I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Whitney Houston) Guitar Lesson with TAB

I Wanna Dance With Somebody Guitar Lesson + TAB

In this guitar lesson, you’ll get loads of detailed TAB showing how to play every section of this classic—including the key change. Practise with Backing Tracks!

I Wanna Dance With Somebody | TAB

Let’s go through all the sections of I Wanna Dance With Somebody as if we were responsible for covering every part.

The intro is full of fun little keyboard parts that work really well on guitar. Here’s the TAB.

First off, those little dots you see above the 8th notes mean they should be played short—more like 16th notes. I’ve notated them this way as it’s easier to read.

Once the chorus-style chords kick in, we use the closest possible shapes and play almost exactly what’s there. The bass line changes—not the fret numbers—are what give us the new chord names.

Can you spot how the chord names align with what’s written in the TAB?

Next, here’s the verse TAB.

I’ve gone for a minimalistic approach here, staying close to the original keyboard parts. Small changes—like playing strings 4 to 2 for the Ebm chord, then switching to strings 1 to 3 the second time around—add just enough variation to keep the part driving forward.

Here’s the next part, the chorus.

I Wanna Dance With Somebody TAB, chorus.

Once again, I’ve kept the movement minimal, mostly sticking to just two strings. The notes don’t change much either, since Gb and Ebm share two notes in their triads. We let the bass do the harmonic heavy lifting.

The rhythm stays consistent too, which helps maintain momentum. The last bar here mirrors what we played in the intro.

Here’s TAB for the middle 8, I love this section—it’s such a cool moment in the tune!

I Wanna Dance With Somebody TAB, middle 8.

That move from a min7 to a straight minor chord in the first two bars is brilliant. The quarter-note triplet that follows really lets the rest of the band know you’ve done your homework, and the rhythm after that is lifted directly from the original track.

The last bar repeats something we’ve already played—which is surprising, because what comes next is a key change…

In this chorus, it’s not just the chords that have changed—the rhythm has been modified too. Still, once the new groove is established, it stays consistent throughout.

This part eventually drops out for a breakdown section before returning and fading out.

I Wanna Dance With Somebody TAB, breakdown.

That syncopated lick isn’t easy to get right—but if you practise along with the original recording, it’ll lock in soon enough.

Hopefully, working through all this TAB shows you just how much fun this song can be to play. The more detail you put in, the more rewarding it becomes. I Wanna Dance With Somebody is a classic—an essential on almost every female-fronted party band’s setlist, Prepare yourself by practising with the backing tracks!