Within You, Without You Flashcards
Who wrote and played in this song? What is it inspired by?
- Written by George Harrison
- He sings lead vocals and plays guitar, sitar and tanpura
- Was inspired by classical Indian music
- The song is a fusion between Western pop and Indian classical music
What timbre is used in this song?
Sitar: 7-string plucked instrument with sympathetic resonance strings.
Tanpura: 4-string low drone instrument.
Tabla: 2 drums, played by hand. Huge variation in sonority.
Dilruba: bowed string instrument.
Swarmandal: plucked, harp-like instrument. Sharp sound.
Give 3 metre features.
- 4/4 metre
- Very hard to sense the metre
- In the instrumental, the tempo increases and the metre changes to ⅝
Give 3 structure features.
Song is in 3 sections, like an extended ABA ternary shape, with a long instrumental section between the vocal ones.
Strings enter on the 2nd verse.
The swarmandal glissando, heard in the intro, is heard again before the final verse and chorus.
What is the tonality of this song?
Uses the Khamaj scale ( = the Mixolydian mode: C, D, E, F, G, A, Bb, B, C).
Give 3 phrasing features.
The first verse has an unusual structure: two 6-bar phrases, followed by an extended 9-bar phrase.
There are unusual phrase lengths throughout.
When the vocal melody repeats in the chorus, a completely different emphasis is placed on the shape and phrasing.
Give 2 harmony features.
The song is based on a raga performance; the melody is played over a drone, played by the tanpura, which creates the harmony.
The drone in the introduction consists of Db and Ab, in multiple pitches, accentuating the hypnotic effect.
Give 4 rhythmic features.
There is no sense of pulse in the opening section, which adds to the dreamy quality of the song.
Crochet movement in the chorus’ vocal melody creates a sense of urgency.
The tablas play a Tala-like rhythm, which changes frequently against the vocal melody, creating variety and adding to the dreamy quality.
The changing tablas rhythm and varying emphasis on the vocal melody makes it hard to sense the downbeat of the 4/4 metre.
Give 4 melodic features.
A free dilruba melody is introduced at the start of the song.
Swarmandal plays a rising glissando in the introduction and before the final verse and chorus.
In the first verse, the dilruba doubles the vocal line, with some decoration added.
At the end of the first verse, there is word-painting to the words “they pass away”.
Give 5 textural features.
In the first verse, the dilruba doubles the vocal line, creating a monophonic texture.
In the second verse, the strings play a counter-melody, creating a contrapuntal texture.
In the chorus, the violins provide an antiphonal response to the vocals.
In the first half of the instrumental, the sitar plays antiphonal responses to the dilruba’s melody.
In the second part, there is call + response texture between the strings (playing an octave pizzicato ostinato figure) and the dilruba, providing the answers.
