Reading comp PrepTest 144 · Section 1 · Question 2
Passage
. "Never was anything as incoherent, shrill, chaotic . and ear-splitting produced in music. The most piercing . dissonances clash
Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage SummaryTopic: Humanities
Paragraph 1
Schoenberg was similar in some ways to earlier composers, and he wasn't immediately appreciated, but through his evolving career, he developed new technical and emotional approaches to music that make him essential
Key Lines:
Lines 6-10 - Two composers are compared as initially unpopular
Lines 11-13 - The importance of the two composers is noted
Lines 20-23 - The composer who serves as the main topic of the passage is described
Lines 23-25 - The structure of the following paragraphs is noted
Lines 47-53 - Schoenberg's importance is described
Meta-Structure:
Importance of an Artist - Focusing on an artist and how they changed the form in which they worked is a common passage structure. When it's the case, it's important to have a solid grasp on the different styles presented—especially what was different about the artist in question. Additionally, it's important to know exactly why the Author believes the artist in question was so important.
Here, we know that Schoenberg's styles are looked at from Lines 25-45, so we should have noted a brief description of each step on his evolution. We also know that the last paragraph describes the Author's view on his importance. We can head to the questions feeling pretty comfortable that we can quickly locate any information we need to.
Last Thoughts:
Note that the passage shifts from comparing Schoenberg to Beethoven to comparing him to Mozart. It would be easy to lump Beethoven and Mozart together if you just read them as "other composer," but there might be a question that tries to trip us up on that front.
Paragraph 1
- Paragraph note
- A quote
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
- Some music was . . . really bad
- Paragraph note
- Details on the quote are given, along with a comparison
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
- Quote - 1806, about a Beethoven piece
- Similar to reactions to Schoenberg
- Paragraph note
- A similarity between the composers, and more on Beethoven
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
- Similarity - Altered language, expressive range of music
- Beethoven - Wasn't appreciated right away; required repeated listenings (phonograph)
- Paragraph note
- A similarity, with more on Schoenberg
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
- Similar - Constantly changing/evolving
- Schoenberg - Went through 3 styles (first late-Romantic - shifting harmonies)
- Similar - First style and Brahms
- Paragraph note
- Schoenberg's second style is discussed (no tonal basis)
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
- Second style - Unstable harmonies to no tonality
- Why? Inevitable future, and needed to for expression
- Paragraph note
- Schoenberg's third style (12-tone technique); All styles compared
- Brought stability to nontonal music
- Similarities in all - Schoenberg had technical mastery
- Growth - More condensed, violent in contrast, harder to follow
- Paragraph note
- Schoenberg's importance
- Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
- Important because of what he said, not how he made music
- 12-tone system previewed by Mozart - not most important
- Essential element - Captured disquieting emotions for first time (disturbing)
Schoenberg was similar in some ways to earlier composers, and he wasn't immediately appreciated, but through his evolving career, he developed new technical and emotional approaches to music that make him essential
Key Lines:
Lines 6-10 - Two composers are compared as initially unpopular
Lines 11-13 - The importance of the two composers is noted
Lines 20-23 - The composer who serves as the main topic of the passage is described
Lines 23-25 - The structure of the following paragraphs is noted
Lines 47-53 - Schoenberg's importance is described
Meta-Structure:
Importance of an Artist - Focusing on an artist and how they changed the form in which they worked is a common passage structure. When it's the case, it's important to have a solid grasp on the different styles presented—especially what was different about the artist in question. Additionally, it's important to know exactly why the Author believes the artist in question was so important.
Here, we know that Schoenberg's styles are looked at from Lines 25-45, so we should have noted a brief description of each step on his evolution. We also know that the last paragraph describes the Author's view on his importance. We can head to the questions feeling pretty comfortable that we can quickly locate any information we need to.
Last Thoughts:
Note that the passage shifts from comparing Schoenberg to Beethoven to comparing him to Mozart. It would be easy to lump Beethoven and Mozart together if you just read them as "other composer," but there might be a question that tries to trip us up on that front.
Question prompt
Which one of the
Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right
Credited answer: B
The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.
Question Type
Humanities
Answer choices
-
Aa comedian whose material Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice A is not credited
Incorrect. Vulgar humor doesn't necessarily reflect difficult truths, so this answer misses the mark. -
Ba comedian whose humor Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice B matches the stem
Correct. Question Type:
Parallel Reasoning
Strategy Overview:
Head back to the passage to define what "disturbing" means, and then generalize to have something to use to analyze the answers
Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
Line 54 is in Paragraph 7 where the Author laid out what makes Schoenberg essential. The key element of his music? The expansion of what emotions can be expressed in it.
In the sentence in question, the Author states that Schoenberg's music is disturbing not because of A, but because of B. Therefore, the B is what we're looking for. And, specifically, the Author says that it's disturbing because it "unflinchingly faces difficult truths" (Lines 55-56). So let's find an analogous situation—another type of artist or individual whose work focuses on facing difficult truths.
Answer Explanation:
The comedian here is focusing on aspects of human nature that people don't want to face. So their set is facing difficult truths, making this the correct answer. Bonus points in that this answer suggests some audiences would dislike the work, which lines up with what we know about the reaction to Schoenberg's work.
Key Takeaway:
Use the text! There's no reason not to head straight back to the passage and read the relevant section. That would have led you to know that the Author cites the facing of difficult truths as being what makes Schoenberg's music disturbing, and that gives you a great framework through which to analyze the answers. -
Ca comedian whose material Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice C is not credited
Incorrect. (Lines 49-50) The Author does note that Schoenberg's 12-tone system had its seeds appear in Mozart's work. However, that's not what the Author says causes his work to be disturbing. -
Da comedian whose material Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice D is not credited
Incorrect. Extreme political philosophies don't tend to deal with difficult truths (as much as they might try to make you believe they do). -
Ea comedian whose style Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice E is not credited
Incorrect. (Lines 54-55) If anything, the unfamiliar nature of it is somewhat related to what the Author says isn't the reason for the disturbing nature of Schoenberg's works.
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