Troublant Boléro: chords & grille (gypsy jazz)
Troublant Boléro by Django Reinhardt, key of E, 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
Troublant Boléro is a Django Reinhardt composition (lyrics by Jacques Larue) recorded by his quintette in the early 1950s, part of his late, more orchestral Latin-tinged period.
The sound: a bolero in E that slides between E major and E minor, coloured by chromatic passing chords (diminished 7ths, a slinky B7) and a wistful, swaying pulse rather than a driving swing.
Practising it: hold the bolero rhythm steady before you solo. Target E major and E minor arpeggios, and voice-lead through the diminished chords chromatically. Take it slow and let the melody breathe.
Troublant Boléro chords: the grille
A : | E | E6 | Em | A7 | D | C7 | B7 | B7 F7 | E | E6 | Em | A7 | D | C7 B7 | E | E7 | Am | D7 | G° G | A♭° | Am | F#ø | B7 | B7 F7 | E | E6 | Em | A7 | D | C7 B7 | E | F7 |
Chords used
E · E6 · Em · A7 · D · C7 · B7 · F7 · E7 · Am · D7 · G° · G · A♭° · F#ø
Play along
Open the interactive grille for Troublant Boléro: 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.