Piano chords · Rock drive
How to play The Way You Look Tonight on piano
By Jerome Kern
- Eb major
- 4/4
- 80 BPM
- 1936
- Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
Learn The Way You Look Tonight in 5 steps
The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.
- 1
Chords: Gm7 – Cm7 – Fm – Bb7 – Gm – Cm7 – Fm7 – Bb7
How it goes
The Way You Look Tonight sits in Eb major: Eb is home, where the song ends. It goes round 8 chords: Gm7 is G, Bb, D and F; Cm7 is C, Eb, G and Bb; Fm is F, Ab and C; Bb7 is Bb, D, F and Ab; Gm is G, Bb and D; Fm7 is F, Ab, C and Eb. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
Gm7iii7Cm7vi7FmiiBb7V7GmiiiCm7vi7Fm7ii7Bb7V7- Gm7G · Bb · D · F
- Cm7C · Eb · G · Bb
- FmF · Ab · C
- Bb7Bb · D · F · Ab
- GmG · Bb · D
- Fm7F · Ab · C · Eb
- 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: Push chords
How it goes
Two quick chords and a push just before beat 3, then space. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
- 4
Both hands at 80 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 – Eb
How it goes
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
AbBbEb- AbAb · C · Eb
- BbBb · D · F
- EbEb · G · Bb
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Questions about The Way You Look Tonight
What chords are in The Way You Look Tonight?
The loop is Gm7 – Cm7 – Fm – Bb7 – Gm – Cm7 – Fm7 – Bb7 (iii7 – vi7 – ii – V7 – iii – vi7 – ii7 – V7) in Eb major, and the song ends on Ab – Bb – Eb.
What key is The Way You Look Tonight in?
Eb major, at about 80 beats a minute in 4/4.
What does the left hand play in The Way You Look Tonight?
Power fifths: lh power fifths, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.
Is The Way You Look Tonight easy to play on piano?
It is a medium one: learn the 8 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.
Can I hear the real melody of The Way You Look Tonight?
Yes: "The part you know" plays the main tune of the song from a score, with both hands.
Made from 9 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.