NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English, Chapter 2: The sound of Music

Class 9 is the first stepping stone for a student in the competitive world. With the introduction of the CBSE Board Exam for class 10 a few years back, this has become an important gateway for a student. Based on the results of class 9th a student selects his future stream of Science, Commerce or Arts suiting his interest.

Takshila Learning is providing NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English as per the latest syllabus by CBSE. Class 9 is the building block for the CBSE Class 10 Board Exams, not only for your exams but also for your higher studies and career. English is the most essential subject and the knowledge in this field opens up wider career opportunities for the students.

Below you can find the NCERT solution for Class 9th English. You can get a Solution for the all-important question of Class 9 English, Chapter 2: The sound of Music

Answer these questions in a few words or a couple of sentences each.

Question 1. How old was Evelyn when she went to the Royal Academy of Music?
Answer: Evelyn was not even seventeen when she went to the Royal Academy of Music.

Question 2.When was her deafness first noticed? When was it confirmed?
Answer: Her deafness was noticed when she was eight years of age and, It was verified by the time she was eleven.

Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (30-40 words).

Question 1. Who helped her to continue with music? What did he do and say?
Answer: Ron Forbes helped her to continue with music. He sighted her potential and said, “Don’t listen through your ears, try to sense it some other way.” He started by whirling two huge drums to various notes.

Question 2. Name the various places and causes for which Evelvnperformss.
Answer: Evelyn performed free concerts in jails and hospitals. She made music her life and performed numerous regular concerts.

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

Question 1. How does Evelyn hear music?
Answer: Evelyn became deaf when she was eleven. But she did not lose hope. She was determined to lead an ordinary life and follow her interest in music. Ron Forbes, a percussionist noticed her capability. He asked her not to listen through ears but strive to feel it some other way. She comprehended she could feel the higher drum from the waist up and the lower one from the waist down. Forbes recounted the exercise and soon Evelyn found out that she could feel distinct notes in different parts of her body. She understood how to open her body and mind to sounds and vibrations. She herself said, “It pours in through every part of my body. It tingles in the skin, my cheekbones and even in my hair.” When she played on the xylophone, she could sense the noise passing up the stick into her fingertips. By leaning against the drums, she could feel the resonances streaming into her body. On the wooden floor, she used to remove her shoes so that the vibrations may pass through her bare feet and up her legs.

Thinking about the Text
(Page 25)

Question 1.
Tick the right answer.

1. The (shehnai, pungi) was a ‘reeded noisemaker.’
2. (Bismillah Khan, A barber, Ali Bux) transformed the pungi into a shehnai.
3. Bismillah Khan’s paternal ancestors were (barbers, professional musicians).
4. Bismillah Khan learned to play the shehnai from (Ali Bux, Paigambar Bux, Ustad Faiyaaz Khan).
5. Bismillah Khan’s first trip abroad was to (Afghanistan, U.S.A., Canada).

Answers:

1. Pungi
2. A barber
3. Professional musicians
4. Ali bux
5. Afghanistan

Question 2.
Find the words in the text which show Ustad Bismillah Khan’s feelings about the items listed below. Then mark a tick (✓) in the correct column. Discuss your answers in class.

Answers:

1. Positive
2. Negative
3. Negative
4. Neutral
5. Positive
6. Positive
7. Negative

Answer these questions in 30-40 words.

Question 1. Why did Aurangzeb ban the playing of the pungi?
Answer: Aurangzeb prohibited the playing of the pungi because it had a shrill and horrible sound.

Question 2. How is a shehnai different from a pungi?
Answer: Shehnaii is a pipe with a natural hollow that is longer and wider than a pungi and, It has seven gaps in the body of the pipe.

Question 3. Where was the shehnai played traditionally? How did Bismillah Khan change this?
Answer: The Shehnaii was played traditionally in the temple at the royal courts and on the happening of marriages. The credit must go to Bismillah Khan to take this device or instrument onto the classical stage.

Question 4.
When and how did Bismillah Khan get his big break?
Answer: Bismillah Khan got his big break with the commencement of the All India Radio in Lucknow in 1938.

Question 5. Where did Bismillah Khan play the shehnai on 15 August 1947? Why was the event historic?
Answer: Bismillah Khan played the Shehnaii on 15 August 1947 at the Red Fort and he was the first Indian to welcome the nation with his musical instrument. This event was historic because We got freedom on that day. He poured his heart out in the existence of a vast number of people containing Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru.

Question 6.Why did Bismillah Khan refuse to start a Shehnaii school in the U.S.A.?
Answer: He refused to start a shehnai school in the USA because he never wished to leave India. He liked India so much and he did not want to live anywhere except India. That is why whenever he was in a different country, he kept wishing to see Hindustan.

Question 7. Find at least two instances in the text which tell you that Bismillah Khan loves India and Benaras.
Answer: Bismillah Khan loves India and Banaras very much. The sound of Music 197 from the core of his heart. He says that he misses the holy Ganga and India when he goes to a different country. While in Mumbai, he imagines only Benaras and the holy river. And when he is in Benaras, he recalls the extraordinary mattha of Dumraon.

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