Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Old-time stride

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (from 'roberta'): easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Jerome Kern

  • Eb major
  • 4/4
  • 56 BPM
  • 1933
  • Easy
Tuning the piano…
Learn it
Learn it
Style

Left hand Oom-pahRight hand Hopscotch bellsChords worked out from the notes of the famous part

Play the full song with sheet music

The accompaniment with every note named, bar by bar: the bar sheet shows each note as a bar on the staff with its letter inside, so you can accompany Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (from 'roberta') without reading music. The left hand plays oom-pah (bass + chords) and the right hand hopscotch bells.

The main tune of Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (from 'roberta') in letter notes

The real notes from a score, both hands, bar by bar. R is the right hand, L the left; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Eb → Dm7
RG3+C4+Eb4 G3+Bb3+D4 F4 F#3+A3+Eb4 C4
LEb2 Bb2 F3 Eb3 D3 F3 Eb3 C3
Bar 2
Fm7 → Bb7
RAb3+C4+Eb4+Ab4 Bb3+D4+G4 Bb4 Cb3+D4+Ab4 F4
LF2 C3 G3 F3 Ab3 F3 Ab3 Bb2
Bar 3
Eb
RF4+G4+Bb4+Eb5 F4+G4+Cb4+Eb5
LEb2 Bb2 F3 Eb3 Eb2 Cb2 F3 Eb3
Bar 4
Ab → Fm7
RG4+Bb4+C5+Eb5 Gb4+Ab4+F5 Eb5 B4 C5
LAb2 Eb3 Bb3 Ab3 F4 Eb4 B3 C4

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (from 'roberta') accompaniment in letter notes

The Eb – Dm7 – Fm7 – Bb7 – Eb – Ab – Fm7 loop with oom-pah in the left hand and hopscotch bells in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Eb → Dm7
REb5 G4+Bb4 F4+A4
LEb2 G2+Bb2 F2+A2
Bar 2
Fm7 → Bb7
RF5 Ab4+C5 D4+F4
LF2 Ab2+C3 D3+F3
Bar 3
Eb
REb5 G4+Bb4 G4+Bb4
LEb2 G2+Bb2 G2+Bb2
Bar 4
Ab → Fm7
RAb5 C5+Eb5 F6 Eb6 C6 Ab5 G5 Gb5 F5 E5
LAb2 C3+Eb3 Ab2+C3
Bar 5
Eb → Dm7
REb5 G4+Bb4 F4+A4
LEb2 G2+Bb2 F2+A2
Bar 6
Fm7 → Bb7
RF5 Ab4+C5 D4+F4
LF2 Ab2+C3 D3+F3
Bar 7
Eb
REb5 G4+Bb4 G4+Bb4
LEb2 G2+Bb2 G2+Bb2
Bar 8
Ab → Fm7
RAb5 C5+Eb5 Ab4+C5
LAb2 C3+Eb3 Ab2+C3

How to read the bar sheet

The player above shows the treble staff (right hand) over the bass staff (left hand). Every note is a bar as long as it sounds, at its place on the staff, with its name inside, and the music scrolls past a line that marks now. The chord names run along the top.

Start with the left hand alone at a slow speed, then the right, then both. When the letters feel easy, try the sheet music.

Play next

Questions about Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (from 'roberta')

What are the letter notes for the Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (from 'roberta') piano accompaniment?

Bar by bar, both hands: the bar sheet on this page names every note of the accompaniment (C4 is middle C) and plays along. The loop is Eb – Dm7 – Fm7 – Bb7 – Eb – Ab – Fm7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (from 'roberta')?

The loop is Eb – Dm7 – Fm7 – Bb7 – Eb – Ab – Fm7 (I – vii7 – ii7 – V7 – I – IV – ii7) in Eb major, and the song ends on Eb – Bb7 – Eb.

What key is Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (from 'roberta') in?

Eb major, at about 56 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (from 'roberta')?

Oom-pah: bass + chords, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (from 'roberta') easy to play on piano?

Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 7 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.

Can I hear the real melody of Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (from 'roberta')?

Yes: "The part you know" plays the main tune of the song from a score, with both hands.

Made from 3 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.