A musicologist doing research in an early music archive in London has come across a song published in the early 17th

[BTGmoderatorDC]

A musicologist doing research in an early music archive in London has come across a song published in the early 17th century that he believes was composed by the songwriter John Suggs (1619 - 1670), though Suggs' name is not given on the song sheet. The reason for the musicologist's belief is that the phrasing of the melody is typical of Suggs' work and atypical of songs written by other 17th century composers.

Which of the following, if true, would weaken the argument made by the musicologist?

A. Many songs published in the early 17th century were composed by 16th century composers.

B. Publishers in the 17th century sometimes did not properly credit the composers of the songs they published.

C. The harmonies of the song are consistent with those used by Suggs and other 17th century songwriters.

D. The musicologist is not familiar with all of Suggs' music.

E. Several 18th century composers were deeply influenced by Suggs' melodic phrasing.


OA A

Source: Veritas Prep

[GMATJourneyman]

A musicologist doing research in an early music archive in London has come across a song published in the early 17th century that he believes was composed by the songwriter John Suggs (1619 - 1670), though Suggs' name is not given on the song sheet. The reason for the musicologist's belief is that the phrasing of the melody is typical of Suggs' work and atypical of songs written by other 17th century composers.

Which of the following, if true, would weaken the argument made by the musicologist?

A. Many songs published in the early 17th century were composed by 16th century composers.

B. Publishers in the 17th century sometimes did not properly credit the composers of the songs they published.

C. The harmonies of the song are consistent with those used by Suggs and other 17th century songwriters.

D. The musicologist is not familiar with all of Suggs' music.

E. Several 18th century composers were deeply influenced by Suggs' melodic phrasing.


OA A

Source: Veritas Prep

Option A weakens the musicologist's argument because it suggests that the song, while published in the early 17th century, could have been composed by a 16th century composer. This implies that even though the phrasing of the melody is typical of Suggs' work, Suggs might not be the composer since he wasn't active in the 16th century. This information could disrupt the connection between the song's style and Suggs' authorship.