Describing music
Instrumentation and timbre
Within You Without You is heavily influenced by Indian culture. The song is a fusionMusical fusion is when two different styles are brought together to create a new type of music. of pop musicMusic which has general appeal and is often linked to styles of the 1950s. Driven by a strong rhythmic element. and Indian music. The sitar, swarmandal, dilruba, tabla and tamburaA long-necked folk string instrument. are played alongside violins, cellos, acoustic guitar and George Harrison's vocalThe voice as a musical instrument..
The dilruba is triple-tracked which creates a thick timbre in the main instrumental section. The tonal centre is reinforced by the tambura playing a droneTwo notes sounded together as an accompaniment, often a 5th apart. on C and violins playing pizzicatoA playing technique in which the strings of an instrument are plucked. on a repeated high C. During this section, eight violins and three cellos are added.
Texture
The texture is mainly melody and accompanimentA type of texture where there is only one clear melody and an accompaniment that plays different notes and rhythms but is supporting the melody. when the vocals are heard. In verse 2, the violins and cellos play a simple melody in unisonTwo parts with matching rhythms and pitch or played in octaves. an octave apart. There is imitation between vocal line and strings in verse 3 and a musical conversation called the sawal-jawab between the dilruba and sitar during the instrumental.
Pitch and melody
The lyrics are sung by George Harrison and reflect an Indian philosophy.
In bar 2, the dilruba plays a melody which contains slurPerform two notes with no break between the two. The notes are joined up. notes. A dilruba will play a slur like a glissandoA slide between two notes. between the two notes and has become an identifying sound of the instrument.
The opening melody is built between the notes of a tri-tone or augmented 4th (E to B鈾); this is followed by a sequence of descending perfect fourths in bars 3 鈥 4.
A cello riffA recurring pattern, often on guitar. can be heard in one and a half bars between verses 1 and 2. In verse 2 the cello and violin play the melody in unison. At the end of this verse, the melody changes by moving to a high register on the words 'If they only knew'. This reinforces the lyrics and message of the song.
In the chorus, the dilruba doubles vocal line and the violins play a short riff similar to the five-note cello riff heard in verses 1 and 2. The tambura and cellos play an accompanying drone on C. The hookA technique often used in popular music to engage the listener eg, a riff. is first heard at the end of the chorus.
In verse 3 there is a melodic imitative dialogue between vocals and strings. This is followed with a seven-bar link to final chorus in which the dilruba and strings play improvisatory passages based on the opening melody line heard in the intro.