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Hi 2010gmat,

Thx for the kind words on the other post. I will post answer to your question about approach when I get home from work tonight.

As for this question, the OA should be D.

The question stem is a bit tricky but it indicates that 4 of the 5 choices are compatible with the stimulus; in other words, they could be true. Therefore, the right answer is something that the stimulus proved must be false.

Choice D must be false b/c we know from the stimulus that music can be made even more sophisticated if it is rendered independently intelligible (of its original function).

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Kaplan Teacher in Toronto

Hi all,


The author of the passage is explaining a phenomenon or, more technically, advancing an explanation for a phenomenon. (Phenomenon=set of observed facts that demand an explanation or a reconciliation.)

The phenomenon is "...why European music has had such a strong influence throughout the world, and why it is a sophisticated achievement..."

The explanation is that the various reasons for each musical form's original existence (European dance music, European religious music, etc) ceased to be factors informing the music's "defining force"; instead, they were relegated to being mere "...aspect(s)...of style..".

In other words, the general reason European music became such a sophisticated achievement is that it (presumably, gradually) became intelligible indepdently from its original function.

As such, choice D is incompatible with the passage, and must be the correct answer.

Because I use the Kaplan method for critical reasoning, the first thing I did was read the question stem, and then characterize the choices. The question tells us that the right answer is an exception among things that are compatible with the passage. So, the four wrong answers are things that are compatible, and the right answer something incompatible, with the passage.

But what does "compatible" mean?
Well, "incompatible"means "contradict",so "compatible" must mean "anything that does not contradict". So, the four wrong answers could be true, and the right answer is something the passage will have proven false.

The more outside the scope of the passage an answer choice is, the less likely the passage will have proven it necessarily false, and the more likely it becomes something that is possibly true. Choices B and C are very much outside the scope of the passage, so they very easily could be true (=compatible), and can be eliminated immediately.

Choice E discusses "works of art" but a) we don't know whether music qualifies as a work of art and b) the author has treated music in the passage as something much more than a mere "work of art".

Choice A is a bit trickier but it could still be true (compatible): European music having "a strong influence" clearly allows for African (and other kinds of) music having a stronger influence.

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Kaplan Teacher in Toronto

Hi!

well, we would it actually reword it to "what is impossible?"...I'm afraid using the word "assumption" here isn't very helpful. But that is a technical point...your overall approach was fantastic for such a difficult problem and would have gotten you to the correct answer.

A better word than "assumption" is "deduction". We could have also reworded it to "what IS a valid deduction?" A deduction is something that must be true. Then the four wrong answers are things that could be false, and the right answer is something that must be true. This will also work: choices A, B, C, and E are all things that could be false (or could be true)...while it must be true that choice D must be false, or incompatible!

Anyways, this is sooooo an LSAT question. The GMAT has been known to throw tough question stems but it would be unusual to get such a tough stem and abstract stimulus at the same time.

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Kaplan Teacher in Toronto

Let me see if I can help clear things up .

So let's dissect this monster by asking: What is the core of the argument?

European music is sophisticated because it can stand on its own. That is European music can be divorced from its context (rituals, social functions, etc.) and still make sense.

An answer that would be incompatible with the argument would suggest that

1) European music cannot stand on its own but must be understood in the context of its function
2) A certain kind of music can stand on it's own but is not sophisticated.
3) Music that is sophisticated cannot stand on its own - i.e., it is unintelligible.

1) is too direct and obvious (at least for a 700+ question), and doesn't touch on sophistication. A possible answer choice would be something like:

(F) Most people who are exposed to western music for the first time find it unintelligible

2) mentions sophistication and would more likely be a GMAT answer choice. However, none of the answer choices (A - E) fall into this category. A hypothetical answer that fits into this category is:

(G) African griot music, understood by those who have no idea of the social function of the music, is a simple and unadorned.

3) This is the most subtle of the three. Essentially, we are saying that A = B (sophisticated music is intelligible) and are challenging this with an answer choice that says A does not equal B (sophisticated music is unintelligible). The answer choice that clearly speak to this is answer (D):

(D) Music that is unintelligible when it is presented independently of its original function tends to be the most sophisticated music. ANSWER


(A) African music has had a more powerful impact on the world than European music has had.

The argument says that European music has had a powerful impact. That African music has had the most impact does not undermine the previous statement.

(B) European military and economic expansionism partially explains the global influence of European music.

The prompt begins with the words, one reason why... Thus, it is not saying that European music's global influence has only one cause.

(C) The original functions of many types of Chinese music are no longer their defining forces.

This answer choice doesn't speak to sophistication, intelligibility or even global influence. It simply states that Chinese music is defined by something different than its original function.

(D) The Answer


(E) Some works of art lose their appeal when they are presented to serve a function other than their original one.

This answer choice would be much stronger if it replaced, Some works with Most European music. In fact, think back to 1) at the beginning of the post. Remember how I said that answer choice is the most obvious one. Well, (E) baits us into thinking that it is the same as 1). But by dropping in 'some works of art' it becomes too broad. Indeed 'some works of art' does not, by definition, include European music. So this answer choice can be said to be out of scope.

Hope that helps