Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Dreamy ballad

How to play The Shadow Of Your Smile on piano

By Johnny Mandel

  • C major
  • 4/4
  • 110 BPM
  • 1965
  • Medium
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Open skyRight hand Pop stabsChords the loop the song repeats most

Play the full song with sheet music

Learn The Shadow Of Your Smile in 5 steps

The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.

  1. 1

    Chords: Am – D7 – Dm – G7

    How it goes

    The Shadow Of Your Smile sits in C major: C is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: Am is A, C and E; D7 is D, F#, A and C; 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.

    AmviD7II7DmiiG7V7
    • AmA · C · E
    • D7D · F# · A · C
    • DmD · F · A
    • G7G · B · D · F
  2. 2

    Left hand: Open sky

    How it goes

    Root, fifth, then a high third: open and airy, the sound of a big sky. Musicians call it open arpeggio 1-5-10 (open arpeggio), a medium pattern heard in 918 songs of the library.

  3. 3

    Right hand: Pop stabs

    How it goes

    Chord stabs in the 3-3-2 pop rhythm. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.

  4. 4

    Both hands at 110 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. 5

    Ending: F – G – C

    How it goes

    The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.

    FGC
    • FF · A · C
    • GG · B · D
    • CC · E · G

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Questions about The Shadow Of Your Smile

What chords are in The Shadow Of Your Smile?

The loop is Am – D7 – Dm – G7 (vi – II7 – ii – V7) in C major, and the song ends on F – G – C.

What key is The Shadow Of Your Smile in?

C major, at about 110 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in The Shadow Of Your Smile?

Open sky: open arpeggio 1-5-10, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is The Shadow Of Your 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 3 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.