Choosing

This little photo gives you a rough (and backward...to protect the innocent!?) idea of the process I go through as I listen to the various takes of each piece.  Lots of scrawling on the score in different colours.

I'm nearly one third of the way through this process of choosing takes for the edits.  I'm trying not to call it an agonizing process, but it really is not a straight-forward "what should we have for dinner tonight?" kind of choosing.  (Actually, the dinner question can also be quite agonizing for me at times, I must admit.)

Sometimes I'm happy to note that the difficulty in choosing takes is that there may be two or more takes or sections of takes that are equally beautiful, but in different ways.   When there is clearly one take that is much more beautiful or successful than all the others, the choice is obvious.  My struggle comes when I need to decide to turf one great take in favour of another.  

I am not complaining, really.  I love this work, and I love all the learning that comes from it.