Within You, Without You

• The song was written and performed by George Harrison only, no other Beatles were involved
• 8th track in album, or the 1st on the B side of the record
• It is a fusion of pop and Indian classical music
• It has a popular song structure with an Indian introduction and extended instrumental
• Uses the Indian Khamaj scale
• The introduction is called the alap

Melody:

• Repetitive
• Small intervals between notes
• Crotchet/ minim rhythms
• 6 bar phrases

Harmony:

• Mostly static
• Doesn't change keys
• Flattened 7th at key points
• Modal, similar to our mixolydian mode

Structure:

• 5 sections
• 1st is the alap, it is 7 bars long and often improvised in Indian music

Within You, Without You uses a combination of Western and Indian instruments

• Sitar: One of the most common Indian instruments
• Tambura/ tampura: Used for the drone, has 4 strings that can be plucked or strummed, essential for tonal foundation as Indian pieces don't really have a key
• Tabla: A pair of Indian drums, they play the tala (rhythm), in this piece the tala is the teental, played by George Harrison
• Swarmandal: Like a small harp, can be used for a drone, melody or solo, they are tuned to specific ragas
• Dilruba: Cross between a sitar and sarangi, played with a bow, it has 18 strings
• Violin
• Cello

• Tempo is rubato (robbed or free) in alap, then in tempo for the rest
• Alap uses all the notes of the raga, glissando near the end to sound Indian
• Tabla starts and creates a consistent rhythmic accompaniment (bar 8)
• Word painting - "Space between us" by using minims to space it out (bar 16-17)
• "Chorus" starts (bar 45)
• Tempo changes to 5/4 for an extended instrumental section, the new time signature is more suited for Indian music (bar 54)
• Verse starts again (bar 89)
• Goes to Coda for 22 bars (bar 24)