Written test.. was Rim thingy..

[Dave Nereson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Richard Brekne" <Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2003 1:43 AM
Subject: Written test.. was Rim thingy..


> I think the main point is... that the written test is so full of ambiguity and questionable degrees of correctness, that its really quite suprising we actually use it. And the thing
> just got reviewed.
> What is the real purpose for the "written" test ?? and does it even come close to filling that purpose ?
> Richard Brekne
> RPT, N.P.T.F.
> UiB, Bergen, Norway

    Yes, and not to discredit Exam & Test Standards Committee members -- I'm sure they thought they were doing good, and probably spent long hours -- but the technical test exam books were also recently "revised", and frankly, I don't see any improvement.  All the grammatical errors and misspellings are still there; the ambiguities are still there, the printing job is worse (off center, skewed), and the whole appearance of the exam books (the blue notebooks) is "cheaper" and less professional-looking. 
 
    But back to the written exam:  yes, there are questions on there that are still being debated in the pages of the Journal, yet in the exam, they're presented as though there's only one correct answer.  The most famous is the question about the direction of the nap of knuckle leather.  Another is about whether or not bass strings should be twisted.  And there are questions about the best order of reconditioning and regulating procedures on a "playable piano", with "playable" underlined.  "Playable" can mean anything.  Almost ANY piano is "playable" as long as most of the keys cause most of the hammers to hit most of the strings.  How WELL it plays is the question.  But it's a nebulous area that's confusing to the examinee.
    Here's another one:  "When strip muting a grand piano, it is advisable to depress the (left, middle, right pedal). "  Well, the answer is that one should depress the damper pedal so that the muting strip doesn't pinch the wedge felts.  But it applies equally well to an upright, not just to grands.  
    Another is "The greatest percentage of expansion and contraction in a soundboard is 
        A. across the width of the board
        B. in the thickness of the board
        C. along the length of the board
        D. even in all directions             ."
The correct answer [is it?] is B.    Does a spruce board really expand and contract in thickness more than across the grain?    And, really, it should say "...expansion and contraction with changes in humidity (as opposed to temperature or other factors) ...."
    But I'm getting carried away with details, I guess.

   << As far as the general expertise gathered in the feild over time.... grin... put
5 expert piano techs in a room toghether... rpresenting 200 vast years of
experience and ask them why the bridle straps exist.

Cheers
RicB  >>

    Yeah, the bridle strap question has been debated also.  Yamaha, in their high-speed photography experiments, did prove that the bridles DO aid in repetition in certain kinds of hammer blows, but the exam question asks what the PRIMARY purpose of the bridle straps is.  

    The purpose of the written exam, as I understand it, is supposedly to determine whether the examinee has a good general knowledge of piano design & construction, parts nomenclature, materials used, and basic tuning, repair, regulating and voicing procedures.  If they don't, better that they fall down "on paper" and be able to re-test with no fee after they've studied some more, rather than in the middle of the hands-on technical exam with real action models and time limits, plus the $90 fee.  (no fee for the written).  
    I think the written does come close to fulfilling its purpose, but only "close" - there's much room for improvement, and I have all the errors, debatable questions, spelling, grammar, suggestions for improvement, etc. written down for both the written and tech. exams, including comments from many recent examinees and examiners.  I just have to organize them and send them in to the proper person or committee when it gets closer to the top of my "to do" list.  
    --David Nereson, RPT