Compare & Contrast Essay About Music

Various genres of music contain hundreds of similar sounding songs; but while much may belong to the same genre and use the same instruments, the subject of each song or the artist’s interpretation makes it unique. So why did I bring up the concept of songs being similar, yet still having some subtle differences? I decided for this assignment to compare and contrast two songs that belong to the same genre, but have distinct elements which make them unique. I will compare and contrast “La Chicharonera” by Narcisco Martinez and “La Cumbia De Chon” by Steve Jordan, to see what they have that is similar and what they have different about them. So, without further ado, let’s see how these two tracks compare to one another.

At face value, it is pretty obvious that both tracks use a similar instrument within their duration. That instrument is an accordion, but that’s where the similarities end. Because, even though an accordion is a part of both songs, it is not used in the same way in both, with it being used a little differently from each other, allow me to explain. The song in “La Chicharonera” sounds like your classic polka music, that was made in the past but there are a few instruments are being played alongside the accordion like a bajo sexto and added tololoche (upright bass). “La Chicharonera” is also a two-piece instrumentation song, meaning it was easy to recreate and easy to listen to. Its Simplicity played a key role in its appeal and also put the spotlight on Martinez's playing. Unfortunately the track does not feature any lyrics but instead decided to just leave it as an instrumental so it can be played at  big band events.

The second song “La Cumbia De Chon” just like “La Chicharonera” features the accordion but unlike the previously mentioned track “La Cumbia De Chon” goes for more into the Latin dance, pop sound with other instruments that can be heard in the track alongside the accordion, a Bass, Guitar, maracas and vocals by Steve Jordan himself can all be heard throughout the song. Whereas “La Chicharonera” does not have lyrics to keep it in line with it being a song to easy to play for events, “La Cumbia De Chon” has lyrics to tell a story of celebration and alcohol.  The track solely produced by Jordan incorporates  instruments such as the guitar, which blends quite well with the accordion to give it a fresh new sound while polka was still the skeleton of the track's inspiration.

Even though these two songs have very distinct differences. They are still very similar to one another. While one has that classic sound the other can be seen as the next evolutionary step in what polka music can become Either a derivative form, sub genre or fusion genre. But whatever the case maybe there are songs in the world that have the same genre, use the same instruments, that are in the same tempo, but the artist’s interpretation makes it unique.