#21 - Most opera singers who add demanding roles to their

[lsatstudent99966]

Hi there,

I have a problem with the correct answer choice (E): most young singers who sing demanding roles strain their vocal cords.

I understand the explanation is that we can combine the two statements below to reach (E):

1, Most young singers who add demanding roles to their repertoire lose their voice early.
2. Most young singers lack the technical training necessary to avoid straining their vocal cords.

But the second statement only says "Most young singers." How can we be sure that what is true for "Most young singers" is also true for "Most young singers who add demanding roles to their repertories"?

Since "Most young singers who add demanding roles to their repertories" is only a subgroup of "young singers," it seems to me that what is true about "Most young singers" might not be true for "Most young singers who add demanding roles to their repertories".

There are likely many young singers who do not sing demanding roles at all. It is also very likely that these young singers will not bother to undergo the training necessary to avoid straining their vocal cords. So when the author says "Most young singers lack the technical training necessary to avoid straining their vocal cords," maybe many of them are young singers who don't sing demanding roles at all?

(Let's say there are 100 young singers and 60 of them don't sing demanding roles and don't bother to undergo the technical training necessary to avoid straining their vocal cords. Then, it is indeed true that "Most young singers lack the technical training necessary to avoid straining their vocal cords," but it might not be true that "Most young singers who sing demanding roles strain their vocal cords." How can we be sure that the remaining 40 young singers, who sing demanding roles, with at least 21 of them losing their voices early, also have at least 21 of them lacking the technical training necessary to avoid straining their vocal cords? I know this is quite likely the case because the stimulus identified not receiving proper training as the main reason behind losing voice early, but I still feel there's some gray area here. (E) seems to be correct only because this is an MSS question, not an MBT question.)

[RickyLW]

Hi lsatstudent99966 - I had the exact same concern and would also be curious to hear an explanation.

[Jeff Wren]

Hi lsatstudent and Ricky,

Good question!

You're correct that, by itself, the fact that:

1. Most young singers who add demanding roles to their repertoire lose their voice early.
2. Most young singers lack the technical training necessary to avoid straining their vocal cords.

doesn't prove that:

Answer E: Most young singers who add demanding roles strain their vocal cords.

for the reason that you mentioned.

However, you're missing one critical piece of information. When the stimulus asserts "the real problem is that," this is specifically referring to the reason that:

1. Most young singers who add demanding roles to their repertoire lose their voice early.

In other words, by stating that the general lack of the technical training necessary to avoid straining their vocal cords among most young singers is the explanation for the specific subset of singers losing their voice early, this implies that most of that subset did lack this training which in turn caused them to lose their voice early.

Put another way, if most of the subset (the young singers who add demanding roles to their repertoire and lose their voice early) did not in fact lack the technical training necessary to avoid straining their vocal cords, then a lack of training would not actually be the real problem (i.e. the main reason) for why they lost their voice early, as the stimulus asserts that it is.

[lsatstudent99966]

Hi lsatstudent and Ricky,

Good question!

You're correct that, by itself, the fact that:

1. Most young singers who add demanding roles to their repertoire lose their voice early.
2. Most young singers lack the technical training necessary to avoid straining their vocal cords.

doesn't prove that:

Answer E: Most young singers who add demanding roles strain their vocal cords.

for the reason that you mentioned.

However, you're missing one critical piece of information. When the stimulus asserts "the real problem is that," this is specifically referring to the reason that:

1. Most young singers who add demanding roles to their repertoire lose their voice early.

In other words, by stating that the general lack of the technical training necessary to avoid straining their vocal cords among most young singers is the explanation for the specific subset of singers losing their voice early, this implies that most of that subset did lack this training which in turn caused them to lose their voice early.

Put another way, if the most of the subset (the young singers who add demanding roles to their repertoire and lose their voice early) did not in fact lack of the technical training necessary to avoid straining their vocal cords, then a lack of training would not actually be the real problem (i.e. the main reason) for why they lost their voice early, as the stimulus asserts that it is.

Thank you so much Jeff. This is very helpful!

[Dancingbambarina]

Complete Question Explanation

Must Be True. The correct answer choice is (E)

In this stimulus, it is stated that most opera singers who add demanding roles to their repertoires
early in life later lose their voices prematurely. This phenomenon has been attributed to their
immature voices and insufficient vocal power. In typical LSAT fashion, the writer dismisses this
attribution, asserting that the real reason is that most young singers have insufficient technical
training to avoid straining their vocal chords, especially when singing at full strength.

The question stem asks which answer choice the stimulus most strongly supports.

Answer choice (A): The author of the stimulus primarily discusses young opera singers with great
vocal power, so we have no basis for drawing any conclusion about young opera singers without
great vocal power.

Answer choice (B): The assertion that some young opera singers with immature vocal chords ruin
their voices singing demanding roles is specifically dismissed by the author of the stimulus, so this
answer choice is incorrect.

Answer choice (C): While the author hypothesizes that the problem with many of these singers
is a lack of training, the time required for such training is never specified, so we cannot draw the
conclusion that many years of training are required before singing demanding roles.

Answer choice (D): It is not maturity that allows one to safely take on demanding roles, according to
the author, but proper training. A young opera singer with proper training could tackle a demanding
role, the author would likely assert, and still manage to avoid strained vocal chords, so this answer
choice is incorrect.

Answer choice (E): This is the correct answer choice. From the first sentence of the stimulus we
know that most young opera singers who take on demanding roles at young ages lose their voices
early, and we are later told that the real problem is that most young singers lack the technical training
to avoid straining their vocal chords, so it is a logical inference that the referenced loss of voice
would be attributable to vocal strain.

Surely C is wrong because it's a normative statement drawn from a factual stimulus where ?

Also, is a normative statement the same as a value judgement?

Thank you