Tears: chords & grille (gypsy jazz)
Tears by Django Reinhardt & Stéphane Grappelli, key of C (manouche), form A A B A C. 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
Tears is a Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli composition, recorded by the Quintette du Hot Club de France in 1937 and drawn from a Romani lullaby. Django famously played it fingerstyle rather than with a pick.
The sound: a lyrical, minor-hued theme centred on C minor, moving through half-diminished and dominant chords (Dm7♭5, G7) that give it its plaintive, singing quality.
Practising it: phrase it like a song, not a sprint. Work C harmonic minor and the ii–V (Dm7♭5–G7) into Cm, targeting chord tones on the strong beats. Try it fingerstyle, as Django did, for a softer tone.
Tears chords: the grille
A : | Cm Cm/E♭ | Dø G7 | Cm Cm/E♭ | Dø G7 | A7/C# | Dm/C | Bø | Cm/B♭ | Aø | G7 | A♭/G | Cm G7 |
B : | C Em | Dm7 G7 | C Em | Dm7 G7 | C7/G C7 | F | D7 | D♭7 | C Em | Dm7 G7 | C Em | Dm7 G7 | C7/G C7 | F | A♭7 G7 | C |
C : | Cm Cm/E♭ | D♭7 | Cm Cm/E♭ | D♭7 | G7 | Cm |
Chords used
Cm · Dø · G7 · A7/C# · Dm/C · Bø · Aø · A♭/G · C · Em · Dm7 · C7/G · F · D7 · D♭7 · A♭7
Play along
Open the interactive grille for Tears: 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.