Smile
Theme from Modern Times
by Charles Chaplin
Marimba - Sheet Music

Marimba Solo (Marimba--low C) - Med-Advanced

SKU: TA.TSPCS-65

Theme from Modern Times. Composed by Charles Chaplin. Arranged by Alex Stopa. Solos: Marimba & Xylophone. Folio. Duration 3 minutes, 20 seconds. Tapspace Publications #TSPCS-65. Published by Tapspace Publications (TA.TSPCS-65).

Smile was composed in 1936 as the love theme for Charlie Chaplin's acclaimed final silent movie Modern Times. (Even though the characters never spoke, earning the movie its silent moniker, there were sound effects and a score.) Some two decades later John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons added lyrics to Chaplin's melody, and in 1954 Smile, sung by Nat King Cole on Capitol records, landed a spot on the Billboard charts. With its simple melody and optimistic lyrics, Smile is loved the world over and remains heartwarming and timeless almost a century after it was written.

Alex Stopa's arrangement for solo marimba highlights the warm and mellow characteristics of the middle to lower register of the instrument while giving a casual tip of the hat to ragtime pianists such as Thomas Wright Fats Waller and Jelly Roll Morton. Playable by intermediate marimbists and familiar to audiences, Smile is sure to be a winning choice for percussion recitals and festivals!

This piece ships as a printed, professionally bound folio with a full-color cover.