Music & Musical Instruments Questions with Solutions
This topic covers Indian classical music, its two main traditions (Hindustani and Carnatic), gharanas, ragas and talas, folk music styles, and the musical instruments of India along with the artists who are famous for playing them. It also includes the four classes of instruments: string (tata), wind (sushira), percussion (avanaddha) and solid (ghana). Exam questions usually pair an instrument with its maestro, such as the sitar with Pandit Ravi Shankar, the shehnai with Ustad Bismillah Khan or the santoor with Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. Other common questions ask about the origin of a gharana, the instrument a folk style uses, or the class an instrument belongs to. Making a two-column list of instruments and artists is the quickest way to revise. Practise the music and musical instruments questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.
- Q1.
Who is known as the 'Father of Carnatic Music'?
A. Muthuswami DikshitarB. Syama SastriC. TyagarajaD. Purandara DasaeasyAsked in SSCView solution › - Q2.
The Wadali Brothers, Puranchand Wadali and Pyarelal Wadali, are famous singers of which genre?
A. DhrupadB. Carnatic musicC. Rabindra SangeetD. Sufi musiceasyAsked in SSCView solution › - Q3.
Which of the following was a maestro of Hindustani classical music?
A. Semmangudi Srinivasa IyerB. M.S. SubbulakshmiC. TyagarajaD. Bade Ghulam Ali KhaneasyAsked in SSCView solution › - Q4.
Which music director is known as the 'Mozart of Madras'?
A. IlaiyaraajaB. A.R. RahmanC. M.S. ViswanathanD. R.D. BurmaneasyAsked in SSCView solution › - Q5.
The singer Begum Akhtar was popularly called:
A. Nightingale of IndiaB. Mallika-e-GhazalC. Queen of ThumriD. Melody QueeneasyAsked in SSCView solution › - Q6.
Shubha Mudgal is famous for which form of music?
A. Hindustani classical musicB. Carnatic classical musicC. Rabindra SangeetD. Baul musiceasyAsked in SSCView solution › - Q7.
Who is known as the father of Qawwali in India?
A. Amir KhusrauB. TansenC. Bulleh ShahD. KabireasyAsked in SSCView solution › - Q8.
U. Srinivas (Uppalapu Srinivas) is associated with which musical instrument?
A. MandolinB. FluteC. VeenaD. ViolineasyAsked in SSCView solution › - Q9.
Pandit Kishan Maharaj of the Banaras gharana was a famous:
A. Sarangi playerB. Sitar playerC. Tabla playerD. Shehnai playereasyAsked in SSCView solution › - Q10.
Shahid Parvez Khan, Budhaditya Mukherjee, Anoushka Shankar and Hara Shankar Bhattacharya are associated with which instrument?
A. SarangiB. SitarC. SantoorD. SarodeasyAsked in SSCView solution › - Q11.
Pandit Shivkumar Sharma was an exponent of which musical instrument?
A. SitarB. SantoorC. ShehnaiD. SarodeasyAsked in SSCView solution › - Q12.
Who is credited with taking the shehnai from the marriage mandap to the concert hall?
A. Ustad Allauddin KhanB. Ustad Ali Ahmad Hussain KhanC. Pandit Hariprasad ChaurasiaD. Ustad Bismillah KhaneasyAsked in SSCView solution › - Q13.
Which singer was known as the 'Queen of Thumri'?
A. Begum AkhtarB. Girija DeviC. Kishori AmonkarD. Gangubai HangaleasyAsked in SSCView solution › - Q14.
The Indian percussionist T.H. Vinayakram (Vikku Vinayakram) is famous for playing which instrument?
A. KanjiraB. TablaC. GhatamD. MridangameasyAsked in SSCView solution › - Q15.
Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia is associated with which musical instrument?
A. ShehnaiB. SantoorC. Bansuri (flute)D. SarodeasyAsked in SSCView solution › - Q16.
Ustad Vilayat Khan was a famous player of which instrument?
A. ShehnaiB. SitarC. SarangiD. SarodeasyAsked in SSCView solution › - Q17.
Ustad Sultan Khan was a famous player of which instrument?
A. SarodB. SantoorC. ShehnaiD. SarangieasyAsked in SSCView solution › - Q18.
L. Subramaniam, the violinist, is famous for which form of music?
A. Rabindra SangeetB. Carnatic musicC. QawwaliD. DhrupadeasyAsked in SSCView solution › - Q19.
The Sabri Brothers, Aziz Warsi and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan are associated with which form of music?
A. DhrupadB. Carnatic musicC. ThumriD. QawwalieasyAsked in SSC +1View solution › - Q20.
Nikhil Banerjee was a famous player of which instrument?
A. SarodB. TablaC. SantoorD. SitareasyAsked in SSCView solution ›