http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5L39UwlONs (second cover at 2:05)
Original
LISTENING PHASE 1 (Rhythm)
Tempo [slow, medium, fast] Fast
Source [where is the rhythm coming from?] Drumset, Bass
Groove [describe how the personality of the rhythm] Fun, light, upbeat, sunny.
LISTENING PHASE 2 (Arrangement)
Instrumentation [which instruments drive the song?] Singer, Bass, Drumset, Electric Guitar, Synthesizer, Accordian, Backup Singers,
Structure/Organization [how is the song built? Order, patterns, etc.] Intro, Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus, Chorus.
Emotional Architecture [Draw how the song build and drop?]
LISTENING PHASE 3 (Sound Quality)
Balance
- Height [high and low of frequency] Short, not too large of a range. 3 octaves at most.
- Width [stereo panning left/right] Very little, not noticeable
- Depth [layers of instruments - via loudness] Deep. 5-8 layers.
Cover
LISTENING PHASE 1 (Rhythm)
Tempo [slow, medium, fast] Medium-Fast
Source [where is the rhythm coming from?] Piano
Groove [describe how the personality of the rhythm] Soft, flowing, upbeat, light.
LISTENING PHASE 2 (Arrangement)
Instrumentation [which instruments drive the song?] Piano, Musicbox
Structure/Organization [how is the song built? Order, patterns, etc.] Intro, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus. Outro Chorus.
Emotional Architecture [Draw how the song build and drop?]
LISTENING PHASE 3 (Sound Quality)
Balance
- Height [high and low of frequency] High.
- Width [stereo panning left/right] No Width, Mono in Stero
- Depth [layers of instruments - via loudness] Shallow.
Essay Portion.
The original song is "Fine" by the band/person Lemon Demon. The cover is by the Youtube user "Fountainkeeper." Immediately you can notice the difference in instrumentation used. While the original version of the song utilizes synthesized instruments that resemble a whole band, the cover utilizes solely a piano (with a musicbox setting built in). This creates a pretty big difference between the two versions of the song. The cover feels much more natural and tangible. Although, the computer-created band is able to take advantage of timbre, such as musical excerpts of the song that utilize a distorted drumlike noise.
While the all piano cover of the song does seem to be in the same key as the original song, there are definitely sections where the cover artist decided to employ new chords into the song. More mellow and minor chords that occasionally come in do not change the overall of the feel but does give the song a more artistic mood. Another feature of the cover that differentiates it from the original is that it is solely played on the piano. There is no difference in lyrics because there are no lyrics being sung. This ultimately affects the depth of the cover, which is very shallow. Meanwhile the original version of "Fine" has up to 5 different instruments being layered on top of one another. Let us get to melody, now. The melody between the songs does not change, but the amount it is repeated does change! In the original version of the song, the chorus is very strong and is repeated a total of four times. Meanwhile in the piano cover, the chorus is nowhere as accented and is only repeated a total of three times. If I had to choose which version of the song I prefer, I would have to say that I prefer the original version of the song. Though the computer-created instruments can be somewhat cheesey. The largest part of the original song I enjoy is the lyrics, they are fun and characterize the song and its mood very well. Perhaps if the piano cover was longer and included a singer of some sort, I would enjoy it more!
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