Nuages — chords & grille (gypsy jazz)
Nuages by Django Reinhardt — key of G (ballade), 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
Nuages is Django Reinhardt's best-loved ballad, composed in 1940 in occupied Paris and recorded by the Quintette — a melody so strong it travelled far beyond jazz.
The sound — its magic is harmonic: a smooth chromatic descent under a singing line, dominant chords sliding down by half-steps rather than leaping through changes. It breathes; it's a ballad, not a burner.
Practising it — a chord-tone and phrasing study, not a speed one. Arpeggiate each moving chord, let the notes ring, and work your rubato — the space between phrases matters as much as the notes.
Nuages chords — the grille
A : | B♭m E♭ | Aø D7 | G | G | B♭m E♭ | Aø D7 | G | G | F#ø | B7 | Em | Em | A7 A♭7 | A7 | D7 D♭7 | D7 | B♭m E♭7 | Aø D7 | G | G | E♭m A♭7 | G7 | C | C | Cm | Cm | G | G | B♭m E♭ | Aø D7 | G | G |
Chords used
B♭m · E♭ · Aø · D7 · G · F#ø · B7 · Em · A7 · A♭7 · D♭7 · E♭7 · E♭m · G7 · C · Cm
The theory in this tune
Play along
Open the interactive grille for Nuages: 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.