Piano chords · Rock drive
How to play How Deep Is The Ocean (How High Is The Sky) on piano
By Bill Evans
- C minor
- 4/4
- 100 BPM
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
Learn How Deep Is The Ocean (How High Is The Sky) in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Cm – Dm – G7 – Cm
How it goes
How Deep Is The Ocean (How High Is The Sky) sits in C minor: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Cm is C, Eb and G; Dm is D, F and A; G7 is G, B, D and F. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
CmiDmiiG7V7Cmi- CmC · Eb · G
- DmD · F · A
- G7G · B · D · F
- 2
Left hand: Power fifths
How it goes
Root and fifth together: big and bold. Musicians call it lh power fifths (left-hand chords), a medium pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.
- 3
Right hand: Wait-a-beat chords
How it goes
Silence on beat 1, then chords on 2, 3 and 4, leaving room for the bass. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 100 BPM
How it goes
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: Ab – Bb – Cm
How it goes
The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
AbBbCm- AbAb · C · Eb
- BbBb · D · F
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Questions about How Deep Is The Ocean (How High Is The Sky)
What chords are in How Deep Is The Ocean (How High Is The Sky)?
The loop is Cm – Dm – G7 – Cm (i – ii – V7 – i) in C minor, and the song ends on Ab – Bb – Cm.
What key is How Deep Is The Ocean (How High Is The Sky) in?
C minor, at about 100 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in How Deep Is The Ocean (How High Is The Sky)?
Power fifths: lh power fifths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is How Deep Is The Ocean (How High Is The Sky) 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.