At the start, there’s an idea – a Title, a melody phrase, a riff or chord sequence, or some combination of the above.

If I’m lucky, that original idea becomes the foundation of a song and inspires the rest of it.

As the song comes together I may happen upon turns of phrase, music or lyrics, or even full sections, that seem to me to be the most exciting part of the tune.

Sometimes this part is the most ‘writerly’; it proudly displays my cleverness or profundity – or so I convince myself. (And to me if it feels like ‘writing’… that’s usually not a good thing.)

But as the song nears completion, sometimes… that ‘best’, that ‘coolest’ part of the song can start to pull the larger momentum of the piece off track. I can feel it – if I allow myself to. If I’m honest, as proud as I am of the segment, it just doesn’t fit anymore.

And how hard is it to let go of this part, to cut it, now that it isn’t really helping?

Very hard.

But this is the discipline of good writing. To put it in another context, it’s all about the team, not the individual. The whole, not the part.

So the question is not, ‘is this part great?’ The question is, ‘does this help make the whole song better?’

If the answer is no… it should go.

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