Les Yeux de Dolorès — chords & grille (gypsy jazz)
Les Yeux de Dolorès by Paul "Tchan Tchou" Vidal — key of A (manouche), form A A2 B A3. 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
One of the most celebrated manouche waltzes, Les Yeux de Dolorès was written by Paul "Tchan Tchou" Vidal, a towering figure of the French gypsy-swing scene — a virtuoso showpiece passed down among waltz players.
The sound — an A major waltz threaded with chromatic tension: augmented and diminished chords (Eaug7, Cdim7, various passing dims) push against the home key, and brief detours to D and G keep it turning. Fast, sparkling, unmistakably 3/4.
Practising it — this is a technique piece, so isolate positions before speed. Drill A major and E7 arpeggios, then work the diminished shapes as connectors. Loop the hardest bar at half tempo until it's clean.
Les Yeux de Dolorès chords — the grille
A : | A | E7♯5 | A | A | A/C# | C° | Bm | E7 | Bm | E7 | Bm | E7 | Bm | E7 | E♭° | A |
A2 : | A | E7♯5 | A | A | Em | A7 | D | D | D | Dm | A | F#7 | B7 | E7 | A | A |
B : | D | D° | D | D | F#m | F#m | Em | E♭° | Em | A7 | Em | A7 | Em | A7 | D° | D |
A3 : | D | D° | D | D | F#ø | B7 | Em | Em | G | A♭° | D | B7 | E7 | A7 | D | E7 |
Chords used
A · E7♯5 · C° · Bm · E7 · E♭° · Em · A7 · D · Dm · F#7 · B7 · D° · F#m · F#ø · G · A♭°
Play along
Open the interactive grille for Les Yeux de Dolorès: 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.