Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

1)A historical overview is presented, and a particular phenomenon is noted and analyzed. - there is not description of phenomena. Only extension of facts
2) A popular belief is challenged, and a rival interpretation is presented and supported. - there is no such language used. Out of scope
3) A common viewpoint is presented and modified, and the modification is supported. - Yes. the viewpoint was that J is an innovator but 2nd para states that this was not new.
4) An observation is made and rejected, and evidence for that rejection is presented. - there is no rejection. Author merely added more facts
5) A common claim is investigated, and an alternative outlook is analyzed and criticized. - No claim is stated. Out of scope

Hence, C

The author suggests which of the following about most classical composers of the early 1920s?

❑ They were strongly influenced by the musical experiments of Milhaud and Gershwin. - extreme answer choice
❑ They had little working familiarity with such forms of American music as jazz, blues, and popular songs. Yes, "a serious musician more experienced than most classical composers with jazz, blues, spirituals", this states that classical composers does have little working of such forms.
❑ They made few attempts to introduce innovations into the classical symphonic tradition. "was particularly suited to expand Milhaud's and Gershwin's experiments." This does not says that whether any attempts were made.

Hence, B

The passage states that Johnson composed all of the following EXCEPT

A) jazz works - stated in first para
B) popular songs - stated in last para
C) symphonic music - stated in last para
D) spirituals - this is stated for classical composers. Not for J
E) blues pieces - stated in last para

Hence, D

Explanation

1) In addition, however, Johnson was an innovator in classical music, The wordd however signs a shift in the reasoning of the passage. in the second paragraph the motivations of this change are explained. C is the best

2) Such a blend of musical elements was not entirely new The undelined portion of the sentence means that the musicians was failry new to this sound. B is the best.

3) All answer choices are supported but D.
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I am okay with the questions, however, the text's structure seems a little bit (intentionally) twisted particularly at this point:


would you please explain the structure of the sentence.
I, personally, thought this:
"by 1924 both Milhaud and Gershwin had composed classical works that incorporated elements of jazz Johnson was particularly suited to expand Milhaud's and Gershwin's experiments." and also "a serious musician more experienced than most classical composers with jazz, blues, spirituals, and popular music" is an interject in the passage talking about Johnson.

do you confirm it?
So, why there is no comma after "jazz" and before "Jonson"?

by 1924 both Milhaud and Gershwin had composed classical works that incorporated elements of jazz Johnson,a serious musician more experienced than most classical composers with jazz, blues, spirituals, and popular music,was particularly suited to expand Milhaud's and Gershwin's experiments.

if you put a comma after jazz is kinda like jazz was suited and NOT Johnson.

Hope this helps
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For question 8, can I know why C is not correct? Is it because the statement is too general and talks about innovations in classical music in general and not those limited to jazz-inspired innovations?

@salsabilgul


The author suggests which of the following about most classical composers of the early 1920s?

❑ They were strongly influenced by the musical experiments of Milhaud and Gershwin.
❑ They had little working familiarity with such forms of American music as jazz, blues, and popular songs.
❑ They made few attempts to introduce innovations into the classical symphonic tradition.

It says in the passage the "both Milhaud and Gershwin" did compose "classical works that incorporated elements of jazz" in it. However, we cannot 100% be sure whether those were "few attempts" or not. We only know about 2 of those composers, not ALL of the classic composers of the early 1920s. Therefore, we can't deduce if there were few attempts or not - there's no 'total' value to compare to, if you will.

Option C is very subtle to eliminate. I think I just figured out why it is wrong.

The question was "The author suggests which of the following about most classical composers of the early 1920s?" Remember it is asking about MOST classical composers, not just 1 or 2 such composers

It may be okay to infer that the two composers - Milhaud and Gershwin - have attempted to do some innovations based on the evidence from this excerpt "Milhaud and Gershwin had composed classical works that incorporated elements of jazz" HOWEVER, we do NOT know if MOST classical composers also attempted to introduce innovations because Milhaud and Gershwin were just 2 individuals of possibly a very large classical composer community

Compared this to choice B, it is pretty clear that B is the correct answer following this logic of tracing evidence related to "MOST classical composers". The author of the passage clearly stated that MOST classical composers were not as experienced as Johnson based on the evidence from this excerpt "Johnson, a serious musician more experienced than most classical composers with jazz, blues, spirituals, and popular music"

In question 1) Why the answer can't be A) because history about Johnson was presented and the phenomenon of his work was noted and analyzed?

Please explain

This sentence is very strange.

Even condensing it down into:

That 100% reads like a run on sentence, or like it's at *least* in desperate need of a few pieces of punctuation, starting off by discussing the composition of M+G and ending, with no transition whatsoever, with Johnson's aptitude for expansion. "jazz Johnson"? That can't be right. If I were to rewrite it:

Still a little vague for why C is not relevant here in my opinion. If we are only describing two composers out of the many classical composers, doesn't that constitute "few" attempts? It isn't a 'most' or 'all' phrasing. We can all agree that M and G were introducing innovations, I am wondering why we can't call two composers' efforts as "few" since the overall sense of the passage is that combining these styles within classical is niche.

Compare the jump in choice C to that of choice B: the passage states that Johnson is more experienced than the other composers, not that the other composers had little familiarity. This suggests only that Johnson was better at combing jazz with classical, not that the other composers sucked at it or didn't know how to do it (they obviously did do it and therefore had some working familiarity, but the amount of which was not indicated).

If we can make the inference to select choice B, then why can't we make the jump that choice C is also correct?

reply to a private message for the 2nd question rx10

The author suggests which of the following about most classical composers of the early 1920s?

❑ They were strongly influenced by the musical experiments of Milhaud and Gershwin.

False. Such a blend of musical elements was not entirely new

This is different from strong.

❑ They had little working familiarity with such forms of American music as jazz, blues, and popular songs.

a serious musician more experienced than most classical composers with jazz, blues, spirituals, and popular music

True

❑ They made few attempts to introduce innovations into the classical symphonic tradition.

In 1927 he completed his first large-scale work

False

Be always suspicious of words strong or similia. They can be tricky
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There is in fact a period after JAZZ in the first sentence of the 2nd paragraph. JOHNSON, a serious musician... starts a new sentence. This should clear up some confusion. Admin, can you adjust the question to reflect the proper official question?

For this question
The passage states that Johnson composed all of the following EXCEPT

A) jazz works - stated in first para
B) popular songs - stated in last para
C) symphonic music - stated in last para
D) spirituals - this is stated for classical composers. Not for J
E) blues pieces - stated in last para

B) popular songs - stated in last para
C) symphonic music - stated in last para
D) spirituals - this is stated for classical composers. Not for J
E) blues pieces - stated in last para
those above answers are also for classical composers. How can you say only spirituals when all those 4 are included in the last paragraph for classical composers

for Q1 I am not convinced that "3" is correct and not "1"

where is it stated in the passage that this view was present?
Music critics have consistently defined James P. Johnson as
1-a great early jazz pianist,
2-originator of the 1920s Harlem "stride" style,
3-and an important blues and jazz composer.
4-In addition, however, Johnson was an innovator in classical music, (this is not critics view, is it? )
5-composing symphonic music that incorporated American, and especially African American, traditions.
More facts:
6-Such a blend of musical elements was not entirely new: ..etc

However: 1)A historical overview is presented, and a particular phenomenon is noted and analyzed
the passage contains a historical overview, and the phenomenon of blending styles is analyzed.

"Johnson, a serious musician more experienced than most classical composers with jazz, blues, spirituals, and popular music,"

for question 3,
in the above, he is compared that he is more experienced than classical composers.. spirituals
So, why D is wrong ?

Tricky question ONLY for those who do not read carefully and get just a glance of what the passage says. This represents, essentially, who stays on the right 90th percentile and who stays on the left

In 1927 he completed his first large-scale work, the blues- and jazz-inspired Yamekraw, which included borrowings from spirituals and Johnson's own popular songs.

Borrowing from spirituals and COMPOSED are quite different concepts.

I hope now is clear

Regards
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