1. Know some very basic facts about the country/region of India. Where is it, and how large is it? What are its neighboring countries? What ethnic groups live in India and what is the (very) approximate population? How homogeneous or diverse is the population?
2. What effects do the history of this region, the relationship with neighboring (invading) peoples, e.g., Harrapnam, Aryan, and Muslim, and other factors have on music in this country?
3. What are the two dominant religions in this area of the world? What are the Rig-Vedas, the Brahmin caste, and why are these important to the history of music in India?
4. What do the two basic subdivisions of Indian music - Hindustani and Karnatak - represent, and why are there two basic styles instead of one unified style? How are the influences of outside cultures evident in either of these two musical styles?
5. What are some of the basic attitudes and beliefs that define and differentiate these two systems, especially concerning the uses of music and the status of musicians?
6. How is Indian music preserved, passed down, and taught? What do the terms Ustad and Guru mean and what signficance do they have in Indian music?
7. What is the status of music is each tradition, and how is that status reflected in who makes music, how they make music, and how they are viewed in each tradition?
8. What are some of the most important musical instruments used in India? In general, to what familes do each of these instruments belong, how is each constructed, and how is each played? You should especially know the Sitar, Sarod, Tabla, Tampura, Vina, Pakhavaj, Mridangam, and perhaps a few others. In particular, know to which tradition (North or South) each belongs.
9. What is a Raga? How do Indians define a Raga, i.e., what are the traits that make each Raga unique? What western concept is similar to "raga," but is not quite the same (and what are some of the differences)? How does a performer learn a raga?
10. How does the Indian system divide the octave and how does that affect the way Indian music sounds to most westerners? What is the Melakarta system, and how does it show the organization of pitch in ragas? Know terms like Sa, Ma, and Pa.
11. What is a Tal(a) (or Tala)? What element of a composition or performance does it control? What western concept is similar to tal, but is not quite the same (and what are the differences)?
12. How do Indian musicians and audiences sometimes keep track of the Tal? What is Teental (or Tintal)? What is a Bol and how is it used? Know terms like Matra, Vibhag, Tali, Khali, Sam, and Avartan (or at least the be able to explain basic concepts in English).
13. What is the general manner in which classical Indian music is performed, especially in the North? How do pieces begin, what happens next, and so on? How do the various performers relate to one another when they are playing, i.e., what is each doing and how does that contribute to the whole? Know terms like: Alap, Jor, Jhala, and Gat.
14. What importance does vocal music have for Indian music, especially in the South? What is the relationship of vocal music to the Vedas? Which tradition of Indian music values vocal music more highly? In general terms, what are the Kriti (and its three parts)?
15. How does Popular Music in India relate to Western popular music, especially in in recent decades? How do songs like Engal Kalyanam" and "Urvasi, Urvasi" compare to Western pop? What other examples of Western borrowing can you name, and how "Indian" do they really sound?

updated: 25 February 2019