Different yet so similar

Music its variety is so large, but there are so many things that are similar about it. By comparing the classical piano song “One Summer’s Day” by Joe Hisaishi and the alternative song “To Whom It May Concern,” these similarities are all very related.


“One Summer’s Day” is a softer type of piano song that starts almost suddenly and ends in such a memorable sort of way. It makes the listener both happy and sad at the same time (as most classical pieces should), and the change in style during the middle of the song is nice and edgy at the same time. The speed increases and the tone of the music takes an almost lighter, happier tone. It gives the song a dab of adventure during the second part of the song. At the end of the song, the last phrase (a term for similar measures in music) seems to end the song almost abruptly, like there should be something else afterwards. This is what makes this song great because it is pulling the listener in to the bitter end.

“To Whom It May Concern” uses a vocal medium to get its message across. The beginning of the song starts almost suddenly washing the listener in a minor tone. This beginning keeps adding onto itself increasing the melody tenfold. When the voice starts, it is nice complement to the rest of the music being played. The lyrics add a softer tone to the rest of the song making it almost sad but hopeful at the same time. Then, the singer changes style, and the song takes a harder tone to it. This change in style almost alerts the listener of the music. This part is a lot more edgy and increases the pace of the song. The guitar parts increase this edgy sound. At the end of the song, the edgy part dies away and gives way to the softer part to slowly fade away.

Both songs use the change in pace to grab the listener’s attention and keep it there. The softness of both songs makes the listener feel sad but happy at the same time. The second parts of both songs increase the listener’s awareness of the song and the parts seem to enhance each other in both songs. For “One Summer’s Day,” the bass and the melody parts seem to be complementing each other even though they are from different parts. The songs end in a decrescendo of complexity more than loudness.