Set).","- Paris - QHCF - Stephane Grappelly (v), Django & Joseph Reinhardt, Eugene Vees (g), Fred Ermelin (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
Georges Ulmer's Si tu savais became part of the guitar-led swing repertoire through interpretations such as Django's 1947 recording. The archive preserves the 14 November session and matrix OSW 484-1. A current Frémeaux release also credits Ulmer, distinguishing this song from later unrelated songs with the same words in their titles. Its appeal lies in an unhurried melodic line against harmonically active accompaniment: the spaces between phrases matter as much as the notes.
Tune details
Music: Georges Ulmer
Documented in archive: 1947
Original key: Not established
Study level: Intermediate; minor-key phrasing and chromatic dominant color
Melody & head
Compare Django's phrasing with the vocal interpretation; listen for how much space survives between answers.
Using a same-title pop song, or treating a provisional chart's bar divisions as settled fact.
Compare Django's phrasing with the vocal interpretation; listen for how much space survives between answers.
Session evidence
Si Tu Savais, 14/11/47, OSW 484-1,"Fremeaux FA 315, Jazztime 789103-2, Mosaic MD6-190(6 CD Set).","- Paris - QHCF - Stephane Grappelly (v), Django & Joseph Reinhardt, Eugene Vees (g), Fred Ermelin (b)"
The linked B-minor teaching arrangement contrasts the tonic with chromatic dominant color and a strong F♯7 return. Treat its thirty-two-bar AABA layout as the study arrangement, not proof that every vocal or instrumental version uses identical bar divisions. No readable owned chart is present in this record, so a new transcription has not been invented. Check the video key before playing with the chart.
Chart & Form
The linked B-minor teaching arrangement contrasts the tonic with chromatic dominant color and a strong F♯7 return. Treat its thirty-two-bar AABA layout as the study arrangement, not proof that every vocal or instrumental version uses identical bar divisions. No readable owned chart is present in this record, so a new transcription has not been invented.
No readable inherited chart is available. External study references are linked; no third-party chart has been copied. The chart completeness field remains missing.
Si tu savais (90 bpm) - Gypsy jazz Backing track / Jazz manouche
Guitare Improvisation
Swing · 90 BPM · 5m56s · Video available when checked; creator-described attribution.
Creator-described gypsy-jazz play-along. Check the key and full arrangement before joining in; the guide chart may use another key. Tempo is the creator’s stated value.
D natural identifies B minor against brighter dominant chords.
Sing a chromatic upper or lower approach before using it in a line.
Pitch choices
Begin with the named chord tones. Add passing notes only after the melody and cadence are secure.
Sing a phrase, answer it on guitar, then leave the next phrase empty. Record a chorus and check whether the accompaniment leaves enough room for the tune to speak.
Comping & voicings
Keep the melody's breathing room. Use simple minor and dominant shells first, then add the passing colors only when they agree with the chosen arrangement.
Voicing note sets
Bm6: B–D–F♯–G♯.
F♯7: F♯–A♯–E.
Keep the accompaniment clear
First establish an even pulse; add rhythmic variation only when the melody leaves space.
Using a same-title pop song, or treating a provisional chart's bar divisions as settled fact.
Practice room
Start at 70–90 bpm; lyrical swing
Your assignment
Sing a phrase, answer it on guitar, then leave the next phrase empty. Record a chorus and check whether the accompaniment leaves enough room for the tune to speak.
Loop these changes
F♯7 → Bm
Last phrase → opening phrase in the selected arrangement
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
B minor (linked study/play-along version); 32-bar AABA study arrangement; check the chosen version. 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.
Using a same-title pop song, or treating a provisional chart's bar divisions as settled fact.
Using a same-title pop song, or treating a provisional chart's bar divisions as settled fact.
Arranging the tune
Solo guitar
Keep the melody uppermost and begin with a single bass note under each harmony. Bm6: B–D–F♯–G♯.
Trio or larger group
Keep the melody's breathing room. Use simple minor and dominant shells first, then add the passing colors only when they agree with the chosen arrangement.
Vocal considerations
No vocal arrangement is prescribed; use the instrumental melody as the phrasing reference.
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
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 2026-10-15; original editorial artwork, not a historical photograph.
Prompt: Use case: illustration-story. Create one original illustration for a Djangopedia jazz tune guide. High-resolution landscape 3:2, 1536x1024 or larger. Shared collection art direction: original mid-century modern graphic shapes, Art Deco geometry, expressive angular silhouettes, flat color blocks, confident outlines and subtle screenprint grain, imaginary 1930s–1950s atmosphere. Not an imitation of any artist. No text, logos, watermark or historical documentary claims. Keep faces and focal objects within generous crop-safe margins. Two anonymous people exchanging a knowing glance across a leafy café courtyard, one quietly holding a guitar on their lap, a folded letter on the small table. Elegant stylized figures, intimate composition with much breathing space. Dusty rose, olive, warm cream and deep burgundy. No skyline or moon.
Research & rights notes
Composition date and lyricist unconfirmed.
The linked study arrangement is in B minor; original published key is not established.
No owned readable chord chart is available.
Original composition/recording rights not independently cleared. Video metadata and musical suitability are separate checks.
Si tu savais (90 bpm) - Gypsy jazz Backing track / Jazz manoucheGuitare ImprovisationSwing · 90 BPM · 5m56s · Video available when checked; creator-described attribution.Creator-described gypsy-jazz play-along. Check the key and full arrangement before joining in; the guide chart may use another key. Tempo is the creator’s stated value.✓ Featured
SI TU SAVAIS (91BPM) THE STEPHANE WREMBEL BAND - PLAY ALONG SERIESStephane WrembelSwing · 91 BPM · 2m54s · Video available when checked; creator-described attribution.Creator-described gypsy-jazz play-along. 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
"Si Tu Savais" Performed by Swing Je T'aime and Joscho Stephan • Live At The Rialto TheaterWildwood GuitarsVideo available when checked; creator-described attribution.Performer attribution follows the video title and channel description. Proposed listening selection; no popularity ranking implied.✓ Featured
Si Tu Savais - A Cover of the Django Reinhardt Ballad // The Hot SardinesthehotsardinesVideo available when checked; creator-described attribution.Performer attribution follows the video title and channel description. Proposed listening selection; no popularity ranking implied.Select video