WBBSE Madhyamik Vocal Music (Optional Elective) case studies
WBBSE Madhyamik Vocal Music (Optional Elective) · Put your knowledge to work in context.
Vocal Music is one of the optional elective subjects offered at the Madhyamik (Class X) level under the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. Candidates who take it are usually school students with several years of informal or school-based training in Hindustani vocal music, and the subject is assessed through both a written theory paper and a practical examination in which the candidate sings before an examiner. The WBBSE Madhyamik Vocal Music (Optional Elective) case studies are 5 cases and about 4,851 words.
1The Kafi Shadow in Bhimpalasi
Eleven days before the school annual function, a Class X student sings the drut bandish in Raga Bhimpalasi that she has rehearsed for four weeks. Her tala is steady and her voice is clear, but two things in the antara worry her teacher.
819 words, about 4 min2The Missing Matra in the Magazine Notation
Three days before the school magazine goes to press, a Class X student submits a handwritten notation of a drut composition in Raga Yaman set to Teental, for publication. The teacher must convert it into the Paluskar system before typesetting, and starts by checking the tala.
954 words, about 5 min3The Tihai That Misses Sam
At the final rehearsal for the school concert, the closing item is a drut composition in Raga Khamaj set to Teental. The metronome is set at 60, so one matra lasts one second and one avartan lasts sixteen seconds.
958 words, about 5 min4Three Claims and a Deadline
Five days before the Class X project submission, a student hands in a two-page draft titled 'Bhatkhande and Paluskar: Makers of Modern Hindustani Music'. Three sentences are highlighted for the teacher's approval.
1,039 words, about 5 min5The Boy Whose Voice Is Changing
Twelve days before the Saraswati Puja programme, a Class X boy is listed as the soloist for a bhajan in Raga Kafi. The tune as notated has Sa = C and its phrases run from mandra Ni up to taar Re; most of the melody lies between madhya Sa and taar Sa.
1,081 words, about 5 min