Playing Richard Marx's Right Here Waiting on Piano
The chords are straightforward but the left hand pattern matters more than people realize. The song sits in Db major, which means lots of flats to keep straight. Most tutorials just slap down block chords and call it a day, but the actual performance uses broken chord figures that you have to nail for it to sound right. There are a few reliable sources. Musicnotes has an official sheet music edition with the exact transposition. Sheet Music Plus and Musicnotes both carry arrangements at different difficulty levels. If you want something free, Ultimate Guitar sometimes has crowd-sourced tabs that are close enough for casual play, but they're often in the original key (F major) which is easier on the fingers than the recorded version. I ended up printing the Musicnotes version after spending way too long trying to transcribe it from the album track. The difference between hearing the chord voicings and actually seeing them laid out is substantial.
The original recording is in Db major. The verse runs: Db - Bb/F - Gm - Ab. The chorus lands you on Bb - Gm7 - C7 - Fm7 - Bb7, then resolves back. That C7 is a secondary dominant that people keep missing and playing as C major instead, which throws the whole progression into the wrong feeling. You need that C7 with an Eb, not an E natural, because you're resolving to F minor.
The Left Hand Pattern
This is where most people get stuck. The left hand plays a repeating arpeggiated figure throughout most of the song. It goes root, fifth, octave, fifth - or in some measures, root, third, fifth, octave. The tempo is around 74 BPM and it's a 4/4 ballad feel. If you play straight block chords, it loses the whole character of the arrangement. I spent probably two weeks on this one just getting the left hand to not sound mechanical. The trick is varying the arpeggio slightly depending on the chord. The Db major section stays pretty consistent, but when you hit the Bb6 in the second phrase of the verse, switch to playing root, third, fifth, sixth (that Bb - D - F - G pattern). It's a small shift but it makes the transition feel intentional rather than like you forgot your part. One thing nobody mentions: the bridge (well, what passes for a bridge in a pop ballad like this) moves through Ab - Db/F - Gm - Ab. That Db/F creates a moment where your left hand has to play an F low while your right hand is still working with the Db chords. It feels awkward at first but your hands remember it after three or four tries. Play it slow. Like 50 BPM slow. Don't speed up until you can play it without looking at your left hand.
Get the Full Details
The Right Hand Melody
The vocal melody is what most people are actually trying to play. It lives mostly in the high register starting around the A above middle C. The tricky bit is the chorus entrance where you jump from the verse range up to that higher D and hold it. If you're reading sheet music, watch for that leap - it's easy to miss the target note and play a C instead. For accompaniment playing rather than melodic playing, stick with the chord shapes I listed above. The right hand voicings should be open and spread out. Close position chords will make it sound muddy when combined with the left hand arpeggios. Give each note room.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Don't rush the intro. That opening figure sets the tempo for everything that follows and if you play it faster than the recording, you'll naturally speed up through the rest. Play it at the actual tempo from bar one. Another mistake: playing the chorus chords as straight Major when they should be add9 or 7sus4 flavors. The Bb7 you encounter going into the final chorus isn't a harsh dominant chord - it's more of a color tone. Think Bb - D - F - Ab - G. That G is the key. It's what gives the resolution to Db major its lift. The song runs about 4 minutes and 59 seconds on the album. A typical practice run for a player at an intermediate level will take maybe 20 to 30 minutes of focused work to get through confidently from start to finish. After that, maintaining it requires maybe 10 minutes a couple times a week to keep the muscle memory fresh.
If you're reading along and the chord changes feel too fast for your hands, try reducing the arpeggios to simple quarter notes on beats one and three while you build coordination. It sounds thinner but it's better than stopping every two bars to figure out where your fingers go.
