WBBSE Madhyamik Optional Instrumental Music common mistakes
WBBSE Madhyamik Optional Instrumental Music · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
While writing or reading a gat/bandish in notation, the candidate writes the aroha of a raga in the same order as the avaroha (or fills in both from memory of the pakad), so the descent does not follow the raga's actual vakra or varjit rules.
Candidates memorise the pakad phrase and then reconstruct aroha-avaroha from it, assuming the scale is symmetrical; for ragas like Kafi, Bhairavi, or Desh the descent uses extra or different svaras, and for ragas like Todi or Marwa certain svaras are omitted in one direction.
What to do instead
For each prescribed raga, write the aroha and avaroha separately on a card with the omitted (varjit) svaras marked with a dash, then check every notation exercise against that card before submitting; practice singing/playing each direction slowly with the tanpura so the asymmetry is heard, not just seen.
The candidate places the sam of a tala on the wrong matra when writing a gat or bandish into notation, or starts the composition on matra 1 when the composition actually begins on a different matra (as in Roopak, where khali falls on matra 1).
Notation exercises are usually practised starting from sam, so candidates lose track of the anagat or off-sam start; in Roopak the familiar 'one clap' habit from Teental transfers incorrectly and the khali position is mis-marked.
What to do instead
Before writing, count the theka aloud with tali/khali marked by clap and wave for one full avartan, then place the first note of the composition on the counted matra; mark sam with 'X', khali with '0' and tali with the vibhag number above the line, and verify Roopak specifically as 3+2+2 with khali on matra 1.
In practical performance the candidate plays alaap, jod and jhala as three disconnected pieces: alaap stops, then jod restarts from sam at a new tempo with no rhythmic continuity, and jhala begins without the pulse of the gat's tala being established.
These are learned as separate exam items rather than as one unfolding structure, and candidates rehearse them in isolation without a tabla or metronome, so the transition from free rhythm (alaap) to pulsed rhythm (jod) to fast jhala is never practised.
What to do instead
Rehearse the whole sequence daily with a tanpura and a metronome set to the gat's laya: alaap in free time, then jod entering on a clear sam, then jhala at double laya, ending on sam. Record it and check that each section's last phrase resolves on sam before the next begins.
The candidate presents a maseetkhani (vilambit) gat but plays it at a speed closer to madhya laya, and then plays the razakhani (drut) gat at the same speed, so the examiner cannot hear the contrast between the two gat types.
Vilambit practice is boring and is skipped in favour of the exciting drut gat; without a metronome the candidate's internal tempo drifts upward, and the two gats end up in the same laya band.
What to do instead
Set a metronome for the vilambit gat at roughly half the drut tempo and practise the maseetkhani gat for a fixed ten minutes before touching the drut gat; count the matras of one avartan aloud so the slow tempo is felt, and aim for a clear 2:1 or 4:1 ratio between drut and vilambit laya.
When asked to demonstrate a tihai, the candidate plays a phrase three times but does not land the final matra on sam, or plays it three times with unequal durations so the repetition is not exact.
Tihai is treated as 'repeat three times' rather than as a calculated structure; candidates do not count how many matras the phrase occupies and therefore cannot compute where it must begin to end on sam.
What to do instead
Work out the arithmetic on paper first: if the phrase is n matras, three repetitions take 3n matras, so start on matra (sam minus 3n plus 1) of the avartan. Practise with the tabla or metronome counting aloud, and verify the last note falls exactly on sam before increasing speed.
On the instrument study question the candidate describes tuning or maintenance only in vague terms ('tune it properly', 'keep it clean') and cannot state the actual procedure, such as tuning a sitar's main string to the desired sa and the sympathetic strings to the raga's svaras, or adjusting tabla syahi and gatta for pitch.
Candidates learn to play but never maintain their own instrument; the teacher tunes it before class, so the candidate has observed tuning but never done it or described it in words.
What to do instead
Keep a written maintenance log: for your instrument, record the reference pitch, which peg/string is tuned to what, how often strings are changed, how the syahi is adjusted with hammer and paste, and how the instrument is stored. Practise explaining the procedure aloud in exam-style sentences until it can be said without notes.
The candidate answers history questions with a name and a date only, for example 'Bhatkhande wrote Hindustani Sangeet Paddhati', without saying what the person contributed, which gharana they founded or belonged to, or why the contribution matters.
Life sketches are memorised as lists of facts for one-mark recall, and candidates do not practise the two- or three-mark 'briefly explain' format that requires a contribution statement.
What to do instead
For each prescribed musician and instrument-maker, prepare a four-line template: who they were, their gharana or tradition, their main contribution (e.g. notation system, raga classification, instrument design change), and one work or legacy. Practise writing each in under 60 words so the contribution is always present.
The candidate confuses the two Hindustani notation systems, using Paluskar's signs in a Bhatkhande-style answer or vice versa, and mixes Carnatic svara symbols (with comma and semicolon marks for octave) into a Hindustani notation exercise.
Both systems use similar svaras and matra divisions, so under exam pressure the candidate recalls whichever symbols were seen most recently; the distinguishing details (Paluskar's use of Arabic/Persian-influenced signs and his particular octave marks versus Bhatkhande's bar-lines and numbers) are not systematically compared.
What to do instead
Make a two-column comparison chart of Paluskar and Bhatkhande notation, plus a third column for Carnatic notation, showing how each marks sam, khali, octave and komal svaras. Write one short composition in all three systems from the same melody and check the symbols against the chart.
In the viva the candidate cannot state the vadi, samvadi and time of day for a prescribed raga, or gives the time from a different raga's slot (for example assigning Bhairav to the evening instead of the morning).
Raga lakshana is studied as aroha-avaroha and pakad only, while vadi-samvadi and samay are treated as optional extras; the time-cycle (prahar) system is not linked to the ragas in the candidate's mind.
What to do instead
Build a raga table with columns for aroha, avaroha, pakad, vadi, samvadi, varjit svaras, thaat and prahar/time, and fill it for every prescribed raga. Test yourself by covering one column at a time, and group ragas by prahar so the time slots become a pattern rather than isolated facts.
During sight-reading or notation reproduction the candidate plays the written svaras correctly but ignores the matra grouping, so the phrase has the right notes in the wrong rhythm and does not fit the tala.
Sight-reading is practised as note identification only; candidates read svara names left to right without scanning the bar-lines, vibhag marks and matra numbers that carry the rhythm.
What to do instead
Before playing a sight-reading passage, spend thirty seconds marking the vibhags and counting the matras silently with the theka; then play in strict laya with a metronome, keeping the svara and matra streams separate in attention. Practise short unseen passages daily rather than only known compositions.