Read the following paragraph carefully and select the option which would…
2024
Read the following paragraph carefully and select the option which would correctly fill the blanks in the given order.
Sound is produced by vibration and different musical instruments have specific vibrating parts. In a X, the sound is produced by stretched strings, in a Y, it is the stretched membrane that vibrates and in a Z, the vibrating part that produces sound is the air column.
X, Y and Z can respectively be:
- A.
sitar, harmonium, dholak
- B.
dholak, ektara, mouth organ
- C.
guitar, tabla, shehnai
- D.
ektara, violin, piano
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Musical instruments are classified by the part that vibrates to create sound. A chordophone (string instrument) produces sound from stretched strings, a membranophone (membrane instrument) produces sound from a stretched membrane stretched over a frame, and an aerophone (wind instrument) produces sound from a vibrating column of air enclosed inside a tube or pipe.
In the passage, X names a stretched-string instrument, Y names a stretched-membrane instrument, and Z names an air-column instrument. The guitar is a chordophone whose sound comes from its stretched strings, so it fits X. The tabla is a membranophone whose sound comes from its stretched membrane (the drumhead), so it fits Y. The shehnai is an aerophone whose sound comes from the vibrating air column inside its conical bore, so it fits Z. Reading the three instruments in order therefore gives X, Y, Z as guitar, tabla and shehnai.
sitar, harmonium, dholak: the sitar's stretched strings would fit X, but the harmonium produces sound from vibrating reeds driven by air rather than a stretched membrane, so it cannot fit Y, and the dholak is a membrane instrument rather than an air-column instrument, so it cannot fit Z.
dholak, ektara, mouth organ: the dholak produces sound from a stretched membrane rather than stretched strings, so it cannot open the sequence at X, and the ektara is a string instrument rather than a membrane instrument, so it cannot fit Y.
ektara, violin, piano: the ektara's strings would fit X, but the violin is also a string instrument rather than a membrane instrument, so it cannot fit Y, and the piano produces sound from hammers striking strings rather than from a vibrating air column, so it cannot fit Z.