PrepTest 117, Section 4, Question 3
Beginning in the 1950s, popular music was revolutionized(49 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(13 more words not shown)
- AThe number of(8 more words not shown)
- BMost professional musicians(9 more words not shown)
- CThe number of(7 more words not shown)
- DThe total number(10 more words not shown)
- EMany professional musicians(6 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Smaller bands, but more professional musicians? Those can go together, even if they sound like opposites at first. Electrification lets each musician produce more volume. We are told that the average band consequently has fewer musicians, while the overall number of professional popular musicians has grown. The average size of a band and the total number of musicians measure different things.
I might initially wonder whether electric instruments made playing more accessible. Perhaps some equipment became cheaper, for example. That's only a possible story, though; the passage doesn't tell us it happened. And this question doesn't ask us to supply a new explanation. It asks what the statements most strongly support.
What we’re looking for
So hold on to the two facts we actually have: smaller bands on average and more professionals overall. At minimum, we know that fewer musicians per band doesn't mean fewer musicians in total. Let's see which answer follows that relationship instead of adding a guess about how musicians learn or perform.
Working the answers
- A
We aren't told what happened to amateurs. Their numbers could rise or fall independently of the increase in professionals. The passage's conclusion specifically concerns people who play professionally, so we can't use it to announce a decline in another group.
- B
It may seem plausible that a professional could play both types of instrument. But nothing describes the players' range of skills, let alone establishes that most can do both. The change in amplification doesn't answer that question.
- C
A falling average doesn't tell us that any individual band got bigger. Some could have grown while others shrank, or every band could have become smaller. C picks one possibility that the information doesn't establish. Keep the overall average separate from the history of a particular band.
- DCorrect
More bands is the answer that fits the combination we're given. The profession has more musicians even though each band, on average, uses fewer of them. An increase in the number of bands explains how those trends fit together.
For a simple illustration, 10 bands averaging 10 musicians provide 100 places. If the average falls to 5, the same 10 bands provide only 50. Increasing to 30 bands would provide 150 places despite the smaller average. Those are made-up numbers, but they show the relationship D captures. The passage supports more bands; it doesn't supply their exact number.
- E
The passage doesn't tell us whether musicians belong to one band or several. We shouldn't add overlapping memberships just because that sometimes happens in real life. E supplies a new fact about the musicians' arrangements, whereas D follows the relationship between the smaller average band and the larger profession.
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