Harpercraft Exams: Instrument Crafting Exam

The questions:

• Question 1: True or false: the size of a drum helps determine its tone.
• Question 2: With what material do you string a gitar?
• Question 3: Which of the following instruments have reeds? (Flute, trumpet, clarinet, harmonica, ocarina, maracas)
• Question 4: Which piece of wood in a harp must withstand the most pressure?
• Questions 5: What's the difference between a cornet and a trumpet?

Or check out the subtotals for this section.

Question 1: True or false: the size of a drum helps determine its tone. [4 points possible]

Answer: True.

Saundethen: True [4 points]
Azalea: True: the deeper the drum is, the deeper its tone will be. [4 points]
Ellena: True [4 points]
Reeba: True, but it is not the only factor. For example, material also helps determine tone. [4 points]
Kyre: true [4 points]
Zanadia: True [4 points]
Sapphira: true [4 points]
Usha: True [4 points]
Kandar: False-- Though it does contribute, there are notable exceptions for example, though not IC, a steel drum. It's capable of more than one note on just one drum. [2 points]
Arialla: True [4 points]
Ayanna: true [4 points]
Kellira: true [4 points]
Loeree: True [4 points]
Oriana: true [4 points]
Taliana: True. Yes, you can tune a drum by adjusting the tension on its head, but a small skin will never make a bass tone with any kind of quality, and to tune a big skin to a high pitch puts a LOT of tension on the drum's frame. [4 points]
Torlan: True [4 points]
Rain: true [4 points]
Ambar: true. Bass drums are big and deep. Other drums are smaller and higher. [4 points]
Khayet: True [4 points]
Kitessa: True...but I think it is more the size of the shell which acts as a resonator. [4 points]
Kestria: True. A smaller drum is going to be higher pitched than a larger one. All one need to do to find proof of this fact is to look at the size of the big bass drum. It's big so it /can/ be bass in tone. Big == BOOM! Small == ratta-tat-tat. Medium == Rumpa-pum-pum. Me stop now. ;) [4 points]
Laurenlee: T [4 points]

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Question 2: With what material do you string a gitar? [4 points possible]

Answer: Gut.

Saundethen: Metal of some sort... Steel, maybe...? [2 points]
Azalea: Not sure on Pern: steel seems unlikely, though catgut or possibly nylon could be what they use. [4 points]
Ellena: Gut [4 points]
Reeba: Gut, most often from a herdbeast. [4 points]
Kyre: weyrhide [0 points]
Zanadia: Cord [0 points]
Sapphira: I would say runner hair as we don't have that much metal icly for the number of guitars that are made, and it would get expensive. [0 points]
Usha: Gut [4 points]
Kandar: Twisted animal gut, though horse hair can be acceptable. [4 points]
Arialla: Gut [4 points]
Kellira: gut [4 points]
Loeree: Gut (on earth traditionally cat gut) Wire strings are also used, but more epensive. Though I believe metal is more commonly used for the lower three strings, with gut for the upper two/three. [4 points]
Oriana: sheep gut [4 points]
Taliana: Wire or spun gut, depending. [4 points]
Rain: My sister would kill me if I ever said cat-gut, so I won't. Oops! Well, I don't think that's right anyway. I have a backpacker, but it is strung with metal strings, while I know that isn't right for Pernese gitars. I would think either finely crafted strings from the Weavercrafthall, or thin strands of hide from the Tannercrafthall. [3 points]
Ambar: some sort of gut, I think (though maybe that's just violins) [4 points]
Khayet: Catgut, which isn't really made from cats. [4 points]
Kitessa: I think it used to be gut (probably sheep) and then became metal-spun silk strings. Nowadays, probably not on Pern, nylon or some other plastic is used, or an aluminiium coated gut, or some kind of metal.....I think.... [4 points]
Kestria: Having done some research, I pity the Pernese gitarists (or any player of stringed instruments for that matter) and I will explain why. Gitars must be strung with strings made from gut as it is the only material readily available on Pern. The strings are manufactured from lamb intestines and the quality can vary /wildly/. In fact, if the lamb who donates his intestines is too young, the strings will lack resistance and will break; if the lamb is too old, the strings will lack elasticity and won't stretch far enough, or else will have a tendency to go sharp in pitch; if the pastures that year have suffered from either too much rain or too much sun, these factors also are reflected in the quality of the sound and the durability of the strings. Tuning a gitar is also a difficult task as gut strings expand and contract with atmospheric changes. Pern does not have silk, which was also once used for manufacturing strings, but the bass strings are likely made from wound metal threads. It is interesting to note that modern, Earth technology allows for strings to be made from nylon which enables the strings to have a uniform diameter all along their length. The more consistent the roundness, the more consistently a string vibrates when struck and the better it sounds. Gut strings must sound /terrible/ in comparison. And imagine how hard it must be to get uniform diameter in the metal bass strings. And was it the Harpers that made the gut strings themselves? Probably. Methinks there's a lesson in here. Yech. [4 points]
Laurenlee: Runner hair? [0 points]

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Question 3: Which of the following instruments have reeds? (Flute, trumpet, clarinet, harmonica, ocarina, maracas) [4 points possible]

Answer: Clarinet and harmonica

Saundethen: Clarinet, harmonica [4 points]
Azalea: Clarinets are the only ones with reeds. (out of this group) [2 points]
Ellena: Clarinet & harmonica. [4 points]
Reeba: Clarinet is definitely a reed instrument. I believe the harmonica does too but I haven't been asked to make one yet. [4 points]
Kyre: Flute, maracas, clarinet [0 points]
Zanadia: Flute, maracas [0 points]
Sapphira: Clarinet, harmonica [4 points]
Usha: Clarinet [2 points]
Kandar: clarinet and harmonica [4 points]
Arialla: Clarinet [2 points]
Ayanna: clarinet [2 points]
Kellira: clarinet [2 points]
Loeree: Calrinet and ocarina (clarinet has a single reed, and ocarina has a double reed) [1 points]
Oriana: clarinet, harmonica [4 points]
Taliana: clarinet and harmonica [4 points]
Rain: clarinet, harmonica, ocarina I'm not sure of because every time I think of that word, I get this image of a bulbous piece of hard substance with finger holes and a side mouthpiece, so I wouldn't think it had a reed. But I don't know if that is what an ocarina is. So I'm going to say it /isn't/ reeded, and only the clarinet and harmonica are. [4 points]
Ambar: clarinet (come on. That is so easy!) [2 points]
Khayet: Harmonica, clarinet, ocarina, flute [2 points]
Kitessa: Clarinet [2 points]
Kestria: Of those listed, the following have reeds, clarinet and harmonica. The harmonica is a free-reed instrument consisting of a series of steel reeds arranged together horizontally in small channels. [4 points]
Laurenlee: clarinet [2 points]

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Which piece of wood in a harp must withstand the most pressure? [4 points possible]

Answer: The answer we were looking for was the pillar, or forepillar, which is that piece of wood at the front of a harp, farthest from the harpist. It's the only piece of wood to which the strings are not connected, running instead parallel to them. This piece has to bear the entire compression pressure of all the strings. It is not, however, the most likely to break; that is the soundboard, the thin piece of wood across the soundbox to which the strings are connected. Due to the faint ambiguity, full credit was given to anyone who said the soundboard.

Saundethen: The soundboard, or something of that sort [4 points]
Reeba: The one the fat lady is sitting on (Just kidding - a joke, really!). I would have to choose the levers. [1 points]
Zanadia: The bottom one [0 points]
Sapphira: If we are talking about a harp that looks like a bow, it would be the bow about in the middle as stringing the harp would cause the harp to have to flex inwards, therefore creating the most tension and pressure in the middle of that bow. [0 points]
Usha: Neck [0 points]
Arialla: I don't know the name of the part, but it's where the strings attach, along the "bottom" side of the harp (the part that leans up against you when playing... I'd call it the back board). [3 points]
Kellira: The base [0 points]
Loeree: I do not know the name of it, but it is the long strait piece at the back of the harp (as oposed to the curved top where the tuning knobs are.) The base of the strings all attach here, and there are no knobs to mitigate the preasure. [3 points]
Oriana: The post, having to support the compression weight of all of the strings. [4 points]
Taliana: The soundboard. The /joint/ that must withstand the most tension is the one between the curve and the forepillar, where the string tension tends to pull the curve away from the forepillar; some makers reinforce this joint with a metal plate. [4 points]
Rain: the wood on the base part of the harp, for that is where the most pressure is applied for the longest amounts of time. Those harps are heavy to hold up, don'tcha know? [0 points]
Ambar: the top bit [0 points]
Khayet: The one that holds the strings at the bottem? [3 points]
Kitessa: The 'column' or 'forepillar.' [4 points]
Kestria: In a harp, it is the soundboard which must withstand the most pressure. When properly tuned, the pressure from the strings on the soundboard is approximately 4,400 pounds. Wow! Over two tons of pressure! [4 points]
Laurenlee: Back piece, the one holding the thing together? :) [0 points]

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Question 5: What's the difference between a cornet and a trumpet? [4 points possible]

Answer: The shape of the bore. A trumpet has a cylindrical bore until near the end of its length, where it flares out into a cone. A cornet has a conical bore throughout the length of the instrument.

Saundethen: A cornet doesn't have valves/keys [0 points]
Ellena: The cornet is shorter, with a relatively longer conical part of the pipe. It's tone quality is somewhat less brilliant than that of the trumpet, but it is capable of considerably greater agility, due to it's shorter tube. [4 points]
Reeba: A cornet is smaller and has a higher tone. [0 points]
Kyre: the pitch [0 points]
Zanadia: Trumpet is smaller. [0 points]
Sapphira: The shape of the instrument, the sound it produces, the range of notes it can reach. I am not quite sure of the actual differences. [0 points]
Usha: The size and shape (and hence the tone) [1 points]
Arialla: Cornets are smaller. [0 points]
Kellira: The shape of the horn [0 points]
Oriana: A trumpet has a consistent diameter until only a few inches before its end, widening out suddenly into a bell. A cornet has a gradually increasing diameter along most of its length, perhaps doubling in diameter before flaring out into a bell. [4 points]
Taliana: A cornet's tube is shorter and somewhat conical; its tone is less bright. [4 points]
Rain: Hmm... isn't a cornet a woodwind, and a trumpet a brass instrument? I've never had much experience with cornets. None of the bands I've been in had them. [0 points]
Ambar: a cornet is smaller and has a very slightly mellower tone. A cornet is also slightly lighter [1 points]
Khayet: The ammount of tubing, the angle of the bell, and the shape it's in. This affects it's tone, as well as it's size. [3 points]
Kitessa: A cornet is circular in shape, somewhat like a small french horn. [0 points]
Kestria: The cornet is related to the trumpet but lacks the brilliance of the trumpet. The cornet's tubing is shorter and more conical than that of a trumpet (the trumpet having a cylindrical bore), making the cornet more agile and accurate, partiuclarly in the upper register. The cornet has a wider bore and a deeper mouthpiece than the trumpet does, thus giving it a more mellow sound. [4 points]
Laurenlee: Ok, I don't know what they're called, but the cornet doesn't have things to push down to change notes. [0 points]

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Subtotals:

Azalea: 10
Saundethen:14
Zanadia: 4
Ayanna: 6
Ellena: 16
Torlan: 4
Reeba: 13
Sapphira: 8
Usha: 11
Kandar: 10
Arialla: 13
Kellira: 10
Loeree: 12
Oriana: 20
Taliana: 20
Kestria: 20
Rain: 11
Ambar: 11
Khayet: 16
Kitessa: 14
Laurenlee: 6
Kyre: 4

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