The Beatles: Within you, Without you - AQAPerforming and composing ideas
Within You Without You is the eighth track from the iconic album Sgt. Pepper鈥檚 Lonely Hearts Club Band. The song was written and performed by George Harrison and has lots of traditional Indian music influences.
Some of the techniques found in Within You Without You can be transferred to other performances and composing. By understanding the effects of each may develop musicianship skills. They are shown in this table.
In performance
In composing
Instrumentation
Ensure that the ensemble is balanced when playing with amplified instruments, ie levels need to be set correctly.
Write a piece of fusion music combining Indian and Western popular music instruments.
Melody
Choose an Indian raga scale for the basis of your melody or improvisatory sections and add a drone on the tonic.
Verse-chorus structure
Create contrast between the different sections by increasing the dynamics during the chorus.
This format could be followed when writing a rock or pop song, but add an instrumental section for variety.
Hook
Write a memorable and catchy melodic line that could be repeated and used as a basis for a chorus.
Melody and accompaniment
Be aware that there is one line of melody and the ensemble is the accompaniment.
A melody should be the centre of attention in the composition and the other instruments should accompany it.
Instrumentation
In performance
Ensure that the ensemble is balanced when playing with amplified instruments, ie levels need to be set correctly.
In composing
Write a piece of fusion music combining Indian and Western popular music instruments.
Melody
In performance
In composing
Choose an Indian raga scale for the basis of your melody or improvisatory sections and add a drone on the tonic.
Verse-chorus structure
In performance
Create contrast between the different sections by increasing the dynamics during the chorus.
In composing
This format could be followed when writing a rock or pop song, but add an instrumental section for variety.
Hook
In performance
In composing
Write a memorable and catchy melodic line that could be repeated and used as a basis for a chorus.
Melody and accompaniment
In performance
Be aware that there is one line of melody and the ensemble is the accompaniment.
In composing
A melody should be the centre of attention in the composition and the other instruments should accompany it.