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Piano & Voice With Brenda

Piano and Voice Training that WORKS.

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When a Man Loves a Woman piano tutorial

In this piano tutorial, I am going to teach you how to play When a Man Loves a Woman by Percy Sledge.  I will teach you how to sing and play this amazing song on piano, complete with chords and an amazing sounding accompaniment strategy!

When a Man Loves a Woman is one of those classic songs that gives you all the feels whenever it comes on the radio. Percy Sledge recorded this song back in 1966 and it was so successful it made number on on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B single charts. (No small feat in the mid 1960s!)

When a Man Loves a Woman was covered by several artists, including the country singer John Wesley Ryles in 1976 and Bette Midler in 1990. Perhaps the most-heard cover is the 1991 recording by Michael Bolton, which still gets a lot of airplay today.

In this tutorial, I am going to take you through our usual song learning protocol. First, we will learn the basic chords. Next, I will show you a voice leading strategy.

Finally, I will show you the groove and a few bass line options. We will be singing along with each step and you are welcome to modify the arrangement to fit your skill level. Let’s to hits!

Song learning protocol

Step #1: Piano Chords to When a Man Loves a Woman

Learn the chords (see lyrics and chords on the next two pages). The song was recorded by Percy Sledge and Michael Bolton in the key of Db, but for ease of playing we will do it transposed down a half step to C. (You’re welcome!)

Lyrics and chords to When a Man Loves a Woman by Percy Sledge

Intro-When-a-Man-Loves-a-Woman-tutorial
Verse_When-a-Man-Loves-a-Woman-tutorial

Need to learn more chords?

Sign up and get my FREE Ultimate Chord Cheat Sheets!  Perfect for mastering your chords on piano.

Step #2: When a Man Loves a Woman Piano Voicing Strategy

For this song, we will stick to inversions of chords. You’ll notice I use the second inversions of the C chord and C7/G.

Step-2-When-a-Man-Loves-a-Woman-tutorial

When a Man Loves a Woman Piano Accompaniment Strategy

The song is in 12/8 time OR in 4/4 time with underlying triplets. As you can see, both of those time signatures sound the same. We would choose one or the other depending on what is easiest to read and what makes sense for the structure of a given song.

When-a-Man-Loves-a-Woman-tutorial-lyrics

For When a Man Loves a Woman, I am choosing to notate it in 4/4 time with at triplet grid running throughout.

You’ll notice that I use a string of triplets in the RH while the LH plays bass notes.

When-a-Man-Loves-a-Woman-tutorial

In this version, you can see that I have changed the rhythm pattern in the LH. Either choice works well.

When-a-Man-Loves-a-Woman-tutorial-song

When you’re ready, add the vocals to each step and you’ll be good to go!

Other songs that use this same 12/8 or 4/4-in-triplets groove.
Blueberry Hill - Fats Domino
Never Tear Us Apart - INXS
Perfect - Ed Sheeran

Black background with a photo of Brenda Earle Stokes singing into a microphone sitting at a keyboard. Turquoise lettering reads "Let's Learn Songs"
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Want to learn great piano arrangements to a ton of songs?

In this course, you'll have access to dozens of song tutorials in different styles and accompaniments, from jazz to pop to holiday songs.

Expand your repertoire, work on your new skills and get more confident on the piano!

Learning a wide range of songs is the best way to become a truly versatile musician. In Let's Learn Songs, you will have access to songs from a myriad of styles, from jazz to pop, from rock to holiday classics.

 

Want to check out the original versions of When a Man Loves a Woman?

And here is the most-heard cover from heard cover from Michael Bolton

Category: Piano for Singers, Piano Lessons, Tutorials, Uncategorized

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