RBSE SS Vocal Music case studies
RBSE SS Vocal Music · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The RBSE Senior Secondary (Class XII) Vocal Music examination is a board-level qualification in Hindustani vocal music, typically taken by students who have studied the subject through Rajasthan Board schools. It suits candidates who can already sing basic sargam and want formal recognition of their theory and performance skills, often as a step toward university music study or teaching. The RBSE SS Vocal Music case studies are 5 cases and about 3,450 words.
1A husky 8:40 a.m. slot: rescuing Bhairav at a lowered tonic
A Class XII candidate's practical is fixed for 8:40 a.m., first session, in a cold hall. She has 15 minutes and a prepared list of four ragas: Yaman, Bhimpalasi, Bhairav and Bhairavi.
729 words, about 4 min2Tigun that arrives early: the arithmetic behind Teentaal layakari
The tala station of the practical carries 10 marks. The candidate must recite Teentaal - 16 matras, tali on 1, 5 and 13, khali on 9 - with theka in barabar at 60 bpm, then dugun, tigun, chaugun and aad, marking tali and khali with the right hand.
646 words, about 3 min3Twenty-five minutes, four items: what to cut when alap eats the clock
The practical lasts 25 minutes. The rubric gives 10 marks for raga vistar, 5 for bandish, 5 for tala, 5 for variety of forms and 5 for viva.
724 words, about 4 min4Four errors in a swaralipi: where the bandish actually lands
A student submits a one-avartan notation of a chhota khayal composition in Raga Khamaj, set in Teentaal, for internal assessment out of 10, of which notation carries 4 marks. The composition is meant to enter on matra 9, with the sam left to the sustain of the previous avartan's final bol.
723 words, about 4 min5Four claims in a gharana essay: which survive the viva
An internal essay of 800 words on 'Gharanas of Hindustani vocal music' carries 10 marks and is followed by a three-minute viva. The student writes four claims: (1) 'Kirana gharana is recognised by its fast sargam tans'; (2) 'Agra gharana avoids bol-banao and sings only plain alap'; (3) 'Jaipur-Atrauli is a branch of Gwalior'; (4) 'Because Darbari Kanada uses komal ga and komal ni, any recording of it is Kirana.' She supports claim 4 with a single online clip, and she lists Bhimsen Joshi, Faiyaz Khan and Kesarbai Kerkar without saying which gharana each belongs to.
628 words, about 3 min