In this tutorial, I teach you how to play Have I Told You Lately That I Love You by Van Morrison. This song is so much fun to sing and play and is guaranteed to bring a tear to the eye of your audience members! This Have I Told You Lately piano tutorial will have you singing and playing in a hurry!
Have I Told You Lately is a classic ballad by Northern Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in 1989 for his studio album Avalon Sunset and was awarded a Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.
It was covered by British pop icon Rod Stewart in 1991 and again in 1993, where his live version became a massive international radio hit. Nowadays, you are more likely to hear the Rod Stewart version on the radio, but I tend to prefer the original.
In this tutorial I am going to shwo you my arrangement of this song, which adds a few jazz voicings that help to make it feel more full harmonically. It makes it sound so amazing, but doesn't make it harder to play!
Song Learning Protocol
In this tutorial we are going to use my usual 3 step song learning protocol. I love to use this protocol for learning songs! It really streamlines the process and helps you to learn songs so much faster.
Step #1: Learn the chords
Start out by playing root position triads, just so you can get the basics in your hands.
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Chord Voicing Ideas
Once you learn the root position chords, you might try some of these cool and ever-so-slightly-jazzy voicings that I demonstrate in the video tutorial. They are super gooey!
Notice that for the E-7 chord, I’m playing a G triad with an E in the bass and for the D-7 chord I’m playing and F triad with a D in the bass. These are typical jazz-type voicings that warm up these simple chords. (Use this page as a guide to learn the voicings and then go back to the lyrics and chords to sing and play.
Chord Voicing Ideas
Once you learn the root position chords, you might try some of these cool and ever-so-slightly-jazzy voicings that I demonstrate in the video tutorial. They are super gooey!
Notice that for the E-7 chord, I’m playing a G triad with an E in the bass and for the D-7 chord I’m playing and F triad with a D in the bass. These are typical jazz-type voicings that warm up these simple chords. (Use this page as a guide to learn the voicings and then go back to the lyrics and chords to sing and play.
Step #2: Learn the Groove
The groove of this song is our standard pop-rock ballad. This groove works for pretty much every power ballad that exists on earth. Check out this tutorial to learn more about it.
Step #3: Put it all together
Remember that you can (and should!) customize this to fit your skill level. If the chord inversions are too challenging for you, then play them all root positiong. If you want to level it up, try altering the groove or adding some solo fills.
Try to avoid getting stuck in the little details! The goal is for you to learn to sing and play more songs - not drown in a pool of perfectionism. Have fun - it’s only music!
Here's a few other pop piano tutorials you might enjoy:
Ready for the next step? Have I got something for you!
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How to Play Hey Jude on Piano