Quiz Answers

1

There are two types of musical systems - Harmonic and Melodic. Which type of system is Carnatic music?

Melodic

2

How many basic notes are there in the Harmonic systems and how many basic notes are there n the Melodic system?

Seven

3

What is the fundamental difference in the frequency of notes between a harmonic and a Melodic system?

In Harmonic system, the notes are of fixed frequency intervals while in a melodic system, the notes are of relative frquency.

5

In total, how many full and half-notes are there in Carnatic Music?

Seven and five or total of 12 or with Vivadi swaras total of 16.

8	What is a raga? Give at least two characteristics of a raga?	Combinations of swaras with a predetermined up (avarhoanam) and down (arahoanam) scale.
6	Which type of notation does Indian music use - Staff notation or script notation?	Script Notation
12	What is a varja ragam?	Omitting one or two swarams either in arohanam or avarohanam
10	What are the two types of ragas?	Janya and Janaka ragas
9	Why two ragas with the same basic notes (e.g. Kalyani or Sankarabharanam) do not sound similar?	Because one of the basic note might vary in its relative frequency (e.g. pradhimadyamam versus Sudhamadyamam)
7	What is the difference between a swara and a note?	Swarams are produced by a human voice (relative to a base note) while notes are mechanical and of fixed frequency intervals.

11

What is the fundamental difference between the two types of ragas?

One is the parent (Janaka) and the other is the child born out of that raga (Janya)

4

What is an octave?

Doubling the pitch of a swara by a factor of 2.

13	What is a vakra ragam?	Order of the swaras that different from the order in which they appear in the parent scale.
15	How is a thala different from a rhythm?	A rhythm is basic beat while a thala is a set of beats set to a cyclical order count with a beginning and an end.
16	In a Sulapdi Saptha scheme of thalas, how many thalas are available?	Thirty five
14	At least two examples of a ghana raga?	Nattai, Gowlai, Arabhi, Kedaram, Narayana Gowla, Baouli, Ritigowla
17	What is a jati? How would you differentiate thisra jati from Kanta jati?	Jati denotes how a laghu count is structured. For example, Tisra Jati will have one hit and two finger counts for a total of three aksharas while kanta jati will have one hit and four counts for a total of five..
19	What is Venkatamukhi's greatest contribution to music theory?	Codified the raga scheme
18	If you know the know the jati and name of a thala, would you be able to compute the aksharas for the thala? If so,how many aksharas or units does Kanta Jati Triputa thala have?	9 aksharas
20	According to the Melakarta scheme, how many parent or Janaka ragas are there?	Seventy two

25	Can a Janya raga or a child raga be born from a raga that is not listed as one of the ragas in the Melakarta scheme? Why or why not?	No. A janya raga evolves out of a janaka raga using some of the swaras from the parent and the Melakarta scheme includes all possiible parent ragas and therefore, a janya raga has to be born out of one of these ragas.
22	What is one principle requirement of Janaka ragas?	All seven swarams must be present and they should appear in the same order and occur only once.
23	What does sampoornam mean when applied to Melakarta ragas?	All seven notes are present in the up and down scales of a raga.
21	Why are the Janaka ragas divided into two groups? What differentiates the two groups?	They are classified on the basis of whether the madhyama (middle) swaram is either a pradhimadhyamam or suddha madhyamam.
24	What do we mean by Katapayadi scheme? What is this scheme used for?	According to the Katapayadi scheme, the first two letters of a raga will lead one to identify the melakarta to which it belongs.

30	What is the difference between a thana varnam and a pada varnam?	In taana varnam, sahityam and lyrics are used only in the Pallavi, anupallavi, and charnam. Pada varnam does not have this restrcition.
28	What is the difference in characteristic between a varnam and a Geetham?	Geetham: is a simple musical form without the complexities of Pallavai, Anupallavi, Charanam . A varnam has pallavi, anupallavi, charanam, muktayi swarams, etc.
26	What are musical forms? Why do we need them? Give at least two different musical forms in Carnatic music	They are structures for various compositions and renderings and have preset grammar and structure. Geetham, Varnam are examples of musical forms.
27	What is the difference between abhyasa ganam and Sabha ganam?	Abhyasa Ganam or those useful for the purposes of learning and practicing music and Sabha Ganam, those useful for the purposes of performing such as, in a concert or public gathering.
29	What are the two types of varnams?	Thana Varnam and Pada varnam

34	Give an example of a musical form that focused on bhakthi or devotion?	Keerthana
32	What are maguda swarams in a ragamalikai?	In a ragamalika, each unit is set to a different ragam and at the end of each unit, it is denoted by Chitta Swarams set in the same raga as that of the Pallavi. This type of signature is called Maguda Swarams.
35	Identify one composer from each of the following periods - pre-triniti, triniti, and post-triniti.	Pre-Triniti: Oothukadu Venkata Subbier; Triniti: Saint Thygaraja Post-Triniti: Papanasam Sivan
31	Provide a characteristic that is common and a characteristic that is different between a kirtana and a kriti.	Both have a common structure - pallavi, anupallavi, and charanam; Kritis are more computationally strucutred.

33

What differentiates a thillana from a regular kriti?

Thillanas invariably contain lyrics and jatis. Rarely kritis contain jatis.

36

Who wrote the Thevara Padhikams and what type of musical form does it belong to?

Thirunavukkarasu. Musical form is Virutham.

38

How many systems of Indian music existed before the 10th century?

One (Carnatic music although it was not called by this name).

40

How many Azhvars were there?

Sixty three

37

Can you cite one or two reasons why South Indian classical music was called Carnatic music?

Carnatic refers to ancient, traditional and also to also something that is learnt and appreciated by sitting near.

39

There were three composers from the seventh century who were pioneers of the bhakthi movement. Can you cite two of those three composers?

Appar, Sundarar, and Thirugnana- Ssambandar

45	What is the tamil equivalent of a raga?	PaNN
42	In what language was 4,000 Divya Prabhandam written?	Tamil
41	Who was responsible for compling the 4000-Divya Prabhandam?	Nadhamuni Azhvar
43	Can you name the only female Azhvars among the Azhvars?	Sri Andal
44	Who composed the Thiruvachakam and TiruvempAvai?	Manicka-vAchagar

50

What distinguishes Arunagirinathar's compositions (in terms of theme or messages) from some of the earlier composers?

He propounded all philosophies and did not discriminate between Saivism and Vaishnavism

47

Who wrote the Geetha Govindam?

Jayadeva

49

Who wrote the Thiruppugazh?

Arunagirinathar

46

What was the contribution of Jayadeva; name the set of his famous compositions?

He wrote a famous musical play called Geetha Govindam and the set of eight famous group of compositions are called Ashtapathi

48

What is the primary theme of the Geetha Govindam compositions?

Unity of the individual soul with the universal soul (Radha and Krishna)

51

Which pre-trinity composer is credited with providing the compositional structure into pallavi, anupallavi, and charanam?

Sri Annamacharya

53

What is madhura bhakthi?

A devotional worship where the devotee assumes himself or herself to be a sweet heart of the Lord and consider the Lord as the beloved Hero.

52

Which composer, although born in a Saivite family of Advaitic followers, wrote most of his compositions about Vishnu and on the Vishishtadvaitic concept of prapatti?

Saint Thygaraja Swami

56

Who wrote the Kshetrayya Pancharathnams?

Kshetrajna or Kshetrayya

54

List one or more great contributions of the Poet Annamacharya?

DolAyAm, shrIman nArAyaNa,

57

Who is the author of Krishna Leela Tharangini?

Narayana Theertha

55

Name a composer who is called the father of padams (more than one composer is credited with this title)?

Muthuthandavar

59

Can you name a composer who was accused of misusing tax collections to build a temple for Sri Rama?

Bhadrachala Ramadasa

58

Who wrote the musical operas, Parijatha Abaharanam and Haribhakthi Sundarnavam?

Narayana Theertha

60

Name a great composer who was also a Minister of Education.

Sarangapani

65

Which composer is popularly known as the Tanavarna margadarsi?

Pachimariyam Adiappa

63

Can you name a popular varnam written by Pachimiriyam Adiyappa?

Viriboni Varnam

64

Who is the composer of Rama Nataka Keerthanaigal?

Arunachala Kavirayar

62

What is the greatest contribution of Sri Purandaradasa to Carnatic Music?

Codified or systematized the teaching of music and it is his contributions that allows every student to go through the hierarchical process of learning music starting from Sarali Varisai, Janta Varisai, Thattu Varisai, etc

61

Which composer is called the Pitha Maha (Great Father) of Carnatic Music?

Sri Purandaradasa

66

At least name one composer who took up Sanyasa (relinquished family life) at a young age.

Narayana Theeertha

70

Can you name one or two composers who also lived during the period the Trinities lived?

Oothukadu Venkata Subbier

68

Who are the Trinities of Carnatic Music?

Saint Thyagaraja, Syama Sastri and Muthuswamy Dikshitar

67

Who is Venkata Kavi and what were some of his great accomplishments and contributions?

His most significant contributions include: Kamakshi Navavarna kritis, Saptaratnas (similar to Pancharathnas of Saint Thyagaraja), and even couple of operas

69

In which century did the Trinities live and compose music?

Eighteenth century

71	Who was the guru of Syama Sastri?					Pachimariyam Adiappa
72	What is Syama Sastri's greatest contribution?					Composing the Swarajatis.
73	Name one or two of Syama Sastri's swarajatis?					Kamakshi Anudinamu (Bharivai), Kamakshi Ni Padayugame (Yadukula Kambhoji), and Rave Himagiri Kumari (Todi).
91					Which is the only composer for who an Aradhana is celebrated each year in Thiruvayaru?	Saint Thyagaraja
74	On the thala front, can you cite one or more noteworthy contributions made by Syama Sastri?					Demonstratting the viloma style of chapu thalam
75	Name a disciple of Syama Sastri.					Subbaraya Sastri
76	What is the mudra or signature generally used by Syama Sastri?					Syama Krishna Sodhari
77	Which one of the trinities was the youngest among the three by age?					Muthuswamy Dishitar
78	Which one of the Trinities was proficient in both Carnatic and Hindustani music styles?					Muthuswamy Dikshitar
79	What is a sthala kriti?					A composition in praise of the Lord/Goddess of a holy town or cityy (Thirupathi, Lalgudi, Srirangam)
80	What is Manipravalam?					A single composition with lyrics in more than one language.
81	Can you name one or more sthalas where Dikshitar composed songs in praise of the local deity?					Ekambaranathar in Kancheepuram, Shiva of Vaitheeswaran Koil, Meenakshi of Madurai
82	What is the mudra or signature used by Dikshitar?					Sri Guru Guha
94				Who is Subbarama Dikshitar?					Nephew of Muthuswamy Dishitar.
83	What are VAra kritis? Who composed theses kritis?					Vara kritis is in praise of each day of a week. Dishitar composed such songs.
84	What are Navavarna kritis? Who composed these kritis?					Navavarna kritis are nine kritis include the seven vara kritis and two additional kritis in priase of two planets. Dikshitar composed the navavarna kritis.
85	Can you name two Navavarna kritis?					Examples of Navavarna kritis: Budham asrayami (Natakurunji), Brihaspate (Atana), Angarakam, Surya Murthe.
86	Who composed the popular kriti Vathapi Ganapthim in Hamsadvani?					Muthuswamy Dikshitar
87	What is the name of Saint Thyagaraja's guru?					Sonti Venkatramana
88	Name the two operas that Saint Thyagaraja wrote.					Nowka Charitham and Prahlada Bakthi Vijayam
89	Which of the trinities is known as the avatara purusha?					Saint Thygaraja
102			Which composer used the signature or mudra, kavikunjaradasa?					Koteeswara Iyer
90	What differentiates Saint Thyagaraja's compositions from most other composers? I am referring to the message in his compositions.					Thyagaraja Swami was the first composer whose compositions dealt with human beings - their problems, society's ills and the consequent belief in wrong values. His teachings were ecumenical and catholic and opposed the narrow belifes and biases of human beings because of caste, religion, and origin.
107		Name a post-trinity composers who was also a Ph.D in music?					Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar

93	Who is Baluswamy Dikshitar?	Brother of composer Muthuswamy Dishitar
95	What is the greatest contribution of Subbarama Dikshitar?	Compser of many varnams and the authors of the theory of music titled, Sangeetha Smparadaya Pradarshini.
98	Which composer received the title of Maha or Great composer even at the tender age of 12?	Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer.
99	In which musical aspect was Vaidyanatha Iyer most known for?	Ragam, Thanam, and Pallavi
100	Which composer was known as Chinna Thyagaraja Swami?	Patnam Subramania Iyer
101	Can you name the composer of the famous kriti, Raghuvamsasudha in Kadanakuthoohalam.	Patnam Subramania Iyer
103	Which composer was also a king or belonged to the royal family? Hint: there is more than one composer who fits this category.	Swati Tirunal Maharaja of Kerala; Mysore Maharaja - Jayachamrajendra Wodayar
96	Who wrote Sangeeta Sampradaya Pradarsini?	Subbarama Dishitar
104	What was the childhood name of the composer, Swathi Thirunal?	Bala Rama Verma
106	Which composer used the signature or mudra, Padmanabha?	Swati Tirunal Maharaja
108	Which composer also served in the royal court of Swathi Thirunal Maharaja?	Harikesanallur Muthia Bhagavathar.
92	Can you name one or twopost-triniti composers?	Papanasam Sivann, Ambujam Krishna, Lalgudi <