Shake It Off was released back in 2014. After 12 years, the melody’s now engraved in my head. This means I could recall and play it instantly. Moreover, with ear training, it became much easier to memorize and breakdown other aspects of the song.

And that’s the beauty of musical intuition over a rigid playlist.

Because I’ve spent years mastering the “one-man band” fingerstyle—learning to weave bass lines, percussive rhythms, and melodies into a single live performance—I wasn’t just a guy playing a cover. I was a musician composing a custom arrangement in real-time.

I have spent my career building a mental library of melodies that spans decades. “Shake It Off” wasn’t part of my official setlist that day—in fact, it was nowhere near it. However, because I specialize in deconstructing and rebuilding songs on the fly, I didn’t need a rehearsal. I simply had to recall the melody and layer it over a sophisticated, percussive rhythm to fit the energy of the room.

When you hire a musician who isn’t tied to a backing track or a pre-set loop, you’re getting more than music; you’re getting agility.