An instrumental interpretation can make a familiar song briefly unfamiliar. Without the original words and voice, you have to notice other clues. Use that moment as a listening exercise rather than a contest over which version is better.
Choose a short shared passage
Find a melody or section you can identify in both recordings. Listen to each separately before moving back and forth. Note the recording names so that different performances do not become mixed up in your memory.
Ask what helped you recognise the passage: a melodic shape, a rhythm, a recurring accompaniment or the order of sections. More than one clue may matter.
Notice what takes the foreground
When an instrument carries a line formerly sung, listen to how phrases begin and end. Does it hold a sound where the singer took a breath? Does another part fill a gap? Describe the audible event without assuming the arranger’s intention.
Keep recording differences in view. Tempo, performance and production may all change together, so the comparison cannot isolate the effect of removing words alone.
Return to the original
Listen again for the detail the second version made clearer. Our exercise on drawing a melody’s shape can help you record that discovery. A useful comparison leaves you with a more specific way to hear both recordings, even if your favourite remains the same.