Reading Comprehension

PT130 · S2 · P4 · Q27 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.

27.

It can be inferred that both authors would be likely to agree with which one of the following statements?

The more complex a piece
Too Strong
Too Strong: the more x, the more y This kind of Volume Dial relationship is one of the most extreme types of claims on LSAT. It extends infinitely; that's what makes it so extreme. The author of Passage B would definitely disagree with this, since she said that too much complexity would make us not like music as much ("tends to be overwhelming").
6% picked this
More knowledgeable listeners tend to
Out of Scope Passage A: knowledgeable
Nothin in Passage A gets into knowledgeable vs. novice listeners.
1% picked this
The capacity of music to
Too Strong: the central determinant
Both authors would surely agree that the capacity of music to elicit strong emotion from listeners is a big part of its artistic value. But we can't find any maximalist language claiming it is the central determinant.
9% picked this
Correct
Music that lacks a predictable
Why this is right
Do both passages talk about music's potential to cause a listener to feel relaxed? Yes, passage A's final paragraph explains how certain music can have a relaxing effect Which type is that? it tends to be continuous and rhythmical Okay, so music that is discontinuous or doesn't have a clear rhythm would be likely to cause a listener to feel relaxed. Is "discontinuous and w/o clear rhythm" a good match for "music that lacks a predicable course"? It's not terrible. But the final sentence of passage A gives us one more nugget to chew on: a continuous sound, particularly one that is judged to be safe, relaxes. So our support for A comes from thinking that "If music lacks a predictable course, then it probably hasn't been judged to be safe, probably isn't continuous, and probably doesn't have an obvious rhythm. Thus, it's less likely to relax." The first paragraph of A is talking about how we are more likely to be curious about a melody when it's following a predictable course (a principle that connects the sounds and makes them comprehensible), but that paragraph is more about positive effects, not specifically relaxation. The support from B is more explicit and comes from its first paragraph. certain elements create expectations about the future development (course) of the music. The expectation (prediction) the listener has about the further course is a key determinant of "musical emotions" ..... when resolution occurs, relaxation follows. Since passage B ties relaxation to the Causal Difference-Maker of "resolving the expected course of the music", we can flip the causal difference-maker to say that "when an unpredictable course of music does not allow for this resolution, it's less likely to cause a listener to feel relaxed."
Skill tested: Author Opinion · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.
76% picked this
Music that changes from soft
Too Strong
Too Strong: most Out of Scope Passage B: soft/loud Passage A probably doesn't say anything specific enough to weigh in on whether over 50% of people would find soft to loud disturbing. She'd definitely say, "yes, for many people, especially if the switch from soft to loud was sudden and unexpected (it would feel like danger)." But Nirvana got rich and world famous (beloved by most) playing music that went from soft to loud. That was just the formula of songs in the 90s ... clean verses and then stomp your distortion pedal for the big chorus. As long as we judge that to be safe, we're not necessarily turned off by dynamics. But the quick and easy way to get rid of this one is that Passage B never talks about dynamics (differences in volume).
8% picked this

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