Belleville — chords & grille (gypsy jazz)
Belleville by Django Reinhardt — key of D (manouche), form A A B A. Below is the full chord grid; on Haute Gitanerie you can play along with a scrolling chord ribbon, transpose to any key, set the tempo, and switch on a rhythm backing (la pompe) to practise your solos over the changes.
About
Belleville is a Django Reinhardt original from 1942, recorded with the Quintette du Hot Club de France and named after the Paris neighbourhood. It's one of his bright, fast-moving tunes and a staple test piece for manouche guitarists.
The sound — an up-tempo romp in D major, its melody skipping over quick changes with diminished passing chords adding chromatic spice between the main harmonies.
Practising it — this is a tempo and picking workout. Drill D major arpeggios and clean rest-strokes, work the diminished links slowly, and only build speed once the pompe and the melody stay locked together.
Belleville chords — the grille
A : | D F° | Em A7 | D F° | Em A7 | D F° | Em A7 | D | D |
B : | Gm | Gm | D | D | F# | G° | A♭m C#7 | F# A7 |
Chords used
D · F° · Em · A7 · Gm · F# · G° · A♭m · C#7
Play along
Open the interactive grille for Belleville: loop any section, transpose to any key, set the tempo, and play over a rhythm accompaniment — with a real recorded pompe on featured tunes. In the browser, free.