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Player guide

Songe d'Automne

A minor-key melody with a descending inner line and a long, songlike route through related keys. The challenge is sustaining the line while the harmony keeps changing beneath it.

If you study one thing

Keep the descending inner voice audible.

Original editorial illustration for Songe d'Automne: descending leaves across long current.
Original Djangopedia illustration · AI-assisted, 2026
Illustration credits
Chart keyC minor
Form48 printed cells; long opening material followed by two eight-cell answers
FeelSwing
Meter4/4
MusicArchibald Joyce
Guide coverage12 / 12 sections present

Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-05T23:51:36Z 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.

6 historical recording entries · source text preserved
EntryYearRecording / session / release evidenceListen
011947Song d'Automne, 21/5/47, Fo 1784-RC ,"Fremeaux FA 313, Classics 1001,DRG 8473,Musidisc 403222,Dejavu CD 32, HEP CD 66"," - Brussels - QHCF - Django Reinhardt (elg), Hubert Rostaing (cl), EugeneVees (g), Emmanuel Soudieux (b), Pierre Fouad (d)"—
021947Song d'Automne, 7-15-22/9/47, "Fremeaux FA 314, Vogue 228E 6007, Vogue 668003-2"," - Paris - Souvenirs de Django - Django Reinhardt (elg), Hubert Rostaing (cl), Eugene Vees (g), Emmanuel Soudieux (b), Andre Jourdan (d)"—
031947September Song, 18/7/47, ST 2104-1 ,"Fremeaux FA 314, Classics 1046, Verve 835 418-1, Kardum GLO 139"," - Paris - QHCF - Django Reinhardt (elg), Hubert Rostaing (cl), Eugene Vees (g), Emmanuel Soudieux (b), Andre Jourdan (d)"—
041947September Song, 8-13/11/47, "Fremeaux FA 315, Vogue 228E 6006, Vogue 655611"," - Paris - Souvenirs de Django Reinhardt - Django Reinhardt (elg), Gerard Leveque (cl), Eugene Vees (g), Emmanuel Soudieux (b), Andre Jourdan (d)"—
051950September Song, 1950, CW15,"Fremeaux FA 318, RCA ND 70929-2, Dejavu CD 32"," - Rome - Django Reinhardt (elg), Andre Ekyan (as,cl), Ralph Schecroun (p) Alf Masselier (b), Roger Paraboschi (d)"—
061953September Song 10/3/53, Verve 835418-2," - Paris - Django Reinhardt (elg), Maurice Vander (p), Pierre Michelot(b), Jean-Louis Viale (d)"—

A dash means no video has been associated with this exact historical recording. Tune-level listening resources remain available above.

History & Listening

Songe d'Automne is credited here to Archibald Joyce. The source date is 1908; publication, composition and later lyric adaptations may have separate dates. The inherited archive lists 6 recording entries, with dated entries spanning 1947–1953. These are archive rows, not a claim that every entry is a distinct released take. The archive explicitly records releases labelled September Song. Those labels do not make Archibald Joyce’s Songe d’Automne the Weill composition.

Tune details

Music: Archibald Joyce

Published / composed / adapted — see history: 1908

Original key: Not established

Study level: Intermediate; advanced where the inherited roadmap needs reconstruction

Melody & head

  • Shape the long phrase across the inner-line descent; breathe at the phrase boundary rather than at every new symbol.

Study a documented Django entry ↗

Listening task: Shape the long phrase across the inner-line descent; breathe at the phrase boundary rather than at every new symbol. Mark the key, pickup, phrase lengths and ending before comparing another version.

Session evidence

Song d'Automne, 21/5/47, Fo 1784-RC ,"Fremeaux FA 313, Classics 1001,DRG 8473,Musidisc 403222,Dejavu CD 32, HEP CD 66"," - Brussels - QHCF - Django Reinhardt (elg), Hubert Rostaing (cl), EugeneVees (g), Emmanuel Soudieux (b), Pierre Fouad (d)"

Compare another archive entry ↗

Compare the first and last listed entries for tempo, instrumentation and arrangement. Do not infer identical takes from a shared title. Keep the descending inner voice audible.

Session evidence

September Song 10/3/53, Verve 835418-2," - Paris - Django Reinhardt (elg), Maurice Vander (p), Pierre Michelot(b), Jean-Louis Viale (d)"

Check the practice arrangement ↗

The inherited chart is in C minor. Confirm the backing track’s sounding key, pickup and complete form before playing; an instrument label may describe a transposed score.

Chart & Form

Cm–Cm(maj7)–Cm7 traces C–B–B♭ internally. Fm, E♭ and A♭ widen the tonal field; G7 repeatedly restores the pull toward C minor.

The source’s Dd7 is undefined. Its 48-cell layout should be checked against the chosen arrangement; do not silently substitute a chord spelling.

Inherited chord reference · source cells
1Cm
2Cm7M
3Cm7
4F7
5Fm
6Fm
7F#0
8G7
9Cm
10Cm7M
11Cm7
12C7
13Fm
14Bb7
15Eb
16G7
17Cm
18G7
19G7
20Cm
21Bbm
22Eb7
23Ab
24Dd7
25Cm
26Ab7
27Cm
28Fm
29F#0
30G7
31Cm
32Cm
33Fm
34Fm
35Cm
36Cm
37D7(9-)
38G7
39Cm
40C7
41Fm
42Fm
43Cm
44Cm
45D7(9-)
46G7
47Cm
48Cm
Original chart text & notation
[[Image:Songe.gif]]


| Cm/// | Cm7M/// | Cm7///| F7/// | Fm/// | Fm/// | F#0/// | G7/// |

| Cm/// | Cm7M/// | Cm7///| C7/// | Fm/// | Bb7/// | Eb/// | G7/// |

| Cm/// | G7/// | G7/// | Cm/// | Bbm/// | Eb7/// | Ab/// | Dd7/// |

| Cm/// | Ab7/// | Cm/// | Fm/// | F#0/// | G7/// | Cm/// | Cm/// |

| Fm/// | Fm/// | Cm/// | Cm/// |D7(9-)/// | G7/// | Cm/// | C7/// |

| Fm/// | Fm/// | Cm/// | Cm/// |D7(9-)/// | G7/// | Cm/// | Cm/// |
Original source ↗

Play along

Preferred: Play Along Manouche - 6min - SONGE D'AUTOMNE - Gipsy Jazz ↗

gael rouilhac · The inherited chart is in C minor. Confirm the backing track’s sounding key, pickup and complete form before playing; an instrument label may describe a transposed score. · 6:08

Checked 2026-10-01

How this resource was selected

Most-viewed suitable match selected from the captured search results after title/composition review; not a complete YouTube ranking. Source counts were captured on 1 October 2026. Coaching, unrelated songs and non-backing performances are excluded.

Study Django's Solo

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.

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.

Same form

No match is established in the current chart metadata.

Behind the illustration

A slow stream of angular autumn leaves follows a single continuous descending contour, several leaves briefly changing hue as they cross softer currents underneath. Sustained minor melody and inner voice become an autumn dream, not a travel claim.

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

Illustration credits & provenance →

Notable Gypsy Jazz Performances

Selected performances by notable Gypsy Jazz players and ensembles. Inclusion is editorial and does not imply an objective popularity ranking.

Improvisation

Target notes & voice leading

  • Sing C–B–B♭ above a held C bass in the opening.
  • Aim B natural into C when G7 resolves; distinguish it from the tonic chord’s B♭ colour.

Pitch choices

  • Start with the chord tones of each written harmony. Sing C–B–B♭ above a held C bass in the opening.
  • Use passing notes only after the destination chord and phrase length are secure; this guide does not assign one scale indiscriminately to the whole tune.

Loop the first four cells and move only the upper voice. Then rehearse the final sixteen cells as two related answers, clearly marking the different turnaround.

Comping & voicings

Let the descending inner voice carry the motion. Avoid a loud bass change on every passing harmony when the melody is trying to sustain.

Voicing note sets

  • Cm: C–E♭–G; Cm(maj7): C–E♭–B; Cm7: C–E♭–B♭.

Keep the accompaniment clear

  • Keep a quiet, even swing pulse, adjusting its density to the melody and ensemble.
  • Practise one chorus with only two chord attacks per bar, then restore four without changing tempo.
  • Confusing this tune with Kurt Weill’s September Song because of historical release labels.
  • Crowding the melody with dense extensions or doubling another accompanist’s register.

Practice room

Start around 100–140 bpm; increase only after the form stays secure

Your assignment

Loop the first four cells and move only the upper voice. Then rehearse the final sixteen cells as two related answers, clearly marking the different turnaround.

Loop these changes

  • Sing C–B–B♭ above a held C bass in the opening.
  • Aim B natural into C when G7 resolves; distinguish it from the tonic chord’s B♭ colour.

Metronome

Begin with four quarter-note clicks. Halve the click rate and hear beats 2 and 4 while maintaining the same phrase lengths.

Transposition

  • Transpose the first complete phrase up a whole step, including its cadence. Name chord functions before finding new fingerings.
  • Return to C minor and play the melodic phrase from memory.

At the session

Songe d'Automne — C minor; 48 printed cells; long opening material followed by two eight-cell answers. Agree the pickup, tempo and ending before counting in.

Start together

  • Suggested rehearsal entry: give two clear bars of count-in and start the agreed pickup or first melody note. This is not claimed as a historical Django introduction.

Finish together

  • Agree a final melody statement and hold its tonic arrival; remove any turnaround intended to restart the chorus. Check the chosen arrangement for tags or a separate coda.

48 printed cells; long opening material followed by two eight-cell answers. The source’s Dd7 is undefined. Its 48-cell layout should be checked against the chosen arrangement; do not silently substitute a chord spelling.

  • Confusing this tune with Kurt Weill’s September Song because of historical release labels.

Arranging the tune

Solo guitar

Start with melody and bass only. Add the following colour without interrupting the melody: Sing C–B–B♭ above a held C bass in the opening.

Trio or larger group

Let the descending inner voice carry the motion. Avoid a loud bass change on every passing harmony when the melody is trying to sustain. Agree the full roadmap and signal the last head before it starts.

Vocal considerations

This guide focuses on the instrumental arrangement; any lyric adaptation needs separate credit and a chosen key.

Further study

  • Compare the minor line cliché with a static Cm6 accompaniment. Preserve any melodic B or B♭ before choosing the substitute.
  • The source’s Dd7 is undefined. Its 48-cell layout should be checked against the chosen arrangement; do not silently substitute a chord spelling.
  • Compare the linked archive entries before attributing one arrangement to all Django performances. The archive explicitly records releases labelled September Song. Those labels do not make Archibald Joyce’s Songe d’Automne the Weill composition.

Explore related tunes

Inherited media links

Sources & credits

This player guide combines inherited recording evidence and editorial study notes. Musical study notes are editorial suggestions; compare them with the recording.

Djangopedia — inherited chart and recording rows ↗

  • Inherited notation and discographical claims; not independent verification

Composition credits and background ↗

  • Writer credits and source date where supplied

gael rouilhac — practice backing ↗

  • Video identity, view-count snapshot and embed metadata

Feature photograph — source collection ↗

  • Photo identification and provenance; reuse rights remain unverified
Illustration credit & provenance

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: Use case: illustration-story. One original editorial feature illustration for Djangopedia's guide “Songe d'Automne”. Landscape 1536 × 1024, opaque background. Scene: A slow stream of angular autumn leaves follows a single continuous descending contour, several leaves briefly changing hue as they cross softer currents underneath. Sustained minor melody and inner voice become an autumn dream, not a travel claim. Musical basis from the guide: A minor-key melody with a descending inner line and a long, songlike route through related keys. The challenge is sustaining the line while the harmony keeps changing beneath it. The supplied chart is C minor; form: 48 printed cells; long opening material followed by two eight-cell answers; feel: Swing. These describe musical inspiration, not visible writing. Historical context: Songe d'Automne is credited here to Archibald Joyce. The source date is 1908; publication, composition and later lyric adaptations may have separate dates. Do not illustrate disputed historical claims or suggest this imagined scene is an archival session. Medium: expressionistic gouache. Dominant palette: rust plum and grey blue. Composition: descending leaves across long current. Human presence: none. Strong intentional design, clearly drawn/painted, distinctive material marks; keep essential subject safely within the central 70 percent width and middle 80 percent height for card crops. Maintain enough visual substance at thumbnail size. Broad inspiration observed in old photo, ONLY scale/rhythm and never a reference image: close guitar body and neck; strong foreground diagonals. Independently invent every pose, perspective, clothing, setting and lighting. Avoid: No source concert image, face or repeated sunset landscape. No photorealism, archival simulation, generated text, letters, numbers, labels, fake musical notation, logo, signature, watermark, fake dates, yellowed-paper patina, recognizable artwork or copied photograph. No imitation of any named artist. Render the art edge to edge without borders, mockup or typography. Batch B diversity compensation: make light and midtone areas substantial; avoid near-black dominant backdrops, violet monochrome, empty chair/stool/bench compositions, repeated sunset terraces and generic cloud panoramas. Preserve the stated tune-specific scene. Human figures remain standing or peripheral except an explicitly named ensemble; no centered seated Django portrait. For graphic images use clearly plain colour shapes, no ruled parallel staffs, circles with stems, note-like marks or typography.

Research & rights notes
  • Specialist review of original editorial playing advice
  • Original key and precise composition date where not independently established
  • Inherited notation, session details and arrangement variants
  • Photograph reuse permissions

Photograph provenance and rights are stated separately. Attribution does not establish permission.