“Do Ophelia!”

“Please do Tigerlily!”

…came the encore requests from rapt audience members at the Natalie Merchant concert. And with the kind but commanding tone of someone who knows how to work a crowd, Natalie responded:

“To those of you asking for particular songs, don’t worry, we have something planned. But that makes us feel bad, because we might not know how to do the songs you ask for.” [I assume she meant the ensemble of 8-odd strings, woodwinds, etc. onstage, because I doubt she herself had forgotten the lyrics to “Ophelia”.]

“But this is our promise to you - we’ll make you happy.”

I think that’s a good model for every request, whether you’re asking someone to paint you a painting, code you an application, or sing you a song: Tell them the bare minimum to make you happy. Let them figure out the details, in a way that utilizes their strengths (which they know better than you). Instead of getting a clumsy interpretation of what you were imagining, you may find you’ve commissioned a work of art.