Examinations

Sangeet College offers two methods of learning Indian classical music.  The first route entails students following a set curriculum leading to accredited qualifications. Sangeet College has developed this to complement the western form of learning. At the same time, the college upholds the second route, encompassing traditional Guru-Shishya (teacher-student) that originated from India and is known as Gurukul.

Sangeet College trains students of all ages to take examinations set by Pandit Ram Sahai Sangit Vidyalaya (PRSSV), a body that provides access to accredited qualifications with equivalence to GCSE, A-Level, and Degree Level. PRSSV is an associate member of the Graded Qualifications Alliance (GQA) which is an accredited awarding body in the UK.

Students pursuing studies in both North and South Indian styles have access to these qualifications through approved examination centres throughout the UK, no matter whether in the public or private sector.

For each grade, students have to perform pieces from memory and demonstrate technical skills, eg: with alankars, kayadas, tukaras, raag and taal identification, ear tests, improvisation, and transposition of pieces into different raags and taals. Theory examinations complement the practical and include notating a variety of composed and improvised pieces.

Students from all over the UK and Europe appear for PRSSV examinations in the performance arts of the Indian subcontinent, including the sitar, veena, tabla, kathak, bharatnatyam, vocal and sugam sangeet.