MUSIC EXAM

• India is located in South Asia and is the seventh-largest country in terms of area. It is surrounded by three bodies of water: the Arabian Sea in the west, the Bengal Bay in the east, and the Indian Sea in the south.
• Countries that surround India include Pakistan, Nepal, China, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
• The Himalayan mountain ranges, the world’s highest mountain range wherein Mt. Everest is also located, can also be found up north.
• The mountain ranges slope downward into

  plains, which make up most of India’s land.
• The Thar Desert is India’s only desert and is the 17th largest in the world, covering an area of 200,000 square kilometers.
• India is comprised of 29 states which include Rajasthan, Kashmir, Manipur, Assam, and Nagaland. These 29 states have some control over their own affairs. The capital of India is New Delhi.
• India’s population makes up about a sixth of the world’s, making it the second most populated country, with China being the first.
• The main sources of livelihood of the people are fishing, livestock, and farming.
• Crops that are cultivated include corn, cereal grains, rice, and sugarcane.
• Cattle are bred mainly for their milk, leather, and manure for fertilizer, and not so much for their meat. Fishing is also widespread along the coastlines of India.
• The Indus civilization originally inhabited India from 2600 to 2000 BCE. The Indus are believed to be highly sophisticated and urbanized.
• Indus were among the first to use a standardized system of measurements and weights. They were also adept in sculpting using terra cotta, pottery, and metallurgy.
• Other countries periodically occupied India. Among these incursions were by the Arabs, Turks, and Persians starting in 8th century CE. By the 13th century, the majority of the country was under Muslim rule. Islam in India steadily increased since then.
• When Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama arrived in 1498, it was the first time India was opened up to European influences. This European arrival to India triggered the slow decline of Muslim culture and eventually led to occupation by the British Empire from 1858 to 1947.
• Some of the world’s religions actually originated in India, such as Buddhism and Hinduism.
• Hinduism is a collection of doctrines and ways of life closely followed by its believers and is the dominant religion in India. It teaches that basic human nature is not tied to the body and the mind, but rather with the soul.
• Hindus also believed that the spirit of God is in our soul and in everything we see, making everything united with God.
• Buddhism also started in India, but forms only a minority and is concentrated near the Chinese border.
• Islam and Christianity were brought by other civilizations and countries that occupied India.
• Sangeet is the basis of Indian music, a combination of three artforms: vocal music, instrumental music, and dance. The system of Indian music is built on two concepts: rag and thal.
• Rag is the melodic form of Indian music. It is similar to the scales and modes of Western music.
• The notes of the rag are called the swar.
• The most important notes are called the vadi and the samavadi, similar to the tonic and dominant in Western music.
• Tal, on the other hand, is the rhythmic form. These rhythmic patterns are very complex, and have many existing patterns.
• Tal revolves around repeated beat patterns and cycles called “avartan” which are composed of beats called “matra.”
• The North Indian tradition is called the Hindustani Sangeet, and the South Indian tradition is called the Carnatic Sangeet.
• Indian traditional instruments are classified into six categories: plucked string, bowed string, wind, non-membranous percussion, membranous percussion, and electronic.
• Plucked String

  
  

  Sitar — the most popular instrument from India. The main body is made of wood, while the resonating cavity is made of pumpkin. The neck has twenty metal frets which can be moved to adjust pitch. It has 7 main strings and 11 sympathetic strings.
• Sympathetic strings are not directly played by the player, they just vibrate when the

  main string’s pitch matches that of the sympathetic strings.
• Plucked String

  ● Sarod —has a small resonating body made of wood and covered with animal skin and a

  fingerboard made of metal. It has no frets. The sarod has 25 strings, and 15 of these are

  sympathetic. The strings are plucked using a triangular plectrum.
• Plucked String

  ● Tanpura — a drone instrument that resembles a sitar except it has no frets. It has four strings, all of which are tuned to the tonic note.
• Plucked String

  ● Surbahar — a bass sitar.
• Plucked String

  ● Ektar — a folk instrument used to play drones. It is also believed to be one of the oldest instruments in India. In ancient Sanskrit texts, it is described as a “one-stringed lute.”
• Bowed String

  ● Sarangi — one of the most popular and oldest bowed instruments of India. Its body is hollow, made of teak wood, and adorned with ivory inlays. It has 3 to 4 main strings and up to 37 sympathetic strings. It has no fingerboard, and therefore no fretboard. The player changes the pitch by sliding his fingernails against the strings.
• Bowed String

  ● Ravanhasta — a folk fiddle popular in Rajasthan.
• Bowed String

  ● Pena —a bowed lute used in folk music.
• Wind

  ● Bansuri — an Indian flute made of bamboo with six holes. It is used in the Hindustani sangeet of North India.
• Wind

  ● Venu — a flute made of bamboo but has eight holes. It is used in the Carnatic system of the south.
• Wind

  ● Harmonium — a reed organ. This is not a native Indian instrument; rather, it was imported from Europe in the 19th century. It is used in almost every genre of Indian music.
• Wind

  ● Pungi/Bin — the snake charmer’s instrument. It is typically one to two feet in length and is made up of two bamboo tubes: one for the melody, and one for the drone. These tubes are attached to a large resonating cavity made of gourd or coconut.