When Did I Fall In Love (from Fiorello): E-Z Play Today

This is a genuine show tune written for a strong secondary character moment, not a posthumous arrangement or a dumbed-down version. The E-Z Play format makes it accessible for piano students and church musicians while preserving the song's charm and harmonic sophistication. You get authentic Broadway on four pages.

Intimate and reflective, this song captures the moment of sudden recognition in a relationship. The melody sits comfortably in the middle register, supported by accessible harmonic progressions that lean into the sentimentality of mid-century Broadway without becoming saccharine.

Piano students transitioning from classical method books into real songs, music theater accompanists preparing for auditions or rehearsals, and any pianist wanting to build a Broadway repertoire without heavy technical demands. Community theater musicians and church pianists will also find this straightforward and rewarding to learn.

• Keep the tempo conversational rather than hurried; this is a character thinking out loud, not a declaration.
• Shape the melodic phrases with gentle rubato to mirror the introspection of the lyric.
• Use the chord symbols to experiment with left-hand voicings once you've learned the written part.
• Listen to the original cast recording to absorb the phrasing and understand the dramatic context of the song.

Pair this with other Bock and Harnick selections for a Broadway survey, or program it as part of a romantic standards set alongside songs from other Golden Age musicals. It also works well as a solo audition piece for pianists looking to demonstrate their ability to phrase a song.

• Reading chord symbols and interpreting them for improvised accompaniment
• Maintaining steady tempo while shaping melodic phrases
• Balancing melody and harmony in the intermediate range of the keyboard
• Understanding musical theater convention and style in a notated score