Hungaria — chords & grille (gypsy jazz)
Hungaria by Django Reinhardt — key of G (manouche), form 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
An original by Django Reinhardt, recorded by the Quintette du Hot Club de France in the 1930s. A high-velocity showpiece that has stayed a favourite test of manouche technique.
The sound — bright, driving G major that launches through a chain of dominants (E7-A7-D7 back to G) and touches a chromatic B♭dim and a Cm6 colour. Built for momentum.
Practising it — this is a tempo tune, so earn the speed slowly. Drill the major and dominant arpeggios around the cycle (E7, A7, D7, G) with a metronome, and keep your pompe tight before you push the pace.
Hungaria chords — the grille
A : | G | G | A♭ | A♭ | G | G | E7 | E7 | A7 | A7 | D7 | D7 | G/B | B♭° | Am | D7 | G | G | A♭ | A♭ | G | G | E7 | E7 | Am | Cm6 | G | E7 | Am | D7 | G | G |
Chords used
G · A♭ · E7 · A7 · D7 · B♭° · Am · Cm6
Play along
Open the interactive grille for Hungaria: 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.