#17 - Specific Reference, Must Be True, Organization

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (B).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):


This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[HowardQ]

Hi, I have encountered a question regarding #17. The correct answer is B but I think D is equally supportable because the passage did discuss the two examples which are critically evaluating them. Is D wrong becasue that "frequently provided" has no way to be backed up?

Thanks,

Howard

[Adam Tyson]

You got it, Howard! Answer D is describing something like this: "X is true. Those who say so usually point to these pieces of evidence. Now we will look more closely at those pieces of evidence to determine something about them." There is no element of "evidence frequently provided" in this paragraph, and the author isn't evaluating the evidence, but simply using the evidence to support his position.

Well done!

[Anothertesttaker]

I did not select B because I felt like the passage was elaborated with 3 examples and not two as the answer choice describes. The three examples being the contemporary piano, the background pianist, and the tempo of the music. What did I miss?

[Erik Christensen]

Test taker,

Good job in identifying that there were three examples, but note that only two examples (background pianist and tempo of music) were mentioned in the last paragraph, which is what answer choice (b) is specifically concerned about. The modern piano example was mentioned in the middle paragraph and not the last paragraph. Let us know if you have any more questions!!

ERIK

[lolaSur]

Hi!

I had trouble with question 17 in this passage which states" "Which one of the following describes the organization of the last paragraph?" I had such a hard time with the last paragraph.

I thought Answer E was more appropriate and don't understand why E is wrong and B is right.

Could you please explain the third paragraph and its organizational structure?

We have a pianist keeping orchestras together even though the piano is not really needed and was later dropped
We have performers playing faster and then slower to accommodate the audiences' applause
We have the author's statements that performance changes are tied to musical intensity and excitement of its audience

I don't understand the mentioning of the piano? Is it keeping the beat? How is it holding the orchestra together? What is meant by "early music advocates often inadvertently divorce music and its performance from the life of which they were , and are a part?"


Thank you!

[Paul Marsh]

Hi Lola! This question asks about the structure of the last paragraph. So before examining the answer choices, it's helpful to take a second to look at the last paragraph and Pre-Phrase what a good summary of the structure is. The paragraph starts with a general critique of early music advocates (specifically: they divorce music and performance from the life of which they were a part - which, since you asked, basically means that they just follow the sheet music while ignoring the context of the era). The rest of the paragraph is then dedicated to two illustrations of this critique. The first illustration is that of how the piano was simply used to beat time because no better method was around back then (everything from "The discovery that Haydn's..." to "...beat time was found"). The second illustration is about how tempo was related to audience applause etiquette (structurally, this illustration covers everything from the end of the first illustration through the end of the paragraph). So a strong Pre-Phrase would be: a critique of a movement is made, and then supported by two illustrations.

Answer Choice (B) matches that Pre-Phrase perfectly. Answer Choice (E) has the correct component parts more or less, but they are backwards! The general critique comes first, and then the examples. Not vice versa. Hope that helps!

[zsg2@cornell.edu]

Hello,

I was able to reason that (B) was the correct answer here but was stuck between (B) and (C) for a little while and would like clarification for why (C) is incorrect. My reasoning for liking (C) in the first place was that one could read the idea that "early music advocates often inadvertently divorce music and its performance from the life of which they were, and are, a part" as a faulty assumption held by the early music advocates that music and its performance are separate from the historical / social context in which it is performed. If this is an acceptable description, then I also think it is acceptable to say that the remainder of the paragraph goes on to show evidence that invalidates that assumption (i.e. that musical performances are actually quite influenced by the historical / social context).

I do like (B) better as a description of the third paragraph, hence why I chose the answer, but any comments on my reading of answer choice (C) and why it is wrong (other than B being better) would be helpful. Much appreciated!

[KelseyWoods]

Hi zsg2!

Answer choice (C) is actually a better description of the second paragraph. There, the author clearly identifies an assumption of early music advocates ("Early music advocates assume that composers write only for the instruments available to them") and then presents evidence to undermine its validity (the "wrong" note in Beethoven's first concerto and his stated desire to revise his early works to make use of the extended range of later instruments).

In the third paragraph, the author does not present an assumption that they then undermine. The early music advocates do not assume that music and its performance are separate from the historical/social context in which it is performed. In fact, that's the opposite of what they advocate for. Instead, the author is arguing that this is an unintended side effect of their desire to have music performed as it was at the time of its composition. And the examples that follow illustrate this unintended side effect. The early music advocates want music to be played as it originally was so they incorporate the use of a piano as a conductor. But because the piano is played more prominently than it actually would have been at the time, the performance is not actually similar to how audiences would have experienced it when it was originally composed. They're trying to situate music within the historical context in which it was composed and originally performed. But a hyperfocus on replicating the exact techniques of early orchestras sometimes ends up with a result that is the opposite of what they are trying to accomplish. This isn't undermining an assumption of the early music advocates. It's showing that their techniques do not always accomplish their goals.

Hope this helps!

Best,
Kelsey