PrepTest 130, Section 2, Question 27

Working the answers

• A

  A explicitly says excessive complexity can overwhelm us. B's trained-listener comparison doesn't establish that most listeners enjoy a piece more every time its complexity increases.

• B

  B associates training with a preference for complex melodies. Complexity isn't the same as discontinuity or unpredictability, and A doesn't establish this preference among knowledgeable listeners.

• C

  Strong emotional responses are discussed. Neither writer says they are the central measure of artistic value. That adds an evaluation of art that neither account supplies.

• D
  Correct

  A supplies support through the contrast between steady, relaxing sound and unexpected sounds that demand attention. The connection to B is easier to miss. At first, I was inclined to reject D because B seemed to be about expectations rather than relaxation. But the end of its first paragraph explicitly says, “When resolution occurs, relaxation follows.”

  That resolves the hesitation. B connects relaxation to the resolution of expected musical developments; a course we can't anticipate is unlikely to provide that resolution. It also associates an extreme mismatch with negative emotions. The authors take different routes to the shared idea in D.

• E

  Changing from soft to loud isn't necessarily a sudden or unexpected change. A even says soft discontinuous sounds can disturb us. Neither account establishes that this particular volume change is unpleasant to most listeners.