FormInherited 24-bar layout: eight minor bars followed by sixteen major bars; confirm repeats
FeelSwing
Meter4/4
MusicDjango Reinhardt
Guide coverage12 / 12 sections present
Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-18T10:57:15Z 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
1939
Twelfth Year, 21/3/39, 4975-HPP ,"Fremeaux FA 308, JSP 343, Classics 793, Conifer HD 206, Music Memoria 87949, Gitanes 159 854-2"," - Paris - QHCF - Stephane Grappelly (g), Django Reinhardt, Joseph Reinhardt,Pierre Ferret (g), Emmanuel Soudieux (b)"
—
02
1939
Twelfth Year, 21/3/39, 4975-1/2HPP ,"Fremeaux FA 308, JSP 343, Gitanes 159 854-2"," - Paris - QHCF - Stephane Grappelly (g), Django Reinhardt, Joseph Reinhardt,Pierre Ferret (g), Emmanuel Soudieux (b)"
—
A dash means no video has been associated with this exact historical recording. Tune-level listening resources remain available above.
History & Listening
Two archive rows from 21 March 1939 are retained, including distinct raw matrix/take strings. Universal’s existing listening metadata credits Django. The current transcription by Antonis Arfanis remains unchanged. Fapy Lafertin and Tchavolo Schmitt offer contrasting modern readings; a short concert fragment is excluded in favour of fuller selections.
Tune details
Music: Django Reinhardt
Documented in archive: 1939
Original key: Not established
Study level: Intermediate to advanced; parallel minor/major contrast
Melody & head
Compare the minor-to-major transition in Django, Fapy and Tchavolo before trying to copy their faster runs.
Do not force this inherited layout into a generic thirty-two-bar AABA pattern without checking the recording.
The minor opening descends Dm–C7–B-flat7–A7 before returning through G minor. The later D-major area introduces E7 and A7, then B7–E7–A7–D. The printed grid contains twenty-four cells; repeat signs and performance practice must be checked before declaring a universal chorus length. The parallel-key change is more important than a scale pattern. Check the video key before playing with the chart.
Chart & Form
The minor opening descends Dm–C7–B-flat7–A7 before returning through G minor. The later D-major area introduces E7 and A7, then B7–E7–A7–D. The printed grid contains twenty-four cells; repeat signs and performance practice must be checked before declaring a universal chorus length. The parallel-key change is more important than a scale pattern.
Inherited chart is preserved verbatim as historical study material, not silently corrected or newly authenticated. Check the specific caveats below and match the arrangement and key to the selected video. External teaching material remains on its creator’s site.
Twelfth Year - Gypsy Jazz Backing Track 200 BPM - Django Reinhardt
Hot Club de France
Swing · 200 BPM · 4m58s · Video available when checked; creator-described attribution.
Creator-provided play-along; instrumentation and feel vary by selection. Check the key and full arrangement before joining in; the guide chart may use another key. Tempo is the creator’s stated value.
Transcription of Django Reinhardt on "Twelfth year" (21.3.1939)
Antonis Arfanis
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.
F natural identifies D minor; F-sharp identifies D major.
G-sharp on E7 resolves toward A, while C-sharp on A7 points home to D.
Pitch choices
Begin with the named chord tones. Add passing notes only after the melody and cadence are secure.
Play a short D-minor phrase ending on F. Repeat its rhythm in D major, ending on F-sharp. Practise the exact transition between sections from the chosen recording, counting any repeats aloud.
Comping & voicings
Make the major entrance clear through the chord quality. Keep the tempo steady instead of using a stronger attack to announce the change.
Voicing note sets
Compare D–F–A with D–F-sharp–A, then add the dominant shell needed for the next cadence.
Keep the accompaniment clear
First establish an even pulse; add rhythmic variation only when the melody leaves space.
Do not force this inherited layout into a generic thirty-two-bar AABA pattern without checking the recording.
Practice room
Begin at 90–110 bpm; proposed play-along 200 bpm
Your assignment
Play a short D-minor phrase ending on F. Repeat its rhythm in D major, ending on F-sharp. Practise the exact transition between sections from the chosen recording, counting any repeats aloud.
Loop these changes
Play a short D-minor phrase ending on F.
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
D minor and D major (inherited chart); Inherited 24-bar layout: eight minor bars followed by sixteen major bars; confirm repeats. 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.
Do not force this inherited layout into a generic thirty-two-bar AABA pattern without checking the recording.
Do not force this inherited layout into a generic thirty-two-bar AABA pattern without checking the recording.
Arranging the tune
Solo guitar
Keep the melody uppermost and begin with a single bass note under each harmony. Compare D–F–A with D–F-sharp–A, then add the dominant shell needed for the next cadence.
Trio or larger group
Make the major entrance clear through the chord quality. Keep the tempo steady instead of using a stronger attack to announce the change.
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.
Recording attribution and, where supplied, distributor credits; not a verified take association.
Illustration credit & provenance
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 2026-10-18; original editorial artwork, not a historical photograph.
Prompt: Create an original horizontal 3:2 editorial serigraph illustration for the jazz tune twelfth year. Twelve abstract circular beat markers arranged in a playful arch around a small acoustic guitar and angular clock hands; rhythmic visual design without numerals. Bold simplified mid-century jazz screen-print: asymmetrical negative space, large flat geometric shapes, limited ink palette of turquoise, mustard, coral, black and cream, slightly irregular ink edges and subtle paper grain. Sophisticated playful graphic artwork. No gradients, no photographic rendering, no text, no border, no copied existing artwork. Keep central subjects inside the frame.
Fapy Lafertin ''Twelfth Year''madcrazyman81Video available when checked; creator-described attribution.Performer attribution follows the video title and channel description. Proposed listening selection; no popularity ranking implied.✓ Featured
Twelfth YearTchavolo Schmitt - TopicVideo available when checked; creator-described attribution.Performer attribution follows the video title and channel description. Proposed listening selection; no popularity ranking implied.Select video
