Why I Don’t Take “Look-It-Up” Song Requests
In almost every live setting or lesson environment, someone will ask:
“Can you play this song?”
“Can you just look it up?”
It’s a fair question—and it comes from a good place. People are excited about music and want to hear something they love.
But here’s the honest answer:
I don’t take requests for songs I don’t already know, and I don’t look them up on the spot.
Not because I’m unwilling—but because I care about doing it right.
The Problem With “Just Looking It Up”
Most people are referring to sites like Ultimate Guitar.
And to be clear—Ultimate Guitar is a great resource… when it’s used the right way.
But it was never designed for what people think it is.
What Ultimate Guitar
Is
Good For
Ultimate Guitar is excellent for:
- Getting beginners started
- Learning basic chord shapes
- Getting a rough outline of a song
- Building confidence early on
It helps take you from:
“I’ve never played before”
to
“I can strum something that resembles a song”
And that’s valuable.
What It’s
Not
Designed For
Here’s where things get misunderstood.
Those chord charts are often:
- Simplified to make songs easier to play
- Transposed to beginner-friendly keys
- Missing harmonic detail
- Occasionally incorrect—both chords and lyrics
In some cases, lyrics and structure are altered for legal reasons or user-submitted inconsistencies.
So what you end up with is not the song—it’s an approximation of the song.
Why That Matters in a Live Setting
When I play music publicly, whether it’s a performance or teaching:
I’m not trying to approximate the music.
I’m trying to:
- Respect the original composition
- Deliver something musically accurate
- Create a meaningful listening experience
Pulling up a simplified, potentially incorrect version of a song and playing it on the spot doesn’t meet that standard.
And honestly—it doesn’t serve the listener, either.
There’s a Difference Between Learning and Performing
This is the key distinction:
- Learning tool → Ultimate Guitar is great
- Performance tool → It falls short
If I’m learning a song, I’ll:
- Listen deeply
- Analyze the harmony
- Work out fingerings that make musical sense
- Internalize the phrasing and feel
That takes time—and that’s what allows the music to sound right.
Why I Choose Not to “Fake It”
Could I fake my way through a song using a quick chart?
Sure.
But that’s not what I stand for as a musician or teacher.
With over 40 years of experience, my goal is not to:
“Get through the song”
It’s to:
“Make it sound like music”
And there’s a big difference.
What I Do Offer Instead
If someone requests a song I don’t know, I’ll often say:
“I’d be happy to learn that properly.”
Because that’s the right way to approach it.
And for students, this becomes an important lesson:
Music isn’t about shortcuts—it’s about understanding.
The Bigger Picture
Tools like Ultimate Guitar are incredibly helpful—but only when we understand their role.
They are:
- A starting point
- A guide
- A stepping stone
They are not:
- A definitive source
- A substitute for listening
- A performance-ready solution
Final Thought
If you want to truly grow as a musician, the goal isn’t just to play songs…
It’s to understand them well enough that you don’t need to look them up.
That’s where real freedom begins.
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