The Sound of Music Summary

Evelyn Glennie is a multi – percussionist. She has attained mastery over almost
a thousand musical instruments despite being hearing – impaired. She learnt to
feel music through the body instead of hearing it through the ears.
When Evelyn was eleven years old, it was discovered that she had lost her
hearing power due to nerve damage. The specialist advised that she wear
hearing aids and be sent to a school for the deaf. On the contrary, Evelyn was
determined to lead a normal life and follow her interest in music. Although she
was discouraged by her teachers, her potential was noticed by master
percussionist, Ron Forbes. He guided Evelyn to feel music some other way than
to hear it through her ears. This worked well for Evelyn and she realized that she
could sense different sounds through different parts of her body.
Once she had overcome this hurdle, Evelyn began her career in music. She got
admission in the Royal Academy of Music, London and scored the highest marks
in the history of the academy. Evelyn says that hard work and dedication towards
her goal helped her achieve success. Evelyn gives solo performances and even
gives free concerts for hospitals and schools. In the year 1991, she won the
Royal Philharmonic Society’s prestigious ‘Soloist of the Year’ Award. Evelyn’s
story is an inspiration for the differently abled who are motivated to fulfil their
dreams like she did.

The Sound of Music Class 9 Question and

Answers
Answer these questions in a few words or a couple of sentences each.
1. How old was Evelyn when she went to the Royal Academy of Music?
A. Evelyn was seventeen years old when she got admission in the Royal
Academy of Music, London. She was nervous as she boarded the train from
Scotland as she lived on farms in the countryside and was not exposed to the life
in cities. Evelyn was excited as she was about to begin her career in music which
was her aim in life.

2. When was her deafness first noticed? When was it confirmed?

A. When Evelyn was eight years old, her mother, Isabelle Glennie noticed that
Evelyn did not respond to her name being called out at the piano class. Evelyn’s
loss of hearing was gradual and for some time she was able to hide her disability
from her teachers and friends. By the time she turned eleven, her marks
deteriorated, and her parents took her to a doctor. Then, it was discovered that
Evelyn was profoundly deaf.
Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (30–40 words).
1. Who helped her to continue with music? What did he do and say?
A. Evelyn was discouraged by her teachers but master – percussionist Ron
Forbes spotted her talent and potential. He guided Evelyn to feel music some
other way rather than hearing it. He got two large drums and tuned them to
different notes. When he played the drums, Evelyn reacted to the distinct notes
differently. She realized that she could feel the higher notes produced by one of
the drums through the upper part of her body, above the waist and the lower
notes of the other drum through the lower part of her body, below the waist. This
worked well for Evelyn and gradually, she found that she could sense different
sounds and vibrations through different parts of her body.

2. Name the various places and causes for which Evelyn performs.
A. Evelyn made her first tour at the age of sixteen, when she performed with a
youth orchestra. She toured the United Kingdom and after that tour she decided
that she would make a career in music. She has made her name in the field of
music. Evelyn is a popular musician with a busy international schedule. Apart
from the regular concerts, she also does charity and performs for hospitals and
prisons. Evelyn also holds classes for young musicians.

Answer the question in two or three paragraphs (100–150 words).

1. How does Evelyn hear music?

A. Evelyn Glennie was passionate about music but unfortunately, she lost her
sense of hearing by the age of eleven. She wanted to learn playing the
xylophone but was discouraged by her teachers. They opined that as she could
not hear, she could not learn music. Master percussionist Ron Forbes spotted
Evelyn’s potential. He guided her to feel music some other way than to hear it
through her ears. He trained her by tuning two large drums to different notes.
Evelyn realized that she could sense different sounds and vibrations through
different parts of her body. She could feel the higher notes produced by one of
the drums through the upper part of her body, above the waist and the lower
notes of the other drum through the lower part of her body, below the waist.This
experiment worked well for Evelyn and she responded to the finer sounds of
music too.

Evelyn can feel music penetrate her body though various parts – cheeks, hair,
skin, etc. When she plays the xylophone, she feels the sound move from the
sticks into her finger tips. When the drums are played, she can feel the echo of
the drum beats through her body. Evelyn removes her footwear as she performs
on a wooden floor so that she can feel the vibrations produced by different
instruments pass through her feet up her legs. Thus, Evelyn has sensitized her
body to music.

Introduction to the lesson

The lesson is about Ustaad Bismillah Khan. He was a renowned shehnai

player in India. He is a legend because he did something which has historical
significance. He played the shehnai on the day India got independence i.e
15 August 1947. At the Red Fort, before the Prime Minister of India, Pandit
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Jawahar Lal Nehru gave his speech. Before that Bismillah Khan played the
shehnai in order to signify something auspicious. Something auspicious for
the whole country was about to happen - India was about to get freedom.
And so, on that occasion, Bismillah Khan played the shehnai and so, he is a
legend.

Summary
Bismillah Khan made a valuable contribution to the world of music through
the ‘shehnai’. For this, he was honoured with India’s highest civilian honour
– the Bharat Ratna in 2001. He hailed from a family of musicians. He
improvised many new ragas with the shehnai and thus, placed it among other
classical musical instruments. He won accolades on the international level
too.
The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb banned the playing of the pungi in his royal
court. He disliked the sound and so, the pungi was termed to be a
noisemaker. A barber tried to improve the pungi’s tone. He got a hollow stem,
wider and longer than the pungi, made seven holes on it and blew into it,
closing and opening the holes. It produced soft, melodious music. As this
instrument had been developed by a barber called ‘nai’ in India and was
played in the king’s court called ‘shah’, the instrument was named ‘shehnai’.
The shehnai became a part of auspicious occasions. It was a part of the
group of nine musical instruments that were played at the royal court.
Bismillah Khan was born at Dumraon, Bihar in 1916 into a family of
musicians. His grandfather Rasool Bux Khan played the shehnai at the court
of the king of Bhojpur. His father, Paigambar Bux and his paternal as well as
maternal uncles were shehnai players. As a child, Bismillah Khan would visit
the Bihariji temple to sing the Bhojpuri Chaita for which the king rewarded
him with a laddu weighing 1.25kg. At the age of three, Bismillah Khan visited
his maternal uncle, Ali Bux at Benaras. He saw him playing the shehnai and
was fascinated by it. At the age of five, he started learning playing it. He
would spend hours practicing, at the temple of Balaji and Mangala Maiya, by
the banks of the holy river Ganga. The flowing waters of the river inspired
him to improvise and Bismillah Khan invented ragas which were considered
to be beyond the range of the shehnai.
At the age of fourteen, he performed at the Allahabad Music Conference and
his talent was appreciated by Ustaad Faiyaz Khan. In 1938, he started
performing from the Lucknow station of the All India Radio. The day India
gained independence, on 15 August 1947, Bismillah Khan performed from
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the Red Fort and greeted the country through his shehnai. He recited raag
kafi which was followed by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s famous ‘Tryst with
Destiny’ speech.
Bismillah Khan performed all around the world. His first foreign performance
was in Afghanistan where the king was so impressed that he gifted him many
souvenirs. Bismillah Khan composed music for two films – Hindi film titled –
‘Goonj Uthi Shehnai’ directed by Vijay Bhatt and Kannada film titled –
‘Sanadhi Apanna’ by Vikram Srinivas.
He was the first Indian to perform at the Lincoln Centre Hall in the United
States of America. He also performed at Montreal, Cannes and Tokyo. In
Teheran, an auditorium was named after him – Tahar Mosiquee Ustaad
Bismillah Khan.
Ustaad Bismillah Khan said that music was India’s richest heritage and had
to be taught to the children. Although he had travelled all over the world, he
was attached to Dumraon and Benaras. Once a student asked him to set up
a shehnai school in the USA and promised to recreate the temples of
Benaras there. Bismillah Khan asked him whether he would transport the
river Ganga also, as he was attached to it as well.
 Bismillah Khan is a true example of a secular Indian as being a Muslim, he
played the shehnai at the Kashi Vishwanath temple. For him music was
above religious barriers.

Question and Answers

Tick the right answer.

i.The (shehnai, pungi ) was a ‘reeded noisemaker.’

ii. (Bismillah Khan, A barber, Ali Bux) transformed the pungi into a shehnai.
iii. Bismillah Khan’s paternal ancestors were (barbers, professional
musicians).
iv. Bismillah Khan learnt to play the shehnai from (Ali Bux, Paigambar Bux,
Ustaad Faiyaaz Khan).

v. Bismillah Khan’s first trip abroad was to (Afghanistan, U.S.A., Canada).

A.
1. pungi
2. A barber
3. professional musicians
4. Ali Bux
5. Afghanistan

Find the words in the text which show Ustaad Bismillah Khan’) in the
correct column. Discuss your answers in class.s feelings about the
items listed below. Then mark a tick () in the correct column. Discuss
your answers in class.
Answer these questions in 30–40 words.
1. Why did Aurangzeb ban the playing of the pungi?
A. Aurangzeb disliked the sound produced by the pungi. It was considered
to be a reeded noisemaker as it was loud, shrill and unpleasant. So, he
banned playing of pungi in his royal court.
2. How is a shehnai different from a pungi?
A. Although the shehnai is also a reeded musical instrument like the pungi,
it differs in shape, size and the quality of sound produced by it. It was made
with a hollow stem which was longer and broader than the pungi and had
seven holes on it. The sound produced by the shehnai was soft and
melodious in contrast to the shrill noise made by the pungi.

3. Where was the shehnai played traditionally? How did Bismillah Khan
change this?
A. Traditionally, the shehnai was played at the royal court as part of the
traditional collection of musical instruments called ‘naubat’, in the temples
and at weddings. Bismillah Khan invented new ragas with the shehnai and
thus, brought it on the stage among other classical musical instruments.

4. When and how did Bismillah Khan get his big break?
A. Bismillah Khan got his big break when in 1938 the All India Radio opened
its Radio Station at Lucknow. He played shehnai from the radio station
regularly and his music became popular through it.

5. Where did Bismillah Khan play the shehnai on 15 August 1947? Why
was the event historic?
On 15 August 1947, Bismillah Khan played the shehnai from the Red Fort
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and greeted the entire country. The event was historic as it was the day when
India gained independence from the British rule. Bismillah’s performance
was followed by the historic speech – ‘Tryst with Destiny’ given by India’s
first Prime Minister – Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

6. Why did Bismillah Khan refuse to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A.?
A. Bismillah Khan was attached to the temples of Benaras and the river
Ganga. He could not leave them and so, refused to set up a shehnai school
in the USA.

7. Find at least two instances in the text which tell you that Bismillah Khan
loves India and Benaras.
A.Bismillah’s love for India and Benaras are shown by the fact that he
refused to set up a shehnai school in USA as he could not leave Benaras
and river Ganga. Secondly, when he was honoured with the Bharat Ratna,
he declared that Indian Classical music was India’s richest heritage.