Too Marvelous For Words: E-Z Play Today

This classic Johnny Mercer tune distills everything singers need to understand about lyric and melody working in tandem. The straightforward two-page piano arrangement gives pianists a chance to comp smoothly behind a vocalist while keeping the harmonic language accessible enough to sight-read and flexible enough to reharmonize.

Warm, conversational, and genuinely affectionate. The song carries a quality of genuine admiration expressed through simple, elegant language. The harmony moves naturally without flourish, letting the melody and lyric carry all the emotional weight.

Piano students learning to accompany singers, jazz pianists building standards repertoire, and educators needing readable lead sheets for vocalists in rehearsal. Anyone exploring the golden-age pop song will find this arrangement a practical and musically honest entry point.

• Keep the tempo conversational rather than metronomic. Sinatra's phrasing comes alive when the piano follows natural speech patterns and gives the vocalist room to breathe between phrases.
• Voice the chords to sit comfortably under the melody line. Too much extension gets in the way of the lyric's clarity.
• Balance accompaniment texture with the words. Let sparse voicings carry introspective moments and fill texture when the melody opens up.
• Listen to the original recording to hear how the rhythm section creates forward motion without rushing. Replicate that patient swing feel.

Pair this with other Mercer standards when exploring American songwriting in a pop or jazz unit. It works beautifully as a piano solo feature or as the foundation for a vocalist in an informal concert setting. Solo pianists also appreciate its brevity and charm as a concert opener or encore.

• Accompanying singers with responsive, flexible tempo
• Voicing chords to support rather than compete with vocal melody
• Reading and interpreting lead-sheet notation
• Distinguishing between comping textures for different song sections
• Capturing swing inflection and rhythmic feel from recorded models