What is a half idea?
As creators, many times we enter a collaboration, eager to make something together, but we present an idea that is so fully formed, it’s nearly impossible to dissect it. It’s like we bring Michaleangelo, genitalia and all, to a session hoping someone else can fix his nose.
Or we show up with nothing.
In music this looks like coming in with a full orchestration of a song, chords, lyrics, melodies, harmonies and asking the person who’s collaborating with us to bring something to the table. If the idea you have is good, well there’s nothing to contribute.
And if that nearly finished concept is not great - maybe even terrible - well you’re so attached to the flow of the song, you couldn’t possibly imagine it sounding any other way and the person trying to contribute is fighting against a current that’s flowing. Good or bad, it is flowing.
So if we genuinely want to write and create with someone, we need to enter that space genuinely open to creating and wanting to share that process.
This is where the half idea comes in. It’s saying, "I’m only going to bring a single chorus, or a few lyrics, or a few chord changes or even a general concept that’s kept you up all week." It’s saying, “I’m not showing up to the collaboration with absolutely nothing, but I’m not showing up with some idea that I’ve been slaving away at for months and have trapped myself in the corner, hoping someone can rescue me.”
Be open to the half idea. Talk about the half idea with collaborators. Encourage others to bring half ideas, little baby nuggets that just sprouted a tiny leaf, but need some shared lovin’ to grow big and strong.
**Important side note** There are of course individuals we bring into a part of the journey for their specialty - say the person who masters the track after it’s been written, orchestrated and recorded our piece and we’re not expecting them to change the chord progression. Their skillset is necessary at the exact moment it is implemented. So play with this concept at the different stages of creation.
Share your thoughts with us!
This doesn't mean you're added to some mailing list, it's just a thoughtful conversation.
