The Sound of Music Extra Questions and

Answers Class 9 English Beehive

The Sound of Music Extra Questions and Answers Class 9

Question 1.
What were Evelyn’s feelings as she stood on the platform waiting for the London
underground?
Answer:
As she stood on the platform Evelyn felt both nervous and excited because she was
waiting for a train in London to take her to her dream destination – to join the
prestigious Royal Academy for Music. She was apprehensive as she was a young,
seventeen-year-old from Scotland going to join such a prestigious music institute.
Moreover, she was profoundly deaf and despite her disability, she had made it to the
Music Academy.

Question 2.
How old was Evelyn when she went to the Royal Academy of Music? Why was she
nervous on her way to the academy?
Answer:
Evelyn was only seventeen years of age when she was selected to the Royal
Academy of Music, London. She had come straight from a farmland in Scotland, she
had not experienced much of the world. In addition, she was profoundly deaf and
was going to a big institute like The Royal Academy of Music. Her nervousness was
the result of her young age, her lack of exposure and her hearing disability.

Question 3.
Why was Evelyn “nervous yet excited” as she waited for the train?
Answer:
While leaving for the Royal Academy of Music, Evelyn was excited despite her
nervousness as going to the Royal Academy of Music, London was a dream come
true for her. She was going to join a three-year course in an institute she had
dreamed of joining. It excited her to think that despite her hearing impairment she
had made her way to such a prestigious institute.
Question 4.
Why was Evelyn Glennie going to face a bigger challenge at the prestigious Royal
Academy of Music in London?
Answer:
Evelyn Glennie was passionate about music, and would not let anything stand in her
way, but studying music at the prestigious Royal Academy of Music in London was a
challenge for her for two reasons: in the first place she was deaf and in the second,
she was brought up on a Scottish farm. It was a challenge for a deaf village girl to
compete with other singers who had perfect hearing.

Question 5.
When and how was Evelyn’s hearing problem noticed?
Answer:
Evelyn was only eight-year-old when her hearing problem was noticed by her mother
when she was eight years old and she did not respond to a call for a performance on
piano. However, her loss of hearing was gradual and her deafness was confirmed at
the age of eleven when her poor academic performance forced her parents to
consult a specialist.

Question 6.
Who advised Evelyn’s parents to take her to a specialist? Why?
Answer:
Evelyn managed to hide her growing deafness from students and teachers for some
time. However, by the time she was eleven years old, her performance in school
deteriorated and her marks began to fall. It was then that the headmistress advised
her parents to consul a specialist.

Question 7.
When was Evelyn’s deafness confirmed? What advice was given to her?
Answer:
Evelyn’s deafness was gradual. By the time she was eleven, her marks had
deteriorated. Her teachers advised her parents to take her to a specialist. The
specialist discovered that her hearing was badly impaired because of gradual nerve
damage. He advised her parents that she should be fitted with hearing aids and sent
to a school for the deaf.

Question 8.
“Everything suddenly looked black”. Why did Evelyn feel this way?
Answer:
When Evelyn was advised to use hearing aids and join a school for the deaf, she felt
that her future was bleak and dark. She was depressed, as she felt she would not be
able to lead a normal life nor pursue her interest in music.
Question 9.
How did Evelyn Glennie respond to the discovery of her deafness?
Answer:
On learning about her deafness due to gradual nerve damage, Evelyn Glennie, felt at
first that her future was dark and bleak. However, instead of giving up, she decided to
lead a normal life like other children and pursue her dream of learning music.

Question 10.
How did Evelyn’s teachers respond when she expressed her desire to play a
xylophone?
Answer:
Evelyn had always loved music and despite her deafness, she expressed a desire to
play the xylophone when she saw another girl playing it. However her teachers felt
that she would not be able to play it because of her impaired hearing and they
discouraged her from doing so.

Question 11.
Most of the teachers discouraged her but percussionist Ron Forbes spotted her
potential. How did he respond to it?
Answer:
When her teachers discouraged her from pursuing a career in music, Ron Forbes, the
percussionist, encouraged and helped Evelyn to continue with music. He noticed her
potential and decided to help her develop it. He told Evelyn to train different parts of
her body to sense musical notes. He tuned two drums with different notes to make
her sense the higher ones from the upper part of her body and the lower ones from
her waist down.

Question 12.
“I had learnt to open my mind and body to sounds and vibrations,” says Evelyn. How
did she do this?
Answer:
Guided by Ron Forbes, Evelyn leamt to listen through different parts of her body
other than her ears. Her mind and body became sensitized to notice and differentiate
various sounds and vibrations of music. Her body compensated for the loss of
hearing with her awakened and sharpened senses in other parts of her body.

Question 13.
What kind of recognition did Evelyn get at the Royal Academy of Music?
Answer:
When Evelyn was seventeen, she joined the Royal Academy of Music. She scored the
highest marks in the history of the academy. She was one of the most brilliant
students of the academy and won many top awards during her three-year course.
Question 14.
Why did Evelyn say, “Men with bushy beards give me trouble”?
Answer:
Evelyn could understand what others were saying by reading the movement of lips
and by watching faces and eyes. It was difficult for her to read the movement of lips
of the men with bushy beards in order to grasp what they were saying. She jokingly
remarked that men with bushy beards gave her trouble.

Question 15.
Which qualities of character enabled Evelyn to achieve unprecedented success in
life?
Answer:
Unfaltering determination and hard work enabled Evelyn to move ahead in life.
Instead of yielding to her handicap, she decided to overcome it and lead the life of a
normal person. She was devoted to music and her sincere efforts helped her achieve
unprecedented success.

Question 16.
She never looked back from that point onwards. Explain.
Answer:
Evelyn learnt to feel the vibrations and sensations in every part of her body, she leant
to open her body and mind to the sounds and vibrations. These tingled in her skin,
her cheekbones and even in hair. After that, she never looked back, because from
that time on she was very successful in her chosen career.

Question 17.
How did Evelyn get admission in the Royal Academy of Music, London?
Answer:
Evelyn gave audition for admission to Royal Academy of Music, London. Her score in
the audition was one of the highest in the history of the academy. Therefore, she got
selected for a three-year course.

Question 18.
Evelyn continued to work hard at the Royal Academy of Music. Do you agree?
Answer:
At the Royal Academy of Music, London, Evelyn began as one of the performers in
orchestra. But gradually she moved on to give solo performances. At the end of her
three-year course, she had bagged the biggest awards in the Academy. This shows
Evelyn did not rest on her laurels but continued to work hard.

Question 19.
What did James Blades say about Evelyn’s music?
Answer:
James Blades remarked that God may have taken away her sense of hearing but He
has given her something extraordinary. What we hear, she feels, far more deeply than
any of us. She is a talented musician who expresses music so beautifully.

Question 20.
How is Evelyn a source of inspiration to people who are in any way disabled?
Answer:
Evelyn’s achievements, gained through determination and hard work, are an example
for other handicapped people. They gain confidence from her example and believe
that they too can achieve them goals in life by overcoming their challenges and
disabilities with firm determination.

Question 21.
How does Evelyn regard her own success?
Answer:
Evelyn is extremely modest and does not consider her achievements to be heroic
deeds. She feels that if one is focussed on the goal and puts in hard work, one is
sure to succeed. She says, “If you work hard and know where you are going, you’ll get
there.”

Question 22.
Name the various places and causes for which Evelyn performs.
Answer:
Evelyn performs in concerts internationally. In addition, she also gives concerts free
of charge in prisons and hospitals. In addition, she holds classes for young
musicians.

Question 23.
What is Evelyn’s contribution to percussion?
Answer:
Evelyn has contributed to percussion by securing for it a front place in orchestra. She
has shown how the music of the percussion instruments is deeply moving and
touches the hearts and emotions of people.

Question 24.
What are Evelyn’s main achievements?
Answer:
Evelyn has brought percussion to the front of the orchestra. She has given
inspiration to those who are handicapped. Besides this, she has brought great
pleasure to millions.
The Sound of Music Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.
Evelyn did not succumb to her disability. Comment.
Answer:
Evelyn Glennie was always interested in music. In fact, her mother realised she was
having problems with her hearing when at the age of eight years Evelyn was to give a
piano recital and she didn’t hear her name being called. By the age of twelve, Evelyn
had lost her hearing. However, she did not let this stand in the way of her pursuing
her passion music.

Though she was advised to wear a hearing aid and to attend a special school for the
deaf, Evelyn did not give up. Despite facing discouragement from her teachers, she
wanted to lead a normal life and play xylophone. However, Ron Forbes, a great
percussionist, trained her to listen to the musical sounds and vibrations not through
ears, but through other parts of her body.

He created two drums with different sounds to make her hear the higher beats from
the upper part of her body and the lower beats from below her waist. The experiment
was so effective that Evelyn opened her mind and body to the fine sounds of music.
Evelyn now believes that music penetrates into her through every part – through her
skin, cheekbones and even her hair.

When she plays xylophone, she feels that the sounds move from the stick into the
tips of her fingers. When the drums are played, she can feel the resonant sounds
pouring into her body. She takes off her foot wears on a wooden stage and the
vibrations of the instruments pass from her bare feet into her legs. Thus, Evelyn has
sensitized the different parts of her body to the different sounds of music.

Question 2.
“If you work hard and know where you are going, you’ll get there,” remarks Evelyn
Glennie. What does it reveal about her character?
Answer:
Evelyn’s firm determination, her hard work and her focus on her goal are well
revealed in her statement. These values of her character have enabled her to
successfully overcome her handicap of deafness. Though she developed hearing
impairment at the young age of eight, and became profoundly deaf by the age of
twelve, she has never let it become a stumbling block in her way to success.

Firmly determined to pursue music and to lead a normal life, Evelyn did not let her
disability stand in her way. The encouragement and training provided by
percussionist Ron Forbes paved the way for her advancement and she stuck to the
path with unshakeable self-confidence. It was this confidence and faith in herself
that made her dare to audition for the Royal Academy of Music, London where she
received the top most awards.

Evelyn is very hard working. She has worked hard, in fact much harder than the other
classical musicians to bring percussion to the front stage in orchestra. She believes
that no goal is unachievable for those who work hard and are focussed on the goal.
With her earnest efforts, she moved from orchestra to solo performances and
eventually became an internationally renowned percussionist owing to her command
over a large number of instruments. Her courage and confidence to rise above her
disability has made her a soprce of inspiration for all.

Question 3.
Evelyn is very down-to-earth and does not succumb to hero worship. Comment.
Answer:
Evelyn Glennie did not let her loss of hearing get her down. She was determined to
make a career in music, and with the help of percussionist Ron Forbes, she trained
herself to feel music through every part of her body. She never looked back from that
point onwards. She toured the United Kingdom with a youth orchestra and by the
time she was sixteen, she had decided to make music her life. She auditioned for the
Royal Academy of Music and scored one of the highest marks in the history of the
academy.

She gradually moved from orchestral work to solo performances. At the end of her
three-year course, she had captured most of the top awards. And for all this, Evelyn
doesn’t accept any hint of heroic achievement. “If you work hard and know where
you are going, you’ll get there.” And she got right to the top, the world’s most sought-
after multi-percussionist with a mastery of some thousand instruments, and hectic
international schedule.

Question 4.
Evelyn is an inspiration to all. Justify.
Answer:
Despite her disability, Evelyn rose to great heights as a musician. When talking of
music, she explains, “It pours in through every part of my body. It tingles in the skin,
my cheekbones and even in my hair.” When she plays the xylophone, she can sense
the sound passing up the stick into her fingertips. By leaning against the drums, she
can feel the resonances flowing into her body. On a wooden platform, she removes
her shoes so that the vibrations pass through her bare feet and up her legs.

Not surprisingly, Evelyn delights her audiences. In 1991 she was presented with the
Royal Philharmonic Society’s prestigious Soloist of the Year Award. Says master
percussionist James Blades, “God may have taken her hearing but he has given her
back something extraordinary. What we hear, she feels — far more deeply than any
of us. That is why she expresses music so beautifully.”

Evelyn confesses that she is something of a workaholic. “I’ve just got to work … often
harder than classical musicians. But the rewards are enormous.” Apart from the
regular concerts, Evelyn also gives free concerts in prisons and hospitals. She also
gives high priority to classes for young musicians. Ann Richlin of the Beethoven Fund
for Deaf Children says, “She is a shining inspiration for deaf children. They see that
there is nowhere that they cannot go.”

Evelyn Glennie has already accomplished more than most people twice her age. She
has brought percussion to the front of the orchestra, and demonstrated that it can be
very moving. She has given inspiration to those who are handicapped, people who
look to her and say, ‘If she can do it, I can.’ And, not the least, she has given
enormous pleasure to millions.