Writing in "The Beatles Anthology", Harrison commented on the difficulties he faced as a nascent songwriter during the "Rubber Soul" period, relative to Lennon and McCartney, both of whom had been writing "since they were three years old". He said he wrote "If I Needed Someone" as a love song to Pattie Boyd, the English model whom he married soon after the song's release. The song is in the folk rock style, but incorporates aspects of Indian music through the suggestion of drone over the main musical phrase and its partly Mixolydian harmony. Harrison presents a more engaged perspective. In the case of "If I Needed Someone", as with "Girl", a Lennon composition recorded at the end of the sessions, the use of a guitar capo midway along the instrument's neck introduced a brighter tone to the group's guitar sound. Their use of three-part harmonies on the song was also typical of the warmer, more mature sound they achieved on "Rubber Soul".