See Saw: Lead Sheet / Fake Book

This lead sheet captures one of Franklin's irresistible grooves in a format your students can actually learn from. The stripped-down presentation demands that singers engage directly with her sensibility for phrasing and space rather than hiding behind orchestration.

Playful and grounded simultaneously. The melody has a conversational ease that masks real harmonic sophistication, and the rhythm sits in that sweet zone between swing and straight time where everything feels both loose and locked.

Pianists and singers preparing audition material, jazz ensemble vocalists exploring soul and R&B vocabulary, and keyboard players building a working repertoire of accessible standards. This works equally well for high school soloists and college non-majors.

• Study Franklin's original recording to understand where she sits behind the beat and where she pushes ahead. This rhythmic flexibility is the core of the song's charm.
• Leave space around the melody line. Restraint amplifies impact, and rushing every note flattens the character completely.
• Lock the bass movement to the written harmonic changes; the walking pulse underneath grounds the vocal improvisation on top.

Slot this into a jazz or contemporary vocal ensemble program where you want to highlight soul and pop traditions. It's also an excellent solo audition vehicle for students exploring material beyond classical and theater repertoire.

• Reading lead sheet notation and interpreting chord symbols
• Phrasing in a rhythmic/funk context with space and silence
• Understanding the relationship between written melody and improvised interpretation
• Accompanying singers as a pianist while maintaining groove pocket