Vocal and Instrumental Performance Practice
This domain tests the architecture of performance: what happens in what order, which form uses which tala, and which ornament belongs to which style. Answers are marked on correct sequence and correct terminology.
Vocal forms
Dhrupad has four sections - sthai, antara, sanchari and abhog - and is accompanied by pakhawaj, with nom-tom syllables in the alaap. Khayal has two composed sections, sthai and antara; vilambit khayal is set in Ektaal, Tilwada or Jhoomra, and drut khayal in Teentaal. Dhamar, sung for Holi, uses the 14-matra Dhamar tala. Thumri, tarana, bhajan and ghazal are lighter forms.
Instrumental forms
Alaap introduces the raga without metre, jod adds a pulse without tabla, jhala is the fast rhythmic close on the strings, and the gat is the fixed composition in a tala. Masitkhani gat is the slow gat credited to Masit Khan; razakhani gat is the fast gat of Raza Khan.
Ornamentation
Meend (glide), kan (grace note), murki, khatka, zamzama and gamak.
Worked example
Describe how a khayal performance unfolds. Reason in order: tanpura tuned to Sa–Pa or Sa–Ma gives the drone; the vilambit bandish begins with sthai on sam; antara follows; then bol-alaap and vistaar develop the raga; taans follow; the sthai returns to land on sam. Marks come from the order and from naming sam as the landing point.
Traps
- Mixing dhrupad's four sections into khayal.
- Saying alaap is accompanied by tabla.
- Reversing alaap and jhala in an instrumental answer.