I believe 110% in the statement that the sum is greater than the parts when you have the right collaborating partner on a song.

I got started collaborating because I enjoy interacting with other musicians and writing together just takes that to a higher level.

I was hearing people post music and thinking to myself that I could add a guitar part to that. I really got started into serious collaboration when I heard a song that was a rough demo. I contacted the individual and offered help with the music. Long story short, it turned out that there was another writer involved and the three of us worked on the song until we called it finished. I went on to write many collabs with that first lady.

Eddie asked the question: "Who can really tell my story better than I can?" I submit that a team can tell it better. A case in point is the following song. It was started as a lyric by Pat Bishop to her sister who had breast cancer at the time. It was about her sister and cancer. It was sent to Dena who changed it to a broader appeal by rewriting it into a love song and adding a basic melody. I jumped in and tweeked the music and together, the team did what the individual could not.

Here's that song we worked on together: In A World Without You

It was a 100% online collab. Sometime after the song was finished, as it turned out, my wife and I were headed to Nashville as tourists for a few days. I mentioned this to Pat in email, and unknown to us when we booked the trip, Pat was also going to Nashville to see her sister, who was the inspiration for the song and who happens to live in Nashville. Dena, at the time, lived in Clarksville, about 40 miles north, so we planned a get together lunch and met, had a good time, and got to know each other a bit better.

With the internet and high speed connections, collaborating around the world is easier than working with someone in your own hometown.

Each partner brings a unique viewpoint to the process. When I get stuck, my writing partner sees it differently and might suggest that we scrap something and go in a different direction. Often that opens doors that I would never have seen or though of.

I really enjoy the process of creating music with other people. And yes...absolutely, you have to find the right person to work with in order to have a smooth, and enjoyable, writing session or project. There are songs that I want to write totally solo with no outside input. I've got plenty of those, but the best songs I've written (at least IMHO) are the ones that I collaborated on... long hours of contemplating what the other person has written, and thinking new things on it and bouncing it back and forth. Most of the collabs have been bounced back and forth between 7 to 20 times with 10 to 12 being average. And that's just the lyrics.

A good collaborator is a rare thing to find. If you are fortunate to find one, enjoy the time and the results of the interaction.

I have found that by working with other writers, my own solo writing has improved. Steel sharpens steel.

You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.