Maharashtra HSC History and Development of Indian Music exam-day guide
Maharashtra HSC History and Development of Indian Music · Prepare for the day ahead.
Your checklist
Board hall ticket (admit card) - original printout
Download it from the MSBSHSE portal when the school announces it is live, and keep two hard copies: one in your bag, one with your parent or guardian. The practical is normally conducted at your own school or a designated centre in the weeks before the written paper, and the hall ticket is your entry proof. Do not carry only a phone photograph of it.
School or college identity card
Carry the original ID issued by your junior college. If your school has not issued one, ask your class teacher in advance what alternative proof the centre will accept - this varies from centre to centre, so confirm with the provider rather than assuming.
Tanpura or drone source at the correct Sa
Ask your teacher well before the exam whether the centre provides a tanpura, a harmonium, and a tabla player, or whether you must bring your own instrument or an electronic tanpura. This is the single most common exam-day surprise; confirm with the provider in writing (a message to your music teacher is enough).
Your own instrument, if you play sitar, violin, flute, tabla or harmonium
If you are a instrumental candidate, carry your instrument in its case with strings, reeds, rosin, sticks, or spare parts you might need. Confirm with the centre beforehand that outside instruments are permitted and that a table and power point are available if you use an electronic tanpura.
Notation notebook or swaralipi file
Keep a handwritten file of every composition you have prepared: sargam or notation in your own hand, aroha–avaroha, pakad, vadi–samvadi, jati, and the time of day prescribed for the raga. Ask whether you may keep it with you during the viva; some examiners allow it, some do not.
A one-page repertoire sheet in your own hand
List your prepared ragas and talas with the composition, tala, and laya for each. On the day you will be asked to perform a selection, not everything you know, so a short list helps you answer 'which raga would you like to present?' without hesitation.
Clothing you can sit cross-legged in comfortably
Practical sessions are usually conducted with the candidate seated on the floor or a low platform, often for 15–30 minutes at a stretch. A kurta–pyjama, salwar kameez, or a saree draped for floor sitting is more suitable than tight trousers or a short skirt. Avoid noisy jewellery and heavy perfume.
Water in a transparent bottle and a light snack
Voices dry out during a long batch session. Sip warm or room-temperature water, not chilled, and avoid cold drinks, ice, and heavy fried food in the two hours before your turn.
A pen and a small notebook
You may need to sign an attendance sheet, write your seat or roll details, or note the tala and laya the examiner asks for in the viva.
Phone switched off and kept aside, with tuner and metronome used only before entering
Assume phones are not allowed inside the examination room. Practise tuning your Sa and setting your laya by ear or with a physical tanpura so that you are not dependent on an app at the moment of performance. Confirm the centre's phone policy with the provider.
Medical or access needs communicated in advance
If you need a chair instead of floor seating, a shorter performance, or a break between items, tell your music teacher and the centre superintendent a few days ahead, not on the morning of the exam.
Confirmation of reporting time, venue, and batch order
Practical exams run as a batch of candidates from the same school, so your individual turn may be an hour or more after the reporting time. Confirm the exact reporting time and whether you may leave after your turn with your teacher.
Plan the day
Lock your repertoire. Choose four to six ragas that contrast in mood, time of day, and tala, and decide which two you will open with if given a free choice. Practise each with a steady tanpura at a fixed Sa for at least 20 minutes: aroha–avaroha, palte or alankars, the composition with its sthayi and antara, and a short alap or taan passage you can deliver reliably under pressure. Do not add a new raga at this stage.
Read the current board circular for the practical paper: total marks, the split between performance, tala, notation or swaralipi reading, and viva, and whether an external examiner is present. Do not rely on what a senior told you last year - the pattern and marks can change, so confirm with your teacher and the official MSBSHSE circular.
Record yourself once on your phone, from start to finish, in the order you expect to be examined. Listening back will show you where your tala slips or your breath runs out far better than practising in your head. Fix only the top two problems; leave everything else alone.
Do one full mock run-through with a friend or family member acting as examiner: greet, announce the raga, tune, perform, answer three viva questions, thank and leave. Then stop heavy practice. Over-singing the day before is the most common cause of a cracked or tired voice on exam day.
Pack your bag: hall ticket, ID, repertoire sheet, notation file, instrument and spares, water, pen. Lay out your clothes. Check the reporting time and travel route, and set two alarms.
Sleep for a full night. Eat normally and avoid very cold, very spicy, or heavy late meals. If you are a vocalist, do not shout, sing loudly over traffic, or spend the evening in a noisy room.
Wake early enough for a calm start. Do 20–30 minutes of gentle warm-up only: sargam in the madhya saptak, simple palte, and a few long notes. Do not push into the upper octave or practise full compositions - you want the voice or hands fresh, not tired.
Eat a light, normal meal; avoid dairy-heavy or very cold food. Carry water. Reach the centre 45–60 minutes before the reporting time so that a delay in traffic does not become a panic.
Find the music room and, if permitted, listen to the tanpura pitch that is being used so your ear is already set. Sit quietly, hum softly to yourself, and mark your Sa under your breath. Avoid comparing your preparation with other candidates - it raises anxiety and adds nothing.
Enter, greet the examiners, and state your name and the raga and composition you will present. If the examiner names a raga instead, perform that one without arguing. Tune carefully to the tanpura, take one relaxed breath, and begin at a tempo you can sustain - starting too fast is the most common reason a tala collapses midway.
If you make a mistake, keep the tala cycle going and continue rather than stopping dead. Examiners mark composure and continuity, not note-perfect accuracy. If you are asked to demonstrate tala with hand beats, do it slowly and count aloud if it helps you stay steady.
For the viva, answer briefly and confidently. If you do not know something, say so plainly and offer what you do know: 'I have not learnt that raga, but its thaat is Kafi and it is sung in the second prahar of the night' is a far better answer than silence or guessing. Thank the examiners before leaving.
Rules to check
Carry the original hall ticket and school identity card. Entry to the practical may be refused without them, and the exact list of accepted ID documents differs from centre to centre - confirm with your school and the provider before the exam day.
Arrive by the reporting time given. Practical exams are conducted as a batch, so your individual turn may come much later, but late arrivals are at the centre's discretion and may be treated as absent - confirm the late-entry rule with the provider.
Mobile phones, smart watches, and recording devices should be switched off and kept outside the examination room. If you use a tuner or metronome app, use it before entering. Confirm the centre's device policy with the provider.
Perform only from the prescribed syllabus. The examiner may ask for any raga, tala, or composition on the list, so be ready to be redirected rather than insisting on your prepared first choice.
Raise any problem with the instrument - a broken string, an unsteady tanpura, a tabla that is out of tune - politely and before you begin performing, not afterwards. You are generally entitled to have a genuine technical issue rectified.
Ask the examiner if you need water or a short break during the session. Do not leave the room, take a call, or consult notes or your phone without permission.
Marks are awarded by the examiner on the basis of your performance, tala control, notation knowledge, and viva responses, in the proportion laid down in the current board circular. Do not rely on last year's marks split - confirm the weightage with your teacher and the official MSBSHSE document.
Do not discuss, dispute, or request marks from the examiner at the end. If you believe a procedural irregularity occurred, report it through your school to the board after the exam, not in the room.