Student Performance By Content Standard - Casas: Fill & Download for Free

There may not be much questions on the subject especially on mathematics, chemistry or physics.There may be questions on the following subjects:CommerceEconomicsHistoryComputer scienceIt has to be noted that the interview is conducted by only retired bank executives and the following will be their main focus when it comes to questions:BankingEconomicsCapital marketCurrent affairsRecent budgetPersonalities who are in the news recentlyRecent happenings in the field of banking, politics and money mattersPlease read the following for better guidance:Tips for Interview for recruitment as Probationary Officers in banksInstructions to candidatesThe purpose of the interview:The purpose of any interview is to select one suitable individual for the concerned post. The person to be interviewed may be having higher qualifications; however, he may not be having the requisite potentials or caliber in handling the job offered namely; better communication ability, leadership quality, emotional strength and efficient interpersonal relationship. Banking demands people who are willing to work hard by mingling with customers freely and friendly apart from maintaining a cordial; social and friendly relationship with the colleagues and superiors.Phases of the interview:The interview is conducted in four phases namely;·the first phase during the course of which questions are asked about the individual and his specialization in any area;·the second phase wherein questions are asked about the bank for which the interview is conducted;·the third phase wherein questions are asked about general banking, economy, finance and latest developments and·the fourth phase is the final round for the interview.The interview committee:The interview committee consists of three to five imminent personalities who are well versed in banking matters and normally the services of executives or retired executives of various commercial banks are utilized for the purpose of conducting the interview. The following system is adopted by the committee members during the course of interview process:·While one member poses questions to the candidate, the remaining members observe the body language of the individual as to how he reacts to the questions and especially in respect of difficult questions;·They also review as to how the candidate comes forward in presenting his answers in a crisp manner thereby providing the relevant points expected by the committee members at the shortest possible time.·Basing upon the answering ability, communication ability, level of confidence, willingness to accept challenges etc., the committee members select the individuals by awarding better gradation.·When the candidate is found to be inattentive on account of low level of self confidence or some other factors, the committee members pose provoking questions so that the candidate is emotionally provoked and aroused to come forward with appropriate answers.The interview process:The interview process consists of the following stages:·Attendance marking by the candidate at the reception committee and filling up the relevant format thereby furnishing his details;·Verification of the certificates namely; qualification certificates, experience certificates, certificates relating to extracurricular activities etc., by the reception committee/team members;·Candidate waiting at the reception hall for his turn;·Once called, candidate entering into the interview room duly seeking permission of the team members;·Candidate thanking the interview members for permitting him/her inside the cabin;·Candidate sitting on the seat once offered by one/more members in the interview committee;·Candidate thanking the person who had offered the seat;·Candidate shaking his hands with the members, if offered;·Candidate eagerly awaiting for the questions from the members;·Candidate mentally preparing himself to attend the interview with full concentration maintaining regular eye contact with the committee members;·Candidate answering the questions posed by the members enthusiastically, till the entire process is treated as completed;·Candidate collecting all certificates and documents once the interview is treated as completed;·Candidate thanking the committee members and·Candidate politely raising from the chair, walking towards the entrance, opening the cabin door and gently closing the door behind him;·Candidate meeting other candidates awaiting at the reception hall cheerfully.Dress code:·Dress code is most important aspect and a person is judged by the dress he wears. Dress makes half man.·For men: Please wear a neat full length trouser and one full length shirt – preferably white or light shaded; Usage of “T” shirts greatly dampens the image of the candidate and the purpose of using any ‘T” shirt is to have better comfort during the course of walking, relaxing, jogging, running, partying and relaxing. As such “T” shirts are not considered to be a fit wear during professional meetings including interviews. Do not wear highly dark colored and checked dresses. The candidate has to wear a good quality shoes neatly polished. If possible he can wear a “tie” and this is purely optional and certain organizations pay more attention to the personality of an individual which gets improved by way of better dressing.·For girls: Under any circumstances girls should not wear provoking dresses namely; “T” shirts, jeans pants, trousers, half gowns and shirts with messages and blouses with low cuts. A neat chudithar is considered to be the best option and wearing of sarees improves the image of the individual.A.Questions during the first phase:·Initially the candidates are invited to tell about their personal life and interests, their family members, their ambitions, their qualifications, their achievements in studies, sports, music and any other extracurricular activities;·The second question is about the place to which the candidate belongs. In case the candidate belongs to Chennai, he will be asked to tell about Chennai and the importance of the place. Necessarily the candidate should have a thorough knowledge about the place from which he is hailing;·The interviewers will pose “ice breaking questions” in order to shift the focus of the candidate. This is for the purpose of finding out the reaction of the candidate during such “focus change”. (Banks demand people who are able to face any challenges);·During the first two to three minutes, more than 80 percent of the questions will be on the personal details and basic information about the candidate. It has to be remembered that – “The first impression is the best impression” and accordingly the candidate has to behave politely, calmly, courageously and confidently.Sample questions during the first phase:·01. My dear friend, now tell us about yourself: The candidate has to inform in a crisp manner about himself, his family, his qualifications, achievements if any etc. Unnecessary details should be avoided altogether and the candidates at no cost should provide information to the committee members with an intention to derive sympathy from the committee members. Such an attitude will prompt the members either to reject or award poor marks.·02. I see – you are from Chennai – please tell me about Chennai: Since the candidate belongs to Chennai, he is invited to tell about Chennai and he should have pre-hand information about Chennai and should come forward to tell about important places in Chennai namely; Marina beach, High Court, Kabaleeswarar Temple, Metro train facilities, Santhome church, International airport, Asia’s biggest bus station at Koyembedu and many more.·03. I find that you had studied in Presidency college. What was the reason for your preference of this college?. How was your life in the college? The candidate has to tell about the college; the achievements of the college in academic scenario as well as in sports and in other areas;·04. I find that you had studied “EEE” - why you had chosen the course? The candidate has to tell about the purpose and the potential available for the students who had opted to pursue EEE course.·05. You are in Chennai for a long period. What is your opinion about Chennai?·06. You are having “EEE” in engineering and why you are willing to get employed in banks? (Your reply should be – In fact by working in a bank, I can develop my relationship with public in a better manner; improve my knowledge and provide better service to as many people as possible since the banks are purely service oriented organisations. I find that I can have more career prospects in future by getting employed in the banks)·07. What are your strengths and weaknesses? – Your answer should be: I am always willing to work hard under all circumstances and since I have a good communication ability, I hope that I can surely develop friendship with my colleagues, clients and others in a fast manner so that I can contribute better to the society.·08. You are a highly qualified person having one MBA degree apart from a degree in Engineering. What is the guarantee that you will be in the bank without shifting your attention to some other employment potential after some time?: Your reply should not be: On account of unemployment problem, I am joining the bank; Your reply should be – even though I have better qualifications, I wish to work in the banking industry because I can have better opportunities to serve for the welfare of the society by working in the bank than any other organisations.Responsibilities of the candidates appearing for the interview:The candidate should do a home work and he should always depend upon his positive straits namely; his strength, achievements and abilities and necessarily he should believe in himself that he can accept and do the job in a better manner and he should altogether avoid any negative reply or angry reply under any circumstances; even when provoked or tempted by the interview board members and the candidate should remain calm and wear a broad smile during the entire interview process.A smile has the power to keep the individual in better spirits at all times.The following question may provoke the candidate –·Dear friend, considering your personality, I find that you look like a film actor. How do you feel yourself ?(You had not at all expected this question and you are tempted to provide an apt reply to them: Your reply should be– In fact I am fond of wearing a neat dress and I take care of my health by doing physical exercises regularly apart from eating moderate food and getting into the bed at the appropriate time. I always believe in the following proverb – “Health is wealth”. An individual may not be in a position to discharge his duties properly without adequate health. The habit of eating quality food, regular exercise and better dressing are the factors which are responsible for my personality.B.Second phase of the interview process:During this phase, questions will be asked about the bank for which the candidate is appearing for the interview and the following are some sample questions in case the candidate is appearing for a post in Punjab National Bank:·Do you know – where is the head office of Punjab National Bank?·Who is the present chairman of the bank?·How many branches are there in Punjab National Bank as on date?·Can you tell me about the total business of the bank?·Can you tell me about some deposit schemes available in the bank?·What do you know about the logo of Punjab National Bank?·What is the punchline of Punjab National Bank?·What is the position of Punjab National Bank among the commercial banks in the country as on date?(It is the responsibility of the candidate to collect the necessary information about the bank for which he is appearing for the interview by visiting the website of the bank and referring other material sources in order to get the required information about the bank namely; the headquarters, number of branches, total business, profit position, important schemes, tie up with another banks, achievements of the bank, if any; the present position and ranking of the bank in terms of business, profitability, non performing assets, productivity of the employee etc., In case the candidate is appearing for a group of banks, he should have information in general about all the banks in the group)C.Third phase of the interview:During this phase, questions will be asked on general banking practices as mentioned below:The following are the questions regarding the banks in general:·Have you visited any bank branch? What was your experience?·What is the business of any bank?·What are the essential/primary functions of any bank?·What are the secondary functions of any bank?·Who can open a savings bank account?·What do you know by KYC guidelines?·Why banks insist customers in adhering to KYC guidelines?·What is the difference between Current deposit account and Savings deposit account?·What do you mean by CASA account?·Who normally opens a current account?·What do you know by a fixed deposit account?·Can a company open a savings account?·Can the director of a company open a savings account?·Who is the controlling authority for the banks in India?·What is a foreign bank?·What is meant by a public sector bank?·Which is the largest private sector bank in the country?·Which is the largest bank in the country?·You are working as an officer in savings department. The customer complains about the irritating behavior of the clerk who is working under your supervision. What will you do in this situation?·Your manager delegates some work and you are failing in doing the work within the allotted time and your manager is not happy with your performance. How will you convince your manager?·Today there is some news about annual credit policy. What do you know by that?·What do you know by reverse repo rate?·What is called as inflation?·What is rupee convertibility?·What do you know by gross domestic product?·What do you know by ASBA?·What do you know by Sensex?·What do you know by a convertible debenture?·What is an initial public offer?·What do you know by facebook – whether it is good or bad for any individual and what is your opinion?·What are the advantages and disadvantages of Whatsapp?·What is your opinion about currency demonetization and how far the process helps in improving the economy of the country?(The above questions are illustrative and not exhaustive and the candidate should know fairly well about many banking as well as general aspects)D.The fourth phase of the interview:Like the initial phase or first phase, this fourth phase is also important wherein tricky questions will be asked as mentioned below:·You are hailing from Coimbatore. In case you are posted to Chennai whether you will be willing to work at Chennai?. (Your answer: If I am posted at Coimbatore, I shall try my level best to bring more business to the bank since I know the place and people well and I can take care of family members who are dependent on me. Even otherwise, I shall discharge my duties to the best when I am posted at Chennai)·Suddenly on account of computer crash, you have to sit late – whether you will be willing to sit late and finish the job or leave early without informing your superiors? (Definitely I will never mind in sitting late and I shall always cooperate with my superiors in finishing the day to day functions of the branch. I am one among the team members and I have the responsibility to cooperate with other members during critical situations)·What information are you willing to tell about yourself? (If I am selected, I shall work hard and I shall discharge my duties to the entire satisfaction of my superiors. I shall always do the best from my side for the growth of my organization.)Selected Interview QuestiomsCandidate: 00101.Why you are willing to join in a bank?I am willing to join in a bank since I hope that I may be having more opportunities to serve the public. Banks have better career opportunities by means of periodical promotions to higher cadre.02.What do you mean by appraisal of gold loans?Gold loans are granted against the security of gold jewellery namely gold chains, necklaces etc., The jewellery apart from gold contains certain amount of copper and stones. Appraiser is a person well versed in the art of appraising the jewellery and on appraisal of the jewellery, he will be finding out the approximate gold content so that the bank may be able to provide loans against the gold content.03.What are the different kinds of term deposits available in a commercial bank?The different kinds of term deposits available in a commercial bank are – fixed deposit, recurring deposit and reinvestment deposit. In the case of fixed deposit, a fixed amount is accepted for a definite period and interest is paid on quarterly basis. In the case of reinvestment deposit which is similar to fixed deposit, interest is paid on maturity since interest is reinvested. In the case of recurring deposit, monthly instalments are accepted for a fixed period.04.What is the minimum period for which a fixed deposit is accepted and the maximum period for which a fixed deposit is accepted?The minimum period for which fixed deposit is accepted is seven days and the maximum period is ten years.05.Whether a fixed deposit can be accepted for a period more than ten years?In the case of deposits in the names of minors on account of settlement of claims, the deposit can be for more than ten years06.What do you mean by FERA?FERA means foreign exchange regulations act and it came into effect from the year 1973. An act to regulate certain payments dealing in foreign exchange, securities, the import & export of currency and acquisition of immovable property by foreigners. Under Section 31 (1) of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act ( FERA) of 1973, it is mandatory for foreign corporations, which are not incorporated in India to obtain permission from the Reserve Bank Of India (RBI) to acquire, hold, transfer or dispose off in any manner (expect by way of lease for a period not exceeding five years) any immovable property in India.07.What do you mean by ECS?ECS means electronic clearing service and the customer can authorize on periodical basis to make payment of certain utility bills like electricity charges, water charges etc., by debiting his account till such time he submits a revocation letter. Similarly, he can authorize corporate to credit the dividends on shares and interest on debentures as and when due to the credit of his account with the bank.08.What is the minimum amount that can be sent through RTGS?The minimum amount that can be sent through RTGS is Rupees two lakhs and there is no maximum limit09.What is the maximum amount that can be remitted through NEFT?There is no or maximum limit for remittances sent through NEFT10.What is the maximum amount that can be sent abroad by any resident individual?Under liberalized remittance scheme, all resident individuals including minors are allowed to freely remit an amount upto US dollars 250000 (or its equivalent freely convertible foreign currency) per financial year11..What is the name of apex bank which is responsible for the development of agriculture in the country?NABARD is the apex bank which is responsible for the development of agriculture in the country.12.What are the different kinds of schemes available in our country aiming towards poverty alleviation?National old age pension scheme; Jawahar Gramin Samruddi Yojana; National Family Benefit scheme; Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme; National Maternal Benefit Schemel Annapurna etc.,13.What do you mean by crossing of any cheque?Writing of two parallel transverse lines drawn on the face of the cheque on top left hand corner with or without any words between the lines is known as crossing and it is for the purpose of making payment of the cheque through an account in the name of the payee or holder.14.What are the different kinds of crossing?Two parallel transverse lines drawn on the face of the cheque on top left hand corner of the cheque with any words or without any words is known as general crossing and the the payment can be made to the account of the payee or holder with any bank. In case the name of any bank is mentioned within the two parallel lines, it is known as special crossing and in this case, the payment should be made to the account of the payee or holder with the bank mentioned in the crossing only and not to any other bank.15.What do you mean by CASA?CASA means current and savings and this is applicable to computerized branches linked under core banking solution16.Whose signature is available in Rs. 100/- currency note?The signature of RBI governor is available in Rs. 100 currency note17.What do you know by dividend?Dividend is the return available in the form of money for the investments made by the shareholders in the equity shares and preference shares of any company.18.Bank holidays are declared according to which act?Holidays for banks are declared according to Negotiable Instruments act 1881 by the respective state governments in their states. However, all Sundays, all second and fourth Saturdays have been declared as holidays apart from the holidays permitted for religious and national ceremonies.19.Banks are functioning according to which act?Commercial banks in the country are functioning according to Banking Regulation act 1949 and to some extent as per Reserve Bank of India act 193420.RBI is functioning in the country as per which act?Reserve Bank of India is functioning according to Reserve Bank of India act 1934.Candidate: 00201.What do you mean by a guarantee?Guarantee is an undertaking executed by one person called as guarantor in favour of another person called as beneficiary expressing his intention to make payment in the event of failure of the principal debtor on payment of a debt or failure to perform any contract within the stipulated time or according to the terms of the contract.02.What are the different types of guarantees?The different types of guarantees are financial guarantee, performance guarantee and deferred payment guarantee03.What do you mean by letter of credit?Letter of credit is an undertaking executed by one banker on behalf of its customer to honour bills and documents drawn by another person as per the terms and conditions as mentioned in the letter of credit04.What do you know by packing credit advance?It is the preshipment advance granted by one bank to the exporter for the purpose of procuring raw materials; payment of various duties like customs duty, excise duty; packing charges; shipment charges etc.,05.What do you mean by special crossing?In case the name of any bank is mentioned within the two parallel lines, it is known as special crossing and in this case, the payment should be made to the account of the payee or holder with the bank mentioned in the crossing only and not to any other bank.06.What do you know by IFSC code ?IFSC means Indian Financial System Code and this is one alphanumeric code consisting of eleven digits of which the four alphabetic digits represent the name of the bank mentioned in abridged form and the next zero is known as control number and the last six numeric digits represent the branch code of the bank.07.Which is called as mother of deposits?Savings deposit is known as mother of deposits. Normally the first time customers will be advised to open savings deposits with the bank branch before availing any other facility with the bank08.Who is a called as natural guardian?Bother mother and father are known as natural guardian for the purpose of opening accounts in the name of minors represented by the guardian.09.Whether grandfathers and grandmothers can be natural guardians?Grand fathers, grandmothers grand grandfathers or grand grandmothers cannot represent as natural guardians on be behalf of the minors10.Which type of credit facility is available to a farmer for raising crops?For raising crops, the farmers are provided with crop loans, Kisan Credit Cards etc.,11.What do you mean by NULM?National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MHUPA), Government of India in 24th September, 2013 by replacing the existing Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY).The NULM will focus on organizing urban poor in their strong grassroots level institutions, creating opportunities for skill development leading to market-based employment and helping them to set up self-employment venture by ensuring easy access to credit. The Mission is aimed at providing shelter equipped with essential services to the urban homeless in a phased manner. In addition, the Mission would also address livelihood concerns of the urban street vendors12.What do you mean by Gram Sadak Yojana?The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana called as PMGSY was launched by the Government of India for the purpose of providing connectivity to unconnected habitations as part of a poverty reduction strategy. Government of India is endeavouring to set high and uniform technical and management standards and facilitating policy development and planning at state level in order to ensure sustainable management of the rural roads network.13.What are the salient features of MGNREGA?MGNREGA is known as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee act and according to this employment is guaranteed at least one person per household in rural areas. It aims at enhancing the livelihood security of people living in rural areas by guaranteeing hundred days of wage employment during each financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteers to undertake unskilled manual work14.Which authority is supervising the functions of insurance companies?IRDA – Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority is the authority responsible for supervising the functions of insurance companies in our country15.What is meant by IPO?IPO means initial public offer and this is the first time public offer of equity shares, preference shares or debentures to the public for subscription16.What is meant by ASBA?ASBA means applications supported by blocked amount. Nowadays investors are permitted to remit the amount through ASBA demand drafts drawn in ASBA accounts for the purpose of subscribing shares or debentures through initial public offer and further public offer. When the demand draft is issued, instead of debiting the amount in the account, the amount is blocked till such time the shares or debentures are allotted. On allotment, the entire amount is debited; in the case of partial allotment, the amount is debited equivalent to the value of allotment and in the case of non allotment, the entire amount is allowed for further use. For the intervening period, the depositor earns interest as applicable to the category of deposits.17.What is meant by Performance guarantee issued by any commercial bank?In the case of contracts in favour of governments, the contractors are in a position to provide a bank guarantee by a reputed commercial bank, thereby undertaking to guarantee the government department to compensate the loss on account of failure of performance of the contract by the contractor within the due date or failure to perform the contract as per the terms and conditions of the contract. This is known as performance guarantee.18.What do you mean by packing credit facility issued by any commercial bank?Packing guarantee is known as preshipment advance provided by the commercial bank to the exporter for the purpose of procuring raw materials, packing materials or making payment towards customers duty, excise duty, transportation charges etc.,19.What do you mean by notice money?Notice money is money borrowed for a period of two days and more and upto fourteen days in the call money market.20.Treasury bills are issued by which authority and what are the different kinds of treasury bills available in the country?Treasury bills are issued by central government and state governments for the purpose of mobilizing funds from the public and others towards meeting the cost of various projects. There are three kinds of treasury bills as at present namely – 91 days, 182 days and 364 days. 91 days treasury bills are issued each Friday and the notified amount is Rupees one hundred crores. 182 day treasury bills are issued during alternative Wednesdays which is non reporting week and the notified amount is Rupees 100 crores and 364 days treasury bills are issued on alterntive Wednesdays which is a reporting week and the notified amount is Rupees 500 crores.Candidate: 00301.What do you know by PIN number?PIN number is four digit number expressed in numerical characters. PIN number is used for the transactions done using debit cards and credit cards through automated teller machines and point of sale terminals.02.What do you know by PAN number?PAN number is known as permanent account number. This is used for the purpose of remittance of income tax with income tax department. Tax payers should get one PAN number by sending an application along with relevant documents and by payment of specified sum of money to Income tax department or their agencies. It is ten digit number consisting and alphapetical and numerical characters.03.What are the functions of DICGC?DICGC means Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation and this corporation provides deposit insurance upto an amount of Rupees one lakh per depositor per bank in the event of insolvency of the bank and it also provides small loans guarantee upto certain limits04.What is the role played by ECGC?ECGC provides guarantee support to the exporters of the country in the form of several export guarantees05.Mention the Regional Rural Banks which are functioning in Tamilnadu?The Regional rural banks which are functioning in Tamilnadu are Pandiyan Grama Bank and Pallavan Gramin Bank. Pandiyan Grama Bank has been sponsored by Indian Overseas Bank and pallavan Gramin Bank has been sponsored by Indian bank.06.What do you mean by Mergers and what are the different kinds of mergers?When two independent units merge together to form a single unit, it is known as merger. The mergers can be vertical merger, horizontal merger, reverse merger, consolidation, amalgamation etc.,07.What do you mean by horizontal merger and reverse merger?When the business functions of two units are identical in nature and when the merger takes place between those units, it is known as horizontal merger. New Bank of India merged with Punjab National Bank and both are banking organizations. Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Limited was instrumental in establishing ICICI bank as per LPG norms and subsequently Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation Limited merged with ICICI Bank and when a parent unit gets merged with an ancillary unit, it is known as reverse merger.08.Which are the top two private sector banks in our country?The top private sector banks in our country are HDFC bank limited and ICICI bank limited09.Whether housing loan is a priority sector advance and if so, upto what amount?Housing loans granted are treated as priority sector advances subject to certain conditions. Loans to individuals up to Rupees 28 lakh in metropolitan centres (with population of ten lakh and above) and loans up to Rupees 20 lakh in other centres for purchase/construction of a dwelling unit per family, are eligible to be considered as priority sector provided the overall cost of the dwelling unit in the metropolitan centre and at other centres does not exceed Rupees 35 lakh and Rupees 25 lakh, respectively. Housing loans to banks’ own employees are not eligible for classification under priority sector.10.Whether educational loan is a priority sector advance?Loans to individuals for educational purposes including vocational courses upto Rupees 10 lakh irrespective of the sanctioned amount are eligible for classification under priority sector.11.What do you mean by micro, small and medium enterprises?The classification is based on original investment in plant and machinery: For micro enterprises, upto Rs. 25 lakhs for manufacturing units and Rupees 10 lakhs for service units; For small enterprises, for manufacturing units above Rupees 25 lakhs and upto Rs. 5 crores and for service units above Rupees 10 lakhs and upto Rupees 2 crores; For medium enterprises, for manufacturing units above Rupees 5 crores and upto 10 crores and for service units above Rupees 2 crores and upto Rupees five crores12.What do you mean by KYC and name any two important documents which are obtained as per KYC?KYC means know your customer guidelines and these guidelines were prescribed by RBI for new customers who are willing to open accounts with commercial banks and according to KYC, any new customer who is willing to open accounts with commercial banks should submit the photocopy of anyone of the following namely; driving licence, voter id card, AADHAARA card, passport as address proof and photocopy of anyone of the following namely; driving licence, voter id card, AADHAAR card, passport, pancard as identity proof. KYC is antimony laundering device.13.What is the present repo rate and reverse repo rate?The present repo rate is 6.25% and reverse repo rate is 5.75%14.In the case of MICR code, the middle three digits represent what?MICR code consists of nine numerical digits and the middle three numerical digits represent bank name15.PAN number consists of how many alpha characters?PAN number consists of ten digits. The first three alpha characters are random alphapetical characters between AAA to ZZZ; next one alpha character represents the category of the cardholder; the next one alpha character represents the first character of the name of the cardholder; the next four numerical digits are auto generated sequential numbers and the last one single alpha character is a check digit.16.What do you know by biometric automated teller machines?In the case of automated teller machines, the four digit numerical PIN number is used for performing transactions using debit card and credit card. In the case of biometric automated teller machines, instead of PIN numbers, anyone of the following body parts is used – left hand thumb impression; eye retina and voice recognition. In India, the left hand thumb impression is the accepted mode and these kinds of automated teller machines are known as green label automated teller machines.17.What is the criteria by which a bank is considered as largest bank?For the purpose of ranking, a bank is considered to be largest or smallest taking into consideration the business position of the bank; namely – the total deposits and total advances as at the end of March each year.18.What do you mean by commercial paper?Commercial papers are issued by well rated organizations for mobilizing funds from the public and other corporate. They are issued at a discount and they are freely negotiable by endorsement and delivery. The minimum maturity period is seven days and the corporate should have earned credit rating equivalent to P2 issued by CRISIL19.What do you mean by FCNR?FCNR means foreign currency non resident accounts. Non resident Indians and Persons of Indian origin are eligible to invest in this deposit. It is a term deposit accepted in the currencies – US dollar, Sterling Pound, Euro, Japanese Yen, Canadian dollar and Australian dollar. The minimum period of deposit is one year and the maximum period is five years and the deposit is held in foreign currencies and the interest earned is free from income tax.20.What do you mean by Escheat?He is a person who dies without leaving any legal heirs and in this case, his estate will revert to the state government.Candidate: 00401.What do you mean by money laundering?Using the banking channel for the purpose of bringing illegal money is known as money laundering.02.What do you mean by subprime lending?Mass lending by commercial banks to the borrowers without ascertaining the credit worthiness of the borrowers03.What is meant by LPG and who is responsible for introduction of LPG strategy in our country?LPG means liberalization, privatization and globalization and this was coined by Dr. Manmohan Singh, the then finance minister of our country. The salient highlights of the Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation Policy in India are: Foreign Technology Agreements; Foreign Investment; MRTP Act, 1969 (Amended); Industrial Licensing; Deregulation Beginning of privatization; Opportunities for overseas trade; Steps to regulate inflation; Tax reforms; Abolition of License -Permit Raj04.What do you mean by PURA?PURA means providing urban amenities in rural areas. This concept was coined by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the then president of India.05.What do you know by current ratio?It is one equation between current assets and current liabilities. This ratio provides the liquidity position of the organization. When the ratio is more than one it is known as positive current ratio and the unit is having sufficient working capital and when it is less than one, the unit is found to have more current liabilities than current assets and the liquidity position is found to be very weak.06.What do you know about negotiable instruments act?In India, the negotiable instruments act was passed during 1881 which came into force with effect from March 01, 1882. Negotiable instruments means and include promissory note, bills of exchange and cheque payable to order or bearer. Promissory note, bill of exchange, cheque and demand draft are negotiable instruments.07.What do you know by MICR?MICR means magnetic ink character recognition. MICR code is available in MICR bank at the bottom of the cheque or demand draft. It consists of nine numerical digits of which the first three digits represent the centre/city; the middle three digits represent the bank and the last three digits represent the branch of the bank.08.When it comes to rural lending, which are all considered to be priority sector advances?When it comes to rural lending, the loans granted to the following are considered to be priority sector advances – Loans granted to all agriculture related activities; self help group; Differential rate of interest; Loans to SC/ST beneficiaries; Loans provided to doctors for setting up clinics in rural areas; Loans to dealers in fertilizers and pesticides; loans to dealers of springler irrigation and drip irrigation equipments etc.,09.Who is called as an authorized dealer?Authorised dealer is at present known as authorized person. Authorised person is an individual or organization permitted to deal in foreign exchange business in the country.10.What do you know by financial inclusion?Financial inclusion means the following: Providing formal banking services to poor people in urban and rural areas; Promoting the habit of money savings, insurance, pension-investment among poor people; Helping the people in getting loans at reasonable rates from commercial banks so that they do not become victims to local moneylenders11.What are the important initiatives taken through financial inclusion in the country?The following are the important initiatives taken through financial inclusion in our country: Lead banking scheme; No frill accounts; Basic savings bank deposit accounts; JANDHAN accounts; business correspondent and business facilitator facilities; Swabhiman campaign;12.What do you mean by MCLR?MCLR replaces the base rate system. RBI introduced the system with effect from 01.04.2016 in order to determine the base rate by commercial to improve the efficiency of monetary policy transmission. All rupee loans sanctioned and credit limits renewed with effect from 01.04.2016 to be priced with reference to MCLR and it will be an internal benchmark for the banks. It consists of marginal cost of funds, negative carry on account of CRR, operating costs and tenor premium. The marginal cost of funds consists of two components namely; marginal cost of borrowings and return on networth13.What are the major money market instruments?Certificate of deposits; Commercial paper; Inter Bank participation certificates; iner bank term money; Treasury bills; Bills rediscounting and call/notice money14.What are the differences between NEFT and RTGS?Both are two categories of online remittance facilities through CBS enabled branches of commercial banks. The minimum balance that can be sent through RTGS is Rupees two lakhs whereas in the case of NEFT, there is no such limit. The beneficiary gets his funds at real time and it means instantaneously without any loss of time. In the case of the beneficiary gets his funds in between batches15.Who is deciding the rate of interest for savings deposit accounts?Rate of interest for savings deposits is decided by respective commercial banks only and RBI has permitted full freedom in this connection.16.Who cannot open savings deposit accounts?Proprietorship concerns, partnership firms, limited liability partnership firms, private limited companies and public limited companies are not permitted to open savings accounts17.What is meant by memorandum of association?Memorandum of association is the parent document for any company whether it is a private limited company or private limited company. It contains the details of formation of the company, policies, objectives, registered office and more.18.What is known as power of attorney?Power of attorney is an authorization given by one person called as principal in favour of another person called as an agent authorizing the agent to perform certain activities on behalf of the principal and it can be specific power of attorney or particular power of attorney.19.In which currencies FCNR accounts can be opened in our country?FCNR account can be opened in the following currencies namely; US dollars, Sterling Pounds; Euro; Japanese Yen; Australian dollars and Canadian dollars.20.What are the differences between NRE and FCNR?NRE and FCNR accounts are opened by non resident Indians and Persons of Indian Origin in India. NRE accounts are to be opened in rupees whereas FCNR is opened in foreign currencies. NRE accounts can be opened in the form of savings account, current account, reinvestment deposit and fixed deposit whereas, FCNR account is permitted to be opened as fixed deposit or reinvestment deposit. NRE term deposits can be opened for a minimum period of seven days and maximum period of ten years. FCNR accounts can be opened for a minimum period of one year and maximum period of five years.Candidate: 00501.What do you mean by masala bonds?Masala bonds are the bonds issued for rupee denominated borrowings by Indian companies in overseas markets02.What do you mean by secondary market in our country?Secondary market pertains to capital market and it is also known as stock exchange or old issues market. Shares, debentures and bonds can be bought and sold from the stock exchange through registered brokers.03.What do you mean by fund based limits and non fund based limits?The loans provided to the borrowers in the form of term loans, overdrafts, cash credits and bills discounting limits are known as fund based limits since funds are released to the borrowers. Guarantees and letter of credits are non fund based limits since no funds are provided for the time being since they are contingent liabilities.04.What do you mean by off balance sheet items?Guarantees, letter of credits and bills sent for collection for which proceeds are yet to be realized are known as off balance sheet items05.What do you mean by closed ended scheme?This is one form of mutual fund scheme. Like initial public offer, the scheme is open for a certain period only and after which the public cannot invest their amount in the units under this scheme.06.What do you mean by open ended scheme?This is one mutual fund scheme and the units under scheme can be purchased and sold at any time07.What do you mean by overdraft facility granted by a bank?Overdraft is a facility granted by the banks towards meeting the working capital requirements of a borrower. This is provided by means of credit limit over and above the current account balance and the borrower has to pay the interest as and when due.08.What do you mean by collateral security?Collateral security is an additional security provided by the borrower in addition to the primary security. For example, in the case of vehicle loan, the car purchased out of loan is known as the prime security and the insurance policy obtained by the bank from the borrower for the sanction of this loan is known as collateral security.09.In regard to educating a customer, what are the different kinds of information boards displayed in a bank branch?The following boards are available in the bank branches – Working hours and business hours; Interest rates on various deposits; Interest rates for loans; Service charges; Time norms for various services; Details of schemes available in the branch10.Who is the present RBI Governor?The present governor of RBI is Shri Urjit Patel and he is functioning as the governor of RBI since 04th September, 201611.What do you mean by unclaimed deposits?The deposits which are not in operation for more than ten years are known as unclaimed deposits. For the purpose of this classification, the customer induced transactions are only taken into account.12.How many regional centres are available for RBI in the country?Reserve Bank of India has four regional centres at the following places – Chennai, Kolkatta, New Delhi and Mumbai.13.What do you mean by white label automated teller machines?The automated teller machines which are maintained and managed by non bank entities are known as white label automated teller machines. In our country TATA Indicash and Muthoot finance are having such machines installed at various centres.14.What are the advantages of CTS?CTS means cheque truncation scheme. This is used for clearing purpose. Normally commercial banks used to send the physical cheques through their15.What do you mean by certificate of deposits?Certificate of deposits are issued by scheduled commercial banks (except Regional Rural Banks) and all financial institutions within their umbrella limits. Individuals, corporate, companies, trusts, funds and associations can invest in certificate of deposits and they are issued for a minimum period of seven days and maximum period of twelve months in the case of commercial banks and in the case of financial institutions the minimum period is one year and maximum three years, Minimum amount for investment is Rupees one lakh and in multiples of Rupees one lakh.16.RBI is called by which names – mention four names?RBI is called by the following names – banker to banker; lender of the last resort; custodian of banks; banker to government;17.What do you mean by ways and means advances?Ways and means advances were introduced as per an agreement between Reserve Bank of India and Government and they are temporary overdraft facilities provided by RBI to central government and state governments and the purpose is to bridge the time interval of mismatch the government expenditure and receipts. The duration of the limit is ten days for central government and 14 days for state government departments.18.Who is banking ombudsman and by whom he is appointed?Banking Ombudsman is an arbitrary authority who resolves the complaints received from the customers of commercial banks in regard to bank related issues.19.What do you mean by EEFC account?Exchange Earner’s Foreign Currency account is an account maintained in an account maintained in foreign currency with an authorized dealer ; i/e/ a bank dealing in foreign exchange. Professionals, exporters, trainers etc., who are in receipt of foreign exchange for the services extended by them in foreign countries can invest the amount in EEFC account and the account will be in the form of current account and no interest is paid for the balance held in EEFC account.20.What do you know by NBFC?NBFC means non banking finance companies. It is a company registered under Indian Companies act 1956 and presently 2013 engaged in the business of providing loans and advances, acquisition of shares/stocks/bonds/debentures/securities issued by Government or local authority or other marketable securities of a like nature, leasing, hire purchase, insurance business, chit fund business etc.,Candidate: 00601.What do you mean by arbitrage?It is the process of purchase of one security from one market and selling the same security for earning a profit at the same time at another market.02.What do you mean by Bonus shares?It is the free allotment of shares in certain proportion to the existing shares held by the shareholders of a company and this is a means of providing reward to the investors for their contribution to the growth of the organization by capital investment03.What do you mean by Bull?It is a term given to a speculator on stock exchange who buys the securities in expectation of a rise in the prices. The market is called as bullish when there is a domination of buyers over the sellers04.What is known as dematerialization?Dematerialisation is the process by which shares in the physical form are cancelled and they are issued in electronic form. The certificates are known as demat shares. This process eliminates the time and manpower involved in transfer and registration of shares from the seller to the buyer05.What do you mean by moorat trading?It is the auspicious trading on a special day, say Diwali during some specified hours.06.What do you mean by rights issue?It is the issue of new shares to the existing shareholders in a fixed ratio to those already held at a price which is generally below the market price of the old shares.07.What do you mean by futures?It is a standard contract issued on an agreement to buy or sell an asset at a certain price at a certain time in future. It is an obligation on the buyer to purchase the underlying instrument and the seller to sell it.08.What do you mean by forward?The forward is a contract that is traded off the stock exchange and it is self regulatory and has certain flexibility unlike future which are traded at stock exchange only and it do not have flexibility of quantity and quality of commodity to be delivered and these are regulated by Securities Exchange Board of India, Reserve Bank of India or other agencies.09.What do you mean by factoring?Factoring is an arrangement in which short term domestic receivables on sale of goods or services are sold to a company called as factor and this scheme came into existence during 1991 based on the report of Kalyanasundaram Committee10.What do you mean by forfeiting?Forfaiting represents the purchase of obligations, which fall due at some future date and arise from the delivery of goods in export transactions, without recourse to the previous holder of the obligations.11.What do you mean by leasing?A lease is a contract where the owner of the assets transfers the right to another person to use the assets against the payment of fixed lease rentals. In the case of one lease contract, there are two parties namely – the lessor or the owner and the lessee or user. The lessor remains owner and the leased property remains with the possession of the lessee.12.What do you mean by debt market?It is a market wherein the debt instruments are issued to the public by any company for investment and such debt instrument bears a fixed interest rate payable half yearly on specific dates and principal amount repayable on particular date on redemption. Debentures are normally secured/charged against the asset of the company in favour of debenture holder. The following are some debt instruments – debenture; bond; zero coupon bond; convertible bond; security receipts etc.,13.What do you mean by greenshoe option?It is an option provided by Securities and Exchange Board of India to a company which is coming out with one initial public offer to the public. By this option, the company can retain certain portion of the applications received through IPO in case of oversubscription.14.What do you mean by equity market?Equity market consists of investment by the public in different kinds of shares issued by the company and by subscribing for the shares, the investors are expressing their willingness to stand as owners of the company. The equity market consists of equity shares, preference shares, rights shares, bonus shares etc.,15.What do you mean by sweat equity?Directors and employees contribute intellectual property rights to the company in the form of providing technical know-how captured by way of research or contributed by way of strategy software developed for the company or adding profit and economic value. To compensate the directors and employees, the concept of sweat equity has come into existence.16.What do you mean by participatory notes?A participatory note is a financial derivative instrument issued against an underlying security and it allows the holder, to get dividend or capital gains earned from the underlying security although some of the holders may not be eligible to trade in stock markets in India.17.What do you mean by book building?Book building is the process to assess the demand for a particular public issue of various prices, based on which the issue is priced and sold to the investors.18.What do you mean by sensex?It is a stock market index provided by Bombay Stock Exchange for the information of the investors. The positive or negative variation in the index provides an insight for investment or dis-investment to the general public and especially the investors in the stock market. It is based on the market capitalization of top thirty shares earmarked by BSE19.What do you mean by Nifty?It is a stock market index provided by National Stock Exchange for the information of the investors. The positive or negative variation in the index provides an insight for the investment or dis-investment to the general public and especially the investors who are participating in stock market trading. It is based on the market capitalization of top fifty shares earmarked by NSE20.What do you mean by swap?A swap is a contract that binds two counterparties to exchange the different streams of payments over the specified period at specified rate.

Jump to navigationJump to searchFor other uses, see A cappella (disambiguation).A cappellaStylistic originsChurch musicGregorian chantingmadrigalsCultural originsJewish and Christian worshipTypical instrumentsVocalsvocal percussionbeatboxingbody percussionlive loopinginstrument mimicrySubgenresBarbershop musiccollegiate a cappellapuirt à beulA cappella (/ˌækəˈpɛlə/ US: /ˌɑːkə-/,Italian:[a kapˈpɛlla]; Italian for "in the manner of the chapel")[1]music is specifically group or solo singing without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It contrasts with cantata, which is usually accompanied singing. The term "a cappella" was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato style. In the 19th century, a renewed interest in Renaissance polyphony coupled with an ignorance of the fact that vocal parts were often doubled by instrumentalists led to the term coming to mean unaccompanied vocal music.[1]The term is also used, albeit rarely, as a synonym for alla breve.[2]Contents1Religious origins1.1Christian1.1.1Byzantine Rite1.1.2Opposition to instruments in worship1.1.3Acceptance of instruments in worship1.2Jewish2In the United States2.1Recording artists2.2Musical theatre2.3Barbershop style2.4Amateur and high school3In other countries3.1Pakistan3.2Sri Lanka3.3Sweden3.4United Kingdom4Collegiate5Emulating instruments6See also7Notes8Footnotes9References10External linksReligious origins[edit]A cappella music was originally used in religious music, especially church music as well as anasheed and zemirot. Gregorian chant is an example of a cappella singing, as is the majority of secular vocal music from the Renaissance. The madrigal, up until its development in the early Baroque into an instrumentally-accompanied form, is also usually in a cappella form. Jewish and Early Christian music was largely a cappella,[3]although as noted by the Psalms some songs were accompanied by string instruments[4][citation needed]and this practice has continued in both of these religions as well as in Islam.Christian[edit]The polyphony of Christian a cappella music began to develop in Europe around the late 15th century AD, with compositions by Josquin des Prez.[5]The early a cappella polyphonies may have had an accompanying instrument, although this instrument would merely double the singers' parts and was not independent. By the 16th century, a cappella polyphony had further developed, but gradually, the cantata began to take the place of a cappella forms.[5]16th century a cappella polyphony, nonetheless, continued to influence church composers throughout this period and to the present day. Recent evidence has shown that some of the early pieces by Palestrina, such as what was written for the Sistine Chapel was intended to be accompanied by an organ "doubling" some or all of the voices.[5]Such is seen in the life of Palestrina becoming a major influence on Bach, most notably in the Mass in B Minor.Other composers that utilized the a cappella style, if only for the occasional piece, were Claudio Monteverdi and his masterpiece, Lagrime d'amante al sepolcro dell'amata (A lover's tears at his beloved's grave), which was composed in 1610,[6]and Andrea Gabrieli when upon his death it was discovered many choral pieces, one of which was in the unaccompanied style.[7]Learning from the preceding two composeres, Heinrich Schütz utilized the a cappella style in numerous pieces, chief among these were the pieces in the oratorio style, which were traditionally performed during the Easter week and dealt with the religious subject matter of that week, such as Christ's suffering and the Passion. Five of Schutz's Historien were Easter pieces, and of these the latter three, which dealt with the passion from three different viewpoints, those of Matthew, Luke and John, were all done a cappella style. This was a near requirement for this type of piece, and the parts of the crowd were sung while the solo parts which were the quoted parts from either Christ or the authors were performed in a plainchant.[8]Byzantine Rite[edit]In the Byzantine Rite of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches, the music performed in the liturgies is exclusively sung without instrumental accompaniment. Bishop Kallistos Ware says, "The service is sung, even though there may be no choir... In the Orthodox Church today, as in the early Church, singing is unaccompanied and instrumental music is not found."[9]This a cappella behavior arises from strict interpretation of Psalms 150, which states, Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.[10]In keeping with this philosophy, early Russian musika which started appearing in the late 17th century, in what was known as khorovïye kontsertï (choral concertos) made a cappella adaptations of Venetian-styled pieces, such as the treatise, Grammatika musikiyskaya (1675), by Nikolai Diletsky.[11]Divine Liturgies and Western Rite masses composed by famous composers such as Peter Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Alexander Arkhangelsky, and Mykola Leontovych are fine examples of this.Opposition to instruments in worship[edit]Present-day Christian religious bodies known for conducting their worship services without musical accompaniment include some Presbyterian churches devoted to the regulative principle of worship, Old Regular Baptists, Primitive Baptists, Plymouth Brethren, Churches of Christ, Church of God (Guthrie, Oklahoma), the Old German Baptist Brethren, Doukhobors the Byzantine Rite and the Amish, Old Order Mennonites and Conservative Mennonites. Certain high church services and other musical events in liturgical churches (such as the Roman Catholic Mass and the Lutheran Divine Service) may be a cappella, a practice remaining from apostolic times. Many Mennonites also conduct some or all of their services without instruments. Sacred Harp, a type of folk music, is an a cappella style of religious singing with shape notes, usually sung at singing conventions.Opponents of musical instruments in the Christian worship believe that such opposition is supported by the Christian scriptures and Church history. The scriptures typically referenced are Matthew 26:30; Acts 16:25; Romans 15:9; 1 Corinthians 14:15; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 2:12, 13:15; James 5:13, which show examples and exhortations for Christians to sing.[12]There is no reference to instrumental music in early church worship in the New Testament, or in the worship of churches for the first six centuries.[13][14]Several reasons have been posited throughout church history for the absence of instrumental music in church worship.[nb 1]Christians who believe in a cappella music today believe that in the Israelite worship assembly during Temple worship only the Priests of Levi sang, played, and offered animal sacrifices, whereas in the church era, all Christians are commanded to sing praises to God. They believe that if God wanted instrumental music in New Testament worship, He would have commanded not just singing, but singing and playing like he did in the Hebrew scriptures.The first recorded example of a musical instrument in Roman Catholic worship was a pipe organ introduced by Pope Vitalian into a cathedral in Rome around 670.[16][nb 2]Instruments have divided Christendom since their introduction into worship. They were considered a Catholic innovation, not widely practiced until the 18th century, and were opposed vigorously in worship by a number of Protestant Reformers, including Martin Luther (1483–1546),[18]Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin (1509–1564)[19]and John Wesley (1703–1791).[20]Alexander Campbell referred to the use of an instrument in worship as "a cow bell in a concert".[21]In Sir Walter Scott's The Heart of Midlothian, the heroine, Jeanie Deans, a Scottish Presbyterian, writes to her father about the church situation she has found in England (bold added):The folk here are civil, and, like the barbarians unto the holy apostle, have shown me much kindness; and there are a sort of chosen people in the land, for they have some kirks without organs that are like ours, and are called meeting-houses, where the minister preaches without a gown.[22]Acceptance of instruments in worship[edit]Those who do not adhere to the regulative principle of interpreting Christian scripture, believe that limiting praise to the unaccompanied chant of the early church is not commanded in scripture, and that churches in any age are free to offer their songs with or without musical instruments.Those who subscribe to this interpretation believe that since the Christian scriptures never counter instrumental language with any negative judgment on instruments, opposition to instruments instead comes from an interpretation of history. There is no written opposition to musical instruments in any setting in the first century and a half of Christian churches (AD 33 to 180).[23]The use of instruments for Christian worship during this period is also undocumented. Toward the end of the 2nd century, Christians began condemning the instruments themselves.[24]Those who oppose instruments today believe these Church Fathers had a better understanding of God's desire for the church,[citation needed]but there are significant differences between the teachings of these Church Fathers and Christian opposition to instruments today.Modern Christians typically believe it is acceptable to play instruments or to attend weddings, funerals, banquets, etc., where instruments are heard playing religious music. The Church Fathers made no exceptions.[24] Since the New Testament never condemns instruments themselves, much less in any of these settings, it is believed that "the church Fathers go beyond the New Testament in pronouncing a negative judgment on musical instruments."[25]Written opposition to instruments in worship began near the turn of the 5th century.[26] Modern opponents of instruments typically do not make the same assessment of instruments as these writers,[nb 3] who argued that God had allowed David the "evil" of using musical instruments in praise.[29] While the Old Testament teaches that God specifically asked for musical instruments,[30] modern concern is for worship based on the New Testament.Since "a cappella" singing brought a new polyphony (more than one note at a time) with instrumental accompaniment, it is not surprising that Protestant reformers who opposed the instruments (such as Calvin and Zwingli) also opposed the polyphony.[31]While Zwingli was destroying organs in Switzerland – Luther called him a fanatic – the Church of England was burning books of polyphony.[32]Some Holiness Churches such as the Free Methodist Church opposed the use of musical instruments in church worship until the mid-20th century. The Free Methodist Church allowed for local church decision on the use of either an organ or piano in the 1943 Conference before lifting the ban entirely in 1955.Jewish[edit]While worship in the Temple in Jerusalem included musical instruments (2 Chronicles 29:25–29:27), traditional Jewish religious services in the Synagogue, both before and after the last destruction of the Temple, did not include musical instruments[33]given the practice of scriptural cantillation.[34]The use of musical instruments is traditionally forbidden on the Sabbath out of concern that players would be tempted to repair (or tune) their instruments, which is forbidden on those days. (This prohibition has been relaxed in many Reform and some Conservative congregations.) Similarly, when Jewish families and larger groups sing traditional Sabbath songs known as zemirot outside the context of formal religious services, they usually do so a cappella, and Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebrations on the Sabbath sometimes feature entertainment by a cappella ensembles. During the Three Weeks musical instruments are prohibited. Many Jews consider a portion of the 49-day period of the counting of the omer between Passover and Shavuot to be a time of semi-mourning and instrumental music is not allowed during that time.[35]This has led to a tradition of a cappella singing sometimes known as sefirah music.[36]The popularization of the Jewish chant may be found in the writings of the Jewish philosopher Philo, born 20 BC. Weaving together Jewish and Greek thought, Philo promoted praise without instruments, and taught that "silent singing" (without even vocal chords) was better still.[37]This view parted with the Jewish scriptures, where Israel offered praise with instruments by God's own command (2 Chronicles 29:25). The shofar is the only temple instrument still being used today in the synagogue,[38]and it is only used from Rosh Chodesh Elul through the end of Yom Kippur. The shofar is used by itself, without any vocal accompaniment, and is limited to a very strictly defined set of sounds and specific places in the synagogue service.[39]However, silver trumpets, as described in Numbers 10:1-10, have been made in recent years and used in prayer services at the Western Wall.[40]In the United States[edit]This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: "A cappella" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR(May 2013)(Learn how and when to remove this template message)The Hullabahoos, an a cappella group at the University of Virginia, were featured in the movie Pitch PerfectPeter Christian Lutkin, dean of the Northwestern University School of Music, helped popularize a cappella music in the United States by founding the Northwestern A Cappella Choir in 1906. The A Cappella Choir was "the first permanent organization of its kind in America."[41][42]An a cappella tradition was begun in 1911 by F. Melius Christiansen, a music faculty member at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.[43]The St. Olaf College Choir was established as an outgrowth of the local St. John's Lutheran Church, where Christiansen was organist and the choir was composed, at least partially, of students from the nearby St. Olaf campus. The success of the ensemble was emulated by other regional conductors, and a tradition of a cappella choral music was born in the region at colleges like Concordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota), Augustana College (Rock Island, Illinois), Wartburg College(Waverly, Iowa), Luther College (Decorah, Iowa), Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, Minnesota), Augustana College (Sioux Falls, South Dakota), and Augsburg University (Minneapolis, Minnesota). The choirs typically range from 40 to 80 singers and are recognized for their efforts to perfect blend, intonation, phrasing and pitch in a large choral setting.[44][45]Movements in modern a cappella over the past century include barbershop and doo wop. The Barbershop Harmony Society, Sweet Adelines International, and Harmony Inc. host educational events including Harmony University, Directors University, and the International Educational Symposium, and international contests and conventions, recognizing international champion choruses and quartets.Many a cappella groups can be found in high schools and colleges. There are amateur Barbershop Harmony Society and professional groups that sing a cappella exclusively. Although a cappella is technically defined as singing without instrumental accompaniment, some groups use their voices to emulate instruments; others are more traditional and focus on harmonizing. A cappella styles range from gospel music to contemporary to barbershop quartets and choruses.The Contemporary A Cappella Society (CASA) is a membership option for former students, whose funds support hosted competitions and events.[46][47]A cappella music was popularized between the late 2000s and the early to mid-2010s with media hits such as the 2009–2014 TV show The Sing-Off and the musical comedy film series Pitch Perfect.Recording artists[edit]This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: "A cappella" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR(May 2014)(Learn how and when to remove this template message)In July 1943, as a result of the American Federation of Musicians boycott of US recording studios, the a cappella vocal group The Song Spinners had a best-seller with "Comin' In On A Wing And A Prayer". In the 1950s, several recording groups, notably The Hi-Los and the Four Freshmen, introduced complex jazz harmonies to a cappella performances. The King's Singers are credited with promoting interest in small-group a cappella performances in the 1960s. Frank Zappa loves Doo wop and A cappella, so Zappa released The Persuasions' first album from his label in 1970.[48]In 1983, an a cappella group known as The Flying Pickets had a Christmas 'number one' in the UK with a cover of Yazoo's (known in the US as Yaz) "Only You". A cappella music attained renewed prominence from the late 1980s onward, spurred by the success of Top 40 recordings by artists such as The Manhattan Transfer, Bobby McFerrin, Huey Lewis and the News, All-4-One, The Nylons, Backstreet Boys, Boyz II Men, and *NSYNC.[citation needed]Contemporary a cappella includes many vocal groups and bands who add vocal percussion or beatboxing to create a pop/rock/gospel sound, in some cases very similar to bands with instruments. Examples of such professional groups include Straight No Chaser, Pentatonix, The House Jacks, Rockapella, Mosaic, Home Freeand M-pact. There also remains a strong a cappella presence within Christian music, as some denominations purposefully do not use instruments during worship. Examples of such groups are Take 6, Glad and Acappella. Arrangements of popular music for small a cappella ensembles typically include one voice singing the lead melody, one singing a rhythmic bass line, and the remaining voices contributing chordal or polyphonic accompaniment.A cappella can also describe the isolated vocal track(s) from a multitrack recording that originally included instrumentation.[citation needed]These vocal tracks may be remixed or put onto vinyl records for DJs, or released to the public so that fans can remix them. One such example is the a cappella release of Jay-Z's Black Album, which Danger Mouse mixed with The Beatles' White Album to create The Grey Album.On their 1966 album titled Album, Peter, Paul and Mary included the song "Norman Normal." All the sounds on that song, both vocals and instruments, were created by Paul's voice, with no actual instruments used.[49]In 2013, an artist by the name Smooth McGroove rose to prominence with his style of a cappella music.[50]He is best known for his a cappella covers of video gamemusic tracks on YouTube.[51]in 2015, an a cappella version of Jerusalem by multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier was selected for Beats by Dre "The Game Starts Here" for the England Rugby World Cup campaign.[52][53]Musical theatre[edit]A cappella has been used as the sole orchestration for original works of musical theatre that have had commercial runs Off-Broadway (theatres in New York City with 99 to 500 seats) only four times. The first was Avenue X which opened on 28 January 1994 and ran for 77 performances. It was produced by Playwrights Horizons with book by John Jiler, music and lyrics by Ray Leslee. The musical style of the show's score was primarily Doo-Wop as the plot revolved around Doo-Wop group singers of the 1960s.[54][55]In 2001, The Kinsey Sicks, produced and starred in the critically acclaimed off-Broadway hit, "DRAGAPELLA! Starring the Kinsey Sicks" at New York's legendary Studio 54. That production received a nomination for a Lucille Lortel award as Best Musical and a Drama Desk nomination for Best Lyrics. It was directed by Glenn Casale with original music and lyrics by Ben Schatz.[56]The a cappella musical Perfect Harmony, a comedy about two high school a cappella groups vying to win the National championship, made its Off Broadway debut at Theatre Row's Acorn Theatre on 42nd Street in New York City in October, 2010 after a successful out-of-town run at the Stoneham Theatre, in Stoneham, Massachusetts. Perfect Harmony features the hit music of The Jackson 5, Pat Benatar, Billy Idol, Marvin Gaye, Scandal, Tiffany, The Romantics, The Pretenders, The Temptations, The Contours, The Commodores, Tommy James & the Shondells and The Partridge Family, and has been compared to a cross between Altar Boyz and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.[57][58]The fourth a cappella musical to appear Off-Broadway, In Transit, premiered 5 October 2010 and was produced by Primary Stages with book, music, and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez, James-Allen Ford, Russ Kaplan, and Sara Wordsworth. Set primarily in the New York City subway system its score features an eclectic mix of musical genres (including jazz, hip hop, Latin, rock, and country). In Transit incorporates vocal beat boxing into its contemporary a cappella arrangements through the use of a subway beat boxer character. Beat boxer and actor Chesney Snow performed this role for the 2010 Primary Stages production.[59]According to the show's website, it is scheduled to reopen for an open-ended commercial run in the Fall of 2011. In 2011, the production received four Lucille Lortel Award nominations including Outstanding Musical, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League nominations, as well as five Drama Desk nominations including Outstanding Musical and won for Outstanding Ensemble Performance.In December 2016, In Transit became the first a cappella musical on Broadway.[60]Barbershop style[edit]Main article: Barbershop musicThis section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: "A cappella" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR(May 2018)(Learn how and when to remove this template message)Barbershop music is one of several uniquely American art forms. The earliest reports of this style of a cappella music involved African Americans. The earliest documented quartets all began in barber shops. In 1938, the first formal men's barbershop organization was formed, known as the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America (S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A), and in 2004 rebranded itself and officially changed its public name to the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS). Today the BHS has about 22,000 members in approximately 800 chapters across the United States and Canada,[61][62]and the barbershop style has spread around the world with organizations in many other countries.[63]The Barbershop Harmony Society provides a highly organized competition structure for a cappella quartets and choruses singing in the barbershop style.In 1945, the first formal women's barbershop organization, Sweet Adelines, was formed. In 1953, Sweet Adelines became an international organization, although it didn't change its name to Sweet Adelines International until 1991. The membership of nearly 25,000 women, all singing in English, includes choruses in most of the fifty United States as well as in Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the organization encompasses more than 1,200 registered quartets and 600 choruses.In 1959, a second women's barbershop organization started as a break off from Sweet Adelines due to ideological differences. Based on democratic principles which continue to this day, Harmony, Inc. is smaller than its counterpart, but has an atmosphere of friendship and competition. With about 2,500 members in the United States and Canada, Harmony, Inc. uses the same rules in contest that the Barbershop Harmony Society uses. Harmony, Inc. is registered in Providence, Rhode Island.Amateur and high school[edit]The popularity of a cappella among high schools and amateurs was revived by television shows and movies such as Glee and Pitch Perfect. High school groups have conductors or student leaders who keep the tempo for the group.In other countries[edit]This section needs expansion.You can help by adding to it.(May 2013)Pakistan[edit]The musical show Strepsils Stereo is credited for introducing the art of a cappella in Pakistan.[64]Sri Lanka[edit]Composer Dinesh Subasinghe became the first Sri Lankan to write a cappella pieces for SATB choirs. He wrote "The Princes of the Lost Tribe" and "Ancient Queen of Somawathee" for Menaka De Shabandu and Bridget Halpe's choirs, respectively, based on historical incidents in ancient Sri Lanka.[65][66][67]Voice Print is also a professional a cappella music group in Sri Lanka.[68]Sweden[edit]This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: "A cappella" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR(May 2014)(Learn how and when to remove this template message)The European a cappella tradition is especially strong in the countries around the Baltic and perhaps most so in Sweden as described by Richard Sparks in his doctoral thesis The Swedish Choral Miracle in 2000.[69]Swedish a cappella choirs have over the last 25 years won around 25% of the annual prestigious European Grand Prix for Choral Singing (EGP) that despite its name is open to choirs from all over the world (see list of laureates in the Wikipedia article on the EGP competition).The reasons for the strong Swedish dominance are as explained by Richard Sparks manifold; suffice to say here that there is a long-standing tradition, an unsusually large proportion of the populations (5% is often cited) regularly sing in choirs, the Swedish choral director Eric Ericson had an enormous impact on a cappella choral development not only in Sweden but around the world, and finally there are a large number of very popular primary and secondary schools ('music schools') with high admission standards based on auditions that combine a rigid academic regimen with high level choral singing on every school day, a system that started with Adolf Fredrik's Music School in Stockholm in 1939 but has spread over the country.United Kingdom[edit]The Oxford Alternotives, the oldest a cappella group at the University of Oxford in the UKThis section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(May 2014)(Learn how and when to remove this template message)The Sweet Nothings are one of the University of Exeter's eight a cappella groups. They are one of the oldest and most successful girl groups in the UKA cappella has gained attention in the UK in recent years, with many groups forming at British universities by students seeking an alternative singing pursuit to traditional choral and chapel singing. This movement has been bolstered by organisations such as The Voice Festival UK.Collegiate[edit]Main articles: Collegiate a cappella, List of collegiate a cappella groups, and List of collegiate a cappella groups in the UKThis section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: "A cappella" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR(May 2014)(Learn how and when to remove this template message)It is not clear exactly where collegiate a cappella began. The Rensselyrics of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (formerly known as the RPI Glee Club), established in 1873 is perhaps the oldest known collegiate a cappella group.[70][additional citation(s) needed]However the longest continuously-singing group is probably The Whiffenpoofs of Yale University,[71]which was formed in 1909 and once included Cole Porter as a member.[71]Collegiate a cappella groups grew throughout the 20th century. Some notable historical groups formed along the way include Colgate University's The Colgate 13 (1942), Dartmouth College's Aires (1946), Cornell University's Cayuga's Waiters (1949) and The Hangovers (1968), the University of Maine Maine Steiners (1958), the Columbia University Kingsmen (1949), the Jabberwocks of Brown University (1949), and the University of RochesterYellowJackets (1956).All-women a cappella groups followed shortly, frequently as a parody of the men's groups: the Smiffenpoofs of Smith College(1936), The Shwiffs of Connecticut College (The She-Whiffenpoofs, 1944), and The Chattertocks of Brown University (1951). A cappella groups exploded in popularity beginning in the 1990s, fueled in part by a change in style popularized by the Tufts University Beelzebubs and the Boston University Dear Abbeys. The new style used voices to emulate modern rock instruments, including vocal percussion/"beatboxing". Some larger universities now have multiple groups. Groups often join one another in on-campus concerts, such as the Georgetown Chimes' Cherry Tree Massacre, a 3-weekend a cappella festival held each February since 1975, where over a hundred collegiate groups have appeared, as well as International Quartet Champions The Boston Common and the contemporary commercial a cappella group Rockapella. Co-ed groups have produced many up-and-coming and major artists, including John Legend, an alumnus of the Counterparts at the University of Pennsylvania, and Sara Bareilles, an alumna of Awaken A Cappella at University of California, Los Angeles. Mira Sorvino is an alumna of the Harvard-Radcliffe Veritones of Harvard College, where she had the solo on Only You by Yaz.A cappella is gaining popularity among South Asians with the emergence of primarily Hindi-English College groups. The first South Asian a cappella group was Penn Masala, founded in 1996 at the University of Pennsylvania. Co-ed South Asian a cappella groups are also gaining in popularity. The first co-ed south Asian a cappella was Anokha, from the University of Maryland, formed in 2001. Also, Dil se, another co-ed a cappella from UC Berkeley, hosts the "Anahat" competition at the University of California, Berkeley annually. Maize Mirchi, the co-ed a cappella group from the University of Michigan hosts "Sa Re Ga Ma Pella", an annual South Asian a cappella invitational with various groups from the Midwest. Another South Asian group from the Midwest is Chai Town who is based in the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign.Jewish-interest groups such as Queens College's Tizmoret, Tufts University's Shir Appeal, University of Chicago's Rhythm and Jews, Binghamton University's Kaskeset, Ohio State University's Meshuganotes, Rutgers University's Kol Halayla, New York University's Ani V'Ata and Yale University's Magevet are also gaining popularity across the U.S.[72][73][74]Increased interest in modern a cappella (particularly collegiate a cappella) can be seen in the growth of awards such as the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (overseen by the Contemporary A Cappella Society) and competitions such as the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella for college groups and the Harmony Sweepstakes for all groups. In December 2009, a new television competition series called The Sing-Off aired on NBC. The show featured eight a cappella groups from the United States and Puerto Rico vying for the prize of $100,000 and a recording contract with Epic Records/Sony Music. The show was judged by Ben Folds, Shawn Stockman, and Nicole Scherzinger and was won by an all-male group from Puerto Rico called Nota. The show returned for a second, third and fourth season, won by Committed, Pentatonix and Home Free respectively.Each year, hundreds of Collegiate a cappella groups submit their strongest songs in a competition to be on The Best of College A Cappella (BOCA), an album compilation of tracks from the best college a cappella groups around the world. The album is produced by Varsity Vocals – which also produces the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella – and Deke Sharon. ). According to ethnomusicologist Joshua S. Dunchan, "BOCA carries considerable cache and respect within the field despite the appearance of other compilations in part, perhaps, because of its longevity and the prestige of the individuals behind it."[75]Collegiate a cappella groups may also submit their tracks to Voices Only, a two-disc series released at the beginning of each school year. A Voices Only album has been released every year since 2005.[76]In addition, all women's a cappella groups can send their strongest song tracks to the Women's A Cappella Association (WACA) for its annual best of women's a cappella album. WACA offers another medium for women's voices to receive recognition and has released an album every year since 2014, featuring women's groups from across the United States.[77]Emulating instruments[edit]This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(May 2014)(Learn how and when to remove this template message)In addition to singing words, some a cappella singers also emulate instrumentation by reproducing instrumental sounds with their vocal cords and mouth, often pitched using specialised pitch pipes. One of the earliest 20th century practitioners of this method were The Mills Brothers whose early recordings of the 1930s clearly stated on the label that all instrumentation was done vocally. More recently, "Twilight Zone" by 2 Unlimited was sung a cappella to the instrumentation on the comedy television series Tompkins Square. Another famous example of emulating instrumentation instead of singing the words is the theme song for The New Addams Familyseries on Fox Family Channel (now ABC Family). Groups such as Vocal Sampling and Undivided emulate Latin rhythms a cappella. In the 1960s, the Swingle Singers used their voices to emulate musical instruments to Baroque and Classical music. Vocal artist Bobby McFerrin is famous for his instrumental emulation. A cappella group Naturally Seven recreates entire songs using vocal tones for every instrument.The Swingle Singers used nonsense words to sound like instruments, but have been known to produce non-verbal versions of musical instruments. Beatboxing, more accurately known as vocal percussion, is a technique used in a cappella music popularized by the hip-hop community, where rap is often performed a cappella also. The advent of vocal percussion added new dimensions to the a cappella genre and has become very prevalent in modern arrangements.[78]Jazz vocalist Petra Hadenused a four-track recorder to produce an a cappella version of The Who Sell Out including the instruments and fake advertisements on her album Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out in 2005. Haden has also released a cappella versions of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'", The Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" and Michael Jackson's "Thriller".Christian rock group Relient K recorded the song "Plead the Fifth" a cappella on its album Five Score and Seven Years Ago. The group recorded lead singer Matt Thiessen making drum noises and played them with an electronic drum machine to record the song.See also[edit]Look up a cappella in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.Barbershop music – four-part a cappella (in close harmony)Collegiate a cappellaThe Contemporary A Cappella SocietyHarmony Sweepstakes A Cappella FestivalHome Free – quintet, winners of NBC's Sing-Off Season 4List of collegiate a cappella groupsList of professional a cappella groupsList of university a cappella groups in the United KingdomStraight No Chaser – 10 man a cappella ground founded at Indiana UniversitySweet Adelines InternationalNotes[edit]^ The absence of instrumental music is rooted in various hermeneutic principles (ways of interpreting the Bible) which determine what is appropriate for worship. Among such principles are the regulative principle of worship (Ulrich Zwingli), Sola scriptura (Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli), and the history of hymn in "Christianity". Dispensationalism emphasizes the differences between the old (Law of Moses) and the new (Jesus and the Apostles) covenants, emphasizing that the majority of the practices from the Law of Moses were replaced by the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles. The absence of instrumental music in early church worship is significant given the abundance of Hebrew Bible references and commands to worship God with harp, lyre and cymbal. After several hundred years of Tabernacle worship without references to instrumental music, King David (ca 1500 BC) introduced musical instruments into Temple worship reportedly because of a commandment from God, complete with who was to sing, who was to play, and what instruments were to be used.[15]^ McKinnon maintained that the organ was the first instrument to be introduced into worship and the next was the trumpet. He noted accounts of an organ being sent from Byzantium to Pippin in 757, and another to Charlemagne in 812.[17]^ Rather than calling the use of instruments "evil", modern opposition typically uses terms like "unspiritual"[27] or an Old Testament "shadow".[28]