An arrangement of the timeless classic song that combines the rich harmonic palette of the jazz idiom with some keyboard techniques of the 19th century romantic composers. Performance duration is about 3 minutes 45 seconds, and a performance can be viewed at youtube.com/c/rupertaustin/videos.

A six bar introduction hints at the bridge of the song before the first two verses are presented; the first with chordal writing and the second introducing some left hand arpeggios. The first appearance of the bridge stays close to the original. This is followed by two more verses where the right hand takes flight with figurations that at first outline the famous melody, before the roulades of notes lose sight of the melody and instead weave around the harmonic changes. At bar 48 the bridge reappears with the melody incorporated into a right hand figuration inspired by passages from a Chopin etude (Op. 25, No. 11). However, the much slower tempo makes this section far more approachable than Chopin's fearsome etude. At bar 56 an earlier version of the verse is repeated, which then leads to the close.

A flexible tempo should be used, with generous rubato in appropriate places. In particular, bar 41 should not sound rushed and tempo can be held back significantly here. Fingering suggestions are given in many places, but these will not suit all hands. The closest attention to fingering is required in bars 48-49 and 52-54. The dynamic markings should be viewed as a rough guide and the performer is encouraged to find their own interpretation.

An arrangement of the beautiful Gershwin song, that unusually appeared in two different Broadway productions: Treasure Girl from 1928 and Strike Up The Band from 1930. Performance duration is about 4 minutes 45 seconds, and a performance can be viewed at youtube.com/c/rupertaustin/videos.

The verse is presented in the first 16 bars, where much freedom of tempo should be used. The chorus is then presented three times, with the second version (bars 34 to 50) using more florid keyboard writing and requiring a slightly slower and freer tempo than the first (bars 17 to 33) and third (bars 51 to 70) versions.

Some fingering suggestions have been included.

With this sheet music, you can play "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton on piano!

It's an accurate, carefully created piano arrangement of the beautiful ballad.

The whole melody is included in the piano part, so it makes for a perfect instrumental / piano solo cover.

Of course, you can also use this piano arrangement to accompany a singer, or sing along yourself - this sheet music includes a system for the vocals, as well as the song's full lyrics and chords!

Eric Clapton began writing "Tears in Heaven" after a series of personal tragedies - in 1990, he lost friends in a helicopter acciddent, and in 1991, his four-year-old son Conor died after falling from a window.

After writing the first verse, he asked American songwriter Will Jennings to help him complete the song's lyrics.

Clapton then recorded the song for the soundtrack of the 1991 film "Rush" by Lili Fini Zanuck.

In 1992, a live version of the song was recorded at an MTV Unplugged concert, which was included on his 1992 album "Unplugged".

"Tears in Heaven" became Clapton's best-selling single in the US and won several awards, including three Grammy Awards.

Needless to say, it's one of the most heart-breaking songs ever written about losing a loved one, and it makes for a beautiful piano ballad.