UPHESC Assistant Professor Music Vocal 2025, 2026 PYQs

Concept: Each classification belongs to a different period/scholar.

1. Thaat (10 thaats) – Pt. V. N. Bhatkhande (a-I).
2. Mela (72 melakartas) – Venkatamakhi, Chaturdandi Prakashika (b-II).
3. Raga-Ragini (6 ragas with raginis, putras) – medieval tradition (c-III).
4. Raganga – a modern classification (Narayan Moreshwar Khare and others) (d-IV).

Short trick: Thaat-Bhatkhande, Mela-Venkatamakhi.

Concept: Odissi has two basic postures: Chauka (square, masculine, Jagannath) and Tribhanga (three bends).

1. Tribhanga bends the body in opposite directions at neck, torso and knees, giving a graceful S-curve.
2. This curvilinear posture is the 'three-bend' that distinguishes Odissi from the angular, linear Bharatanatyam.
3. Mandala and Samapada are general dance terms, not the 'three-bend'.

Short trick: Tri = three, bhanga = bend.

Concept: Folk music, North or South, is the music of ordinary people.

1. It is sung together for community recreation, festivals and work.
2. It draws on varied (mixed) inspirations – seasons, rituals, labour, love.
3. It passes by oral tradition.
4. It uses the simple local dialect, not a refined/literary language – so 'refined language' is not important.

Short trick: Folk = simple dialect, not polished language.

Concept: Bharata's rasa theory: vibhava, anubhava and vyabhichari bhava together produce rasa (aesthetic relish) in the audience.

1. (A) is true – ragas are associated with rasas (Bhairav-shanta/karuna, Malkauns-veera, etc.).
2. (R) is true – music aims to evoke rasa in the listener.
3. Rasa theory is useful precisely because music aims to evoke aesthetic emotion – (R) explains (A).

Short trick: Music's goal = rasa; so rasa theory explains music.

Concept: A gharana's style lives through the guru-shishya lineage.

1. Even in universities and institutions like ITC-SRA, gharana gayaki is taught by gurus to disciples.
2. Military bands, film music and folk festivals do not carry gharana styles.

Short trick: No guru-shishya, no gharana.

Concept: The staff (stave) has five horizontal lines and four spaces; notes, clefs, rests and time signatures are written on it.

1. Pitch is shown by vertical position; duration by note shape (whole, half, quarter…).
2. Shruti, tala gestures and oral tradition belong to Indian practice.

Short trick: Staff = 5 lines + 4 spaces.

Concept: Rasa is the aesthetic relish experienced by the listener – the core idea of Indian aesthetics (Bharata, Abhinavagupta).

1. Shruti, tala and laya are technical elements of pitch and rhythm, not the aesthetic experience itself.

Short trick: Aesthetic experience = Rasa (rasyate iti rasah).

Concept: Darbari Kanada (Asavari thaat, late night) is a grave raga elaborated mostly in the mandra saptak in vilambit laya.

1. (A) is true.
2. (R) is true – its hallmark is the slow andolan on komal ga (g) and komal dha (d), e.g. 'g~ M R S', 'd~ n P'.
3. These oscillating komal notes create its heavy, serious mood, which is why it is elaborated slowly and low – (R) explains (A).

Short trick: Darbari = andolit komal ga-dha + mandra saptak.

Concept: Nyasa swara is the note on which a phrase or the raga comes to rest/ends.

1. Ansha – the predominant note (like vadi), not the resting note.
2. Tillana – a rhythmic composition; Ragamalika – a garland of ragas in one piece.

Short trick: Nyasa = rest; Ansha = chief.

Concept: Check each statement.

1. I – true: Ramamatya's Swaramelakalanidhi (1550) grouped ragas under 20 melas.
2. II – true: Venkatamakhi (1620) worked out 72 melas, basis of the melakarta scheme.
3. III – false: Tyagaraja composed mostly in Telugu, centred on Rama-bhakti, not temple ritual.
4. IV – true: Dikshitar's kritis are mostly in Sanskrit, on temple deities, with Advaita/Tantric philosophy.

Short trick: Tyagaraja = Telugu; Dikshitar = Sanskrit.

Concept: The tanpura (tambura) gives a continuous drone (usually Pa-Sa-Sa-Sa) with rich overtones via the jawari.

1. The singer tunes and holds pitch against it.
2. Violin and sarod are melodic instruments; harmonium is accompaniment (fixed pitch), not the traditional drone.

Short trick: Drone = Tanpura (jawari gives the buzz).

Concept: All three are Tamil folk forms.

1. Karakattam – dancing with a decorated pot (karagam) on the head, in honour of goddess Mariamman – correct.
2. Kavadi Attam – devotees carry the kavadi dancing to Murugan shrines (Thaipusam) – correct.
3. Villuppattu ('bow song') – a narrative form: the lead singer tells stories (ballads) to the beat of a large bow – so 'without storytelling' is wrong.

Short trick: Villu-pattu = bow + song = story-telling.

Concept: Raga is the melodic framework – fixed notes, aroha-avaroha, vadi-samvadi, pakad and chalan – within which a musician improvises.

1. Tala is the rhythmic framework.
2. Taan and gamak are ornaments/techniques used inside a raga.

Short trick: Raga = melody frame; Tala = rhythm frame.

Concept: Tarana uses meaningless syllables like 'ta na na, de re na, odani, tom, dir dir', sung mostly in drut laya; credited to Amir Khusrau.

1. Trivat – uses tabla/pakhawaj bols with sargam and words.
2. Chaturang – four parts: words, sargam, tarana bols and tabla bols.
3. Ragmala – a garland of several ragas.

Short trick: Ta-na-na-de-re-na = Tarana (Khusrau).

Concept: Ragamala miniatures link music, poetry and painting.

1. I – true: Ragamala miniatures of Rajasthani, Pahari, Deccani and Mughal schools.
2. II – true: a raga's dhyana (verse) describes its personified image.
3. III – false: music is closely related to dance, poetry, painting and sculpture.

Short trick: Ragamala proves III wrong.

Concept: Rabindra Sangeet = the 2,200-plus songs written and composed by Rabindranath Tagore (collected in Gitabitan).

1. Kazi Nazrul Islam's songs are 'Nazrul Geeti'.
2. Bankim Chandra wrote 'Vande Mataram'; Sarat Chandra was a novelist.

Short trick: Rabindra Sangeet = Rabindranath.

Concept: Check each raga.

1. I – true: Ahir Bhairav = Bhairav in the lower tetrachord (r) + Kafi in the upper (D, n).
2. II – true: Marwa and Sohni (Marwa thaat: r, G, M#) stress tivra Ma; Pancham is omitted (shadav).
3. III – false: Puriya uses komal Rishabh (Marwa thaat), not shuddha.
4. IV – true: Basant (Purvi thaat) is a spring raga using both Madhyams.

Short trick: Marwa-thaat ragas (Marwa, Puriya, Sohni) all use komal re.

Concept: Match each instrument with its master.

1. Pakhawaj – Kudau Singh (19th c. court of Rewa/Datia) (a-III).
2. Gottuvadhyam (Chitravina) – N. Ravikiran (b-I).
3. Vichitra Veena – Pt. Gopal Krishan (c-II).
4. Esraj/Dilruba – Arshad Khan (d-IV).

Short trick: Kudau-Pakhawaj, Ravikiran-Chitravina.

Concept: Jindua is a Punjabi folk duet in which a man and a woman sing in question–answer (dialogue) form.

1. Other Punjabi forms: Boliyan, Mahiya, Tappe, Heer, Jugni.

Short trick: Jindua/Jugni/Mahiya = Punjab.

Concept: Tagore's song-writing moves from devotion through patriotism to philosophy.

1. Early phase – Brahmo devotional songs (brahmasangeet) modelled on dhrupad (a-I).
2. Middle phase – the 1905 Swadeshi movement produced his nationalistic songs (b-III).
3. Late phase – mature, philosophical and spiritual songs (c-II).
4. Family influence – the musical, literary atmosphere of the Jorasanko Thakurbari (d-IV).

Short trick: Bhakti → Swadesh → Darshan; home = Jorasanko.