Reading Comprehension

PT130 · S2 · P4 · Q23 Musical Emotions

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Passage A In music, a certain complexity of sounds can be expected to have a positive effect on the listener.

Topic

How musical structure and listener expectations affect emotional responses to music.

Framework

Answer / Explain (especially in Passage B); Passage A also exhibits elements of Answer / Explain.

Main Point

Both passages explore what makes music emotionally appealing or relaxing to listeners. They explain that our enjoyment and emotional response to music depend on the right balance of complexity and coherence, the creation and resolution of musical expectations, and on the familiarity/novelty of what we hear. - **Most Valuable Sentence (Passage B, P1):**

P1: Passage A – Complexity and Coherence in Music

We learn that music needs a certain amount of complexity to be interesting, but too much chaos is overwhelming. Listeners want some principle or order that makes the music make sense.

P2: Passage A – Analogy to Language

This paragraph compares music to language, saying that just as single sounds don’t convey much meaning in speech, isolated notes in music aren’t emotionally effective. For meaningful impact, the sounds must be connected in patterns like melodies.

P3: Passage A – Music and Relaxation

We find out that continuous, rhythmical music can be relaxing, perhaps because it signals safety to our brains—sudden, erratic noises suggest danger and are stressful, while a continuous background sound feels safe.

23.

Which one of the following describes a preference that is most analogous to the preference mentioned in the first paragraph of passage A?

  1. the preference of some people

    Bad Match

    This is saying people like white noise, but white noise is a constant drone/hum. It would match up with the "too simple" category. We need a better match for middle-ground complexity and variation, with some coherent thru-line.

    13% picked this

  2. Correct

    the preference of many moviegoers

    Why this is right

    This is mainly reinforcing the last two sentences of the first paragraph. If something is too complex or disorganized, be it a piece of music or an overly complicated movie plot that makes you feel lost 1/2 way through, we don't like it. Instead, we prefer a "comprehensible principle connecting the various sounds". We prefer a "comprehensible (easy to follow) plot that connects the various parts of the movie".

    Skill tested: Analogy · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

    85% picked this

  3. the preference of many diners

    Bad Match

    We're looking for something showing we prefer a middle ground between two simple and too complex. This answer is saying we prefer large portions, which doesn't have anything to do with simplicity vs. complexity. You could have a large portion of one-note mashed potatoes or a large portion of incredibly complex gumbo.

    0% picked this

  4. the preference of many young

    Bad Match Topic Trap

    Any time we're doing Parallel questions in LR or Analogy questions in RC, we should be wary of picking answers that are very close in topic to the original. That's a time-honored way for LSAC to write a trap answer. They're trying to reward people for seeing a deeper principle / pattern / relationship at play in both the answer and the original. Meanwhile, they're trying to trap people into picking a superficial similarity in topic. We're looking for something showing we prefer a middle ground between two simple and too complex. This answer is saying we prefer fast over slower, which doesn't have a clear link to simplicity vs. complexity. Generally, it's fair to say that fast music could be more complicated in the sense of more notes per second, but a lot of fast styles of music like ska and punk are not very complex, and some slow music like cool jazz can be very complex. Also, to match our Goldilocks preference, wouldn't we prefer medium paced music as the middle-ground between too slow and too fast?

    1% picked this

  5. the preference of most children

    Bad Match

    We're looking for something showing we prefer a middle ground between two simple and too complex. This answer is saying we prefer sweet over bitter, which doesn't have a strong connection simplicity vs. complexity. Sweet and bitter are both simple flavors. Bittersweet is a more complex flavor.

    0% picked this

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