PrepTest 130, Section 1, Question 10
Music historian: Some critics lament the fact that(66 more words not shown)
The music historian's statements, if(9 more words not shown)
- ARepresentations of live(7 more words not shown)
- BThe difficult postwar(8 more words not shown)
- CShort bebop recordings(6 more words not shown)
- DThe music of(14 more words not shown)
- EMusicians will not(13 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
The short recordings may misrepresent the musicians' usual live solos and still be beautiful art. Those two things can both be true.
The critics focus on what was lost: impoverished studios forced musicians to record unusually brief solos, leaving a misleading record of their playing. The historian points to what was gained. The concise performances became superb artistic works in their own right, and that conciseness carried over into the musicians' later live playing.
What we’re looking for
That gives the difficult recording conditions a positive side, even if we accept the critics' concern. For the question about what is most strongly supported, I'd look for that limited conclusion. We don't need to settle the value of every short recording or rank whole generations of musicians.
Working the answers
- A
The historian values these recordings as more than representations of live solos. That doesn't establish that representations generally lack artistic value. The passage's discussion of particular bebop recordings cannot support that broad dismissal.
- BCorrect
The difficult conditions had some beneficial consequences. They pushed musicians toward beautifully concise recordings that the historian calls superb artistic works, and that conciseness influenced later live playing. Even one benefit would support “some”; the historian describes more than one positive result of the constraint.
- C
Calling these short recordings superb doesn't compare every short bebop recording with every longer one. A long recording could also be superb, or better than a particular short recording. The word “always” demands a universal ranking the historian never provides.
- D
The next generation lacks a particular compactness in its playing. That doesn't determine its overall musical quality. It might have other strengths that the passage doesn't discuss. One difference isn't an overall ranking.
- E
The conditions forced short recordings in this case, but that doesn't make difficult conditions the only way short solos could be recorded. A musician with ample resources could choose brevity for artistic reasons. The passage gives one cause of short recordings without ruling out other causes.
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