Yesterday's recording session went well. It was an interesting exercise for me. I've been in the studio before, but it's been a long time. Collaborating with Iggy was educational and inspiring.

A little back story here.  I've been working with Iggy for years. He's a talented keyboardist and songwriter. He also owns a recording studio and is gifted sound engineer.  I provided him with lyrics for a song that's featured in LASSO THE MOON. He wrote the music. Yesterday we toyed with keys, tempos, grooves, and instrumentation. We also focused on arrangement as I'm throwing in something special. (More on that later!) Lastly, we worked on my vocal. I went into the vocal booth, put on the headphones, and sang the melody as he'd written it...mostly. The way I'd memorized it. The way I felt it. Only he kept wanting to make changes!

"Make fire two notes instead of one or they won't know what you're saying."  He demonstrated. I copied. Oh, yeah. That makes sense.

"Go up a step on chance. You want to emphasize chance and kiss, not their and was, right?"  Right. I hadn't thought about it that way, but yeah.

"What are you doing on the second phrase of the chorus? That's not how I wrote it."  No, but it's how I felt it. "But you're putting the emphasis on in instead of forever," he explained. "And by the way Destiny should be a quarter note and two eighths. Oh, and sing it on the downbeat."

Sigh. I bristled for a nano-second because most of what he suggested was different from my vision or rather what came naturally to me. I had to work harder to produce what he was asking for. But all of his points were valid. And, in the end, when I listened back, I liked what I heard. Iggy's reasoning was logical and creative. His direction was sound. He wanted what I wanted: A dynamic product.

Yesterday's collaboration very much reminded me of the writing process.

When writing a novel or short story, it's very easy to become married to one's own words, to sentences and, in fact, whole scenes. It's the way we feel it. What comes naturally. We're close to the project, so often times it's difficult to be objective. At some point, you're going to have to show your work to someone. Whether it's a critique partner or your editor. Unless you're some sort of genius, those people will suggest changes. Those changes may be minimal. They may be extensive. It might involve cutting or adding.

I've had a critique partner suggest I cut an entire scene. A three page scene that I loved. A paragraph that I adored. But they offered valid reasons. I distanced myself, made the cuts and, in the end, the work benefited.

I've had critique partners ask that I embellish on a thought. I've had editors ask that I explain something better or in a different way, because something read contrived or unclear. Well, dang.  It read okay to me. But again, I distanced myself. I worked harder to come up with something different. I exercised my creative muscle and ended up with a stronger product.

No matter what project I'm working on, I want it to be the best it can be. Sometimes that means altering my original work. What came naturally for me. Sometimes I need someone to encourage me to push my envelope. This means checking my ego at the door. It ain't always easy, but it's always worth it. The end result, a dynamic product, is always worth the occasional ouch and additional sweat. At the same time, I have fought to keep something as I intended. Usually, I've won, because my reasons were valid. It wasn't about my ego but the art.   

Are you able to take direction? Can you/do you check your ego at the door?   

"I've often said, the only thing standing between me and greatness is me." -- Woody Allen