Piano chords · Dreamy ballad
How to play A Certain Smile on piano
- Eb major
- 2/2
- 86 BPM
- Medium
Learn A Certain Smile in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: G7 – Cm – Bb7 – Eb
A Certain Smile sits in Eb major: Eb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: G7 is G, B, D and F; Cm is C, Eb and G; Bb7 is Bb, D, F and Ab; Eb is Eb, G and Bb. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
G7III7CmviBb7V7EbI- G7G · B · D · F
- CmC · Eb · G
- Bb7Bb · D · F · Ab
- EbEb · G · Bb
- 2
Left hand: Rolling waves
Rolls up to the high third and back down, like a wave on the shore. Musicians call it open arpeggio 1-5-10-5 (open arpeggio), a medium pattern heard in 545 songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Steady chords
A full chord on every beat, steady and simple. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 86 BPM
Put the two hands together over the loop. Start at half speed with the player's speed control, and bring it up once every change is easy.
- 5
Ending: Eb – Bb7 – Eb
The last chords are I – V7 – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
EbBb7Eb
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Questions about A Certain Smile
What chords are in A Certain Smile?
The loop is G7 – Cm – Bb7 – Eb (III7 – vi – V7 – I) in Eb major, and the song ends on Eb – Bb7 – Eb.
What key is A Certain Smile in?
Eb major, at about 86 beats a minute in 2/2.
What does the left hand play in A Certain Smile?
Rolling waves: open arpeggio 1-5-10-5, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is A Certain Smile easy to play on piano?
It is a medium one: learn the 4 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.
Made from one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.