Who's Fooling Who: Piano/Vocal/Chords

This collection captures songs from Womack's defining artistic period, when his songwriting reached peak maturity. The 17 selections span sophisticated soul balladry and uptempo grooves that reward singers who understand phrasing, dynamics, and the space between notes. Teaching these songs means teaching a master class in soul interpretation.

These songs breathe with late-night introspection and earned wisdom. Melodies unfold with a conversational quality, intimate and vulnerable, set against harmonies that shift between smooth sophistication and minor-key longing. This is music for singers who understand restraint as strength.

This book serves singers and pianist-vocalists preparing audition material, recital programs, or repertoire exploration in soul music. It also works for pianists developing skill with R&B and soul voicings, chord substitutions, and the rhythmic language of 1980s production.

• Study the original recordings to absorb Womack's phrasing and the rhythm section's pocket. His timing sits slightly behind the beat in ways that charts alone cannot convey.
• Balance the vocal melody against the chord changes; many of these songs feature chromatic movement and suspended harmonies that need deliberate voice leading at the piano.
• Approach the slower ballads with restraint. Womack's vocal strength comes from control and intimacy, not power, even in soaring sections.
• Lock the left hand rhythm with a steady, unrushed tempo before layering the vocal line. These songs demand patience.

Curate a solo recital or cabaret evening around these songs, programming them chronologically through the albums or thematically by emotional arc. A pianist-vocalist might build a full evening from this collection; alternatively, select standout titles to anchor a program exploring soul music as art song.

• Reading and interpreting chord symbols specific to soul and R&B voicings
• Phrasing and dynamics in legit soul singing
• Syncopated rhythmic accompaniment patterns
• Voice leading across chromatic chord progressions
• Balancing melody and harmonic support in piano/vocal textures