PrepTest 144

[lcid:3672] Prep Test 144 LSAT — Reading Comp — S1 Reading comp

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
  • Paragraph note
    • A quote
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Some music was . . . really bad
Paragraph 2
  • 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 3
  • 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 4
  • 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 5
  • 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 6
  • 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 7
  • 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)
Main Point:
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

It can be inferred Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: A

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Question Type

Humanities

Answer choices

  1. A
    Each successive style represents Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A matches the stem
    Correct. Question Type:
    Must Be True

    Strategy Overview:
    Review the relevant paragraphs to see how the styles relate to each other

    Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
    This question focuses on the relationship between the three styles. We know that they were mentioned in Paragraph 4-6, so we should head back there, paying particular attention to any comparative or transition language.

    Taking a look at Paragraph 4, we can see that the Author believes that these styles were "constantly changing and evolving" (Line 21). That suggests that the Author believes each style was distinct ("changing"), but that it grew from the earlier one ("evolving").

    That pans out when we look at the transitions. The first style is noted as dealing with "shifting chromatic harmonies" (Line 26). When transitioning to the next style, the Author notes that Schoenberg "pushed those unstable harmonies" (Line 32, referring back to the previous style) until they lacked a tonal basis. Then, in Paragraph 6, she notes that he developed a new technique to bring "order to" the music from the previous style that lacked a tonal basis ("atonal"; Lines 39-41).

    So each one evolved from the earlier one, either taking an element and pushing it past its limit, or taking the element that was pushed past its limit and imposing order on it. Let's find an answer reflecting that.

    Answer Explanation:
    (Line 21) The Author introduces this progression as an evolution, suggesting that each step grew from the previous one. That would be enough to support this answer, but the transitions between each paragraph highlight which element of the previous style was adapted and grown in the new one (shifting chromatic harmonies were first pushed to atonality and then ordered in a nontonal system), so this is the correct answer.

    Key Takeaway:
    If concepts are split up between paragraphs, always look for transitional language between those paragraphs. Such language can suggest a link between the ideas that you might otherwise miss!
  2. B
    Each successive style represents Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Incorrect. (Line 21; Line 32; Lines 40-41) The Author describes Schoenberg's style as evolving, suggesting a growth and connection between them. Additionally, she highlights which element of each style grew during each phase.
  3. C
    The second style represents Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    Incorrect. (Line 33; Lines 39-40) The third style took the atonal harmonies from the second style and imposed order on them through the 12-tone technique, so it wasn't an inexplicable departure.
  4. D
    The second style represents Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Incorrect. (Line 26; Lines 32-33) The first style involved shifting chromatic harmonies, and the second style "pushed those unstable harmonies" to a point where they were atonal. Since they are linked, the second can't be an inexplicable departure from the first.
  5. E
    The second style represents Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Incorrect. (Line 26; Lines 32-33) The first style involved shifting chromatic harmonies, and the second style "pushed those unstable harmonies" to a point where they were atonal. Since they are linked, the second can't be an inexplicable departure from the first. Additionally, there's no direct connection drawn between the third and the first styles.

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