SAMPLE QUIZZES Two quizzes follow, each of them representing different topics of information to be acquired by students, who are themselves at different levels of learning. They are only a sampler of what might be developed as an assessment of student learning of the musical culture of Bulgaria.

Quiz 1. Multiple Choice. Choose the best or most appropriate answer. 1. In the medieval period of Indian music (12th through 17th centuries), painters were commission to paint sets of miniature paintings of entire rag (or raga) families, called (a) rāginis, (b) rāgamālas, (c) rāgamālikas, (d) Bhairagi. 2. The old vocal music form consisting of a slow abstract beginning which gathers momentum, “restarts” with a fixed composition, and climaxes with a fast rhythmic section, and which has influenced most later North Indian classical forms, is known as (a) dhrupad, (b) khyāl, (c) jor, (d) alāap. 3. Syllables that are used by musicians to construct rhythmic patterns (such as “taka”,

“takita”, and “takadimi”) are known as (a) talās, (b) lāyas, (c) chhands, and (d) jātīs. 4. Syllables for pitches in a scale are sa-re-ga-ma-pa-dha-ni-sa, known collectively as (a) sruti, (b) sārgām, (c) gintī, (d) rāga. 1. The oldest scriptures in India, dating from 1500 BCE and comprised of sacred hymns,

poetic descriptions of the gods and nature, rituals, and blessings, are known as the (a) Bharatā Natyam, (b) Vedas, (c) Vikritis, (d) Mantrās. 2. Which of the following is not a general quality common to all ragas? (a) A rāga must have at least five notes and cannot omit Sa, (b) There is an ascending and descending format, (c) Some form of Re must be present, (d) Certain moods are associated with each.

3. The texts of many North Indian classical forms were composed by poets of a devotional

movement that swept the region from the 15th through the 17th centuries, bringing the use of vernacular languages and the individual’s relationship with God. This religious movement was known as (a) Islamic Sufi, (b) Sikh Reformation, (c) Jain Renaissance, (d) Hindu Bhakti. 4. Since Mughal times (16th-19th centuries), the primary instruments of classical music have (a) chordophones, (b) aerophones, (c) idiophones, (d) voices. 1. The mixing of the Persian tanpur and the rudra vina resulted in the development of the (a)

sitār, (b) shenai, (c) sarod, (d) sarangī. 2. The most popular song genres of North India are the film song and the (a) dhrupad, (b)

bhajan, (c) khyāl, (d) ghazal.

Answer Key: b, a, d, b, b, c, d, a, a, d

Quiz 2. Fill-in-the-Blanks. Fill in the missing words or phrases in the sentences below. 3. The mathematical reordering of chant syllables for the purpose of memorization (despite the loss of its meaning) is known as ______. 4. Examples of vocal compositions in North India are ______,

______, and ______. 5. The word for “practice”, which encompasses the day-to-day sitting of a

musician in order to learn the routines of exercises and scales, technique and literature, is ______. 6. The nine primary moods which were said to play an important role in drama,

dance, and music are called ______. 7. ______is the most common tāla, a cycle of four groups of four beats,

marked by three claps and a wave. 8. A phrase that is repeated three times (often at the close of a section), the ______is one of the most common rhythmic formulas in music, 9. The ______, ______, and ______are three of India’s

sophisticated drums which play in ensemble and as solo instruments. 10. The classification of songs into melodic types principally involves the concept

of ______, which involves taking a fixed composition and ornamenting

it.

11. The melodic runs within a khyāl, whether using the names of names, the words of a the song, or an open-voiced “ah”, are called ______. 12. The famous treatise on music, dance, and drama from the fourth century CE is called the ______. Answer Key: 1.Vikriti 2. Three of the following: dhrupad, bhajan, khyāl, bhajan, thumrī, ghazal, tarāna, qawwali 3. Riāz 4. Rasas, or navrasas (nine rasas) 5. Tīntāl 6. Tihāī 7. Mridangam, pakkāwaj, tablā 8. Rāga (or rāg) 9. Tāns 10. Natyasastra