Comparison of two Songs from Different Performing Genres (Essay Sample)

First name Last name
Instructor
Course
Date
A Comparison of two Songs from Different Genres
The musical world flourishes with diversity in types and styles that make up different genres. Each of the genres have rich history with roots that date way back in time. Songs belonging to each genre are bound to have differences and even similarities considering different aspects, basing on particular musical criteria. Two songs from different genres will be compared herein to ascertain the similarities and differences that might exist.
“Hotter Than That” by Luis Armstrong and “School Day” by Chuck Berry are different compositions from two different genres. “Hotter Than That” is a piece belonging to New Orleans Jazz while “School Day” lies in the category of Rock and Roll. The two songs bear unique traits looking at them analytically basing on the melodic structure, rhythm, form, tempo and texture.
Both songs have the same texture. They both have the same melodic line with the respective accompaniments therefore display a homophonic texture. In addition they also display the use of quadruple meters.
The timbre displayed by both songs is different. Berry adopts a solo vocal with accompaniment from a guitar, piano and drums in his piece. On the other hand, Luis and the Hot Five Instrumentalists display great imaginative improvisation with technical skill and fluency in using voice in addition to instrumental accompaniment from the cornet, trombone, clarinet, guitar and the piano. Both pieces have quite a fast tempo. “School day” is quick and energetic which tends to fit appropriately with the light-hearted mood and the level of energy in the performance of the song. “Hotter Than That” also has a fast tempo with great improvisation being assumed by the cornet, clarinet, and the trombone. The instruments take turns in fulfilling this role with the other instruments heard providing accompaniment to create a rhythmic sound.
The form adopted by Chuck Berry in his song is strophic. This is attributed to the verse repetition in the song. Through the lyrics, the life of a typical high school students in a day is described repetitively in the verses. On the contrary, Luis Armstrong adopts a form in which there are various series of solos being improvised on occasional tunes. The cornet could be heard dominating for the most part until scat singing starts. Through scat singing, the singer tries to substitute syllables to emulate the tune of the song at the same time trying to sound like some musical instrument. Apparently, this comes out as a practical, creative method of being expressive in the piece.
Call and response...