Deliberately imitating the technique of Louis Armstrong, jazz singer

Question

Deliberately imitating the technique of Louis Armstrong, jazz singer  Billie Holiday’s approach to singing was to use her voice like an instrument, in that she ranged freely over the beat, flattened  out the melodic contours of tunes, and, in effect, recomposed songs to suit her range, style, and artistic sensibilities.

(A) Billie Holiday’s approach to singing was to use her voice like an instrument, in that she ranged freely over the beat, flattened

(B) Billie Holiday’s approach to singing was to use her voice in a similar way to how other musicians play instruments, in ranging freely over the beat, flattening

(C) Billie Holiday approached singing by using her voice like other musicians played instruments, ranging freely over the beat, flattening

(D) Billie Holiday used her voice in the same way that other musicians use their instruments, in that she ranged freely over the beat, flattening

(E) Billie Holiday approached singing by using her voice like other musicians Instruments, ranging freely over the beat, flattening

pqhai · Accepted Answer

Deliberately imitating the technique of Louis Armstrong, jazz singer  Billie Holiday’s approach to singing was to use her voice like an instrument, in that she ranged freely over the beat, flattened  out the melodic contours of tunes, and, in effect, recomposed songs to suit her range, style, and artistic sensibilities.

(A)  Billie Holiday’s approach  to singing was to use her voice like an instrument, in that she ranged freely over the beat, flattened
 Wrong.  Modifier problem

(B)  Billie Holiday’s approach  to singing was to use her voice in a similar way to how other musicians play instruments, in ranging freely over the beat, flattening
 Wrong.  Modifier problem.

(C) Billie Holiday approached singing by using her voice  like other musicians played instruments , ranging freely over the beat, flattening
 Wrong.  Like + Noun, not clause.

(D) Billie Holiday used her voice in the same way that other musicians use their instruments, in that she ranged freely over the beat, flattening
 Correct.  Parallel: "Billie Holiday used.................ranged................and, in effect, recomposed............................."

(E) Billie Holiday  approached  singing by using her voice  like other musicians Instruments ,  ranging  freely over the beat, flattening
 Wrong.  Not parallel. + Wrong comparison (her voice vs instruments), the correct comparison should be "the same way".

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear tingting85114 , I'm happy to help with this. :-)

The first thing I'll say is --- this is a hard question. In this sentence, we have a long independent clause "j azz singer Billie Holiday’s approach to singing was .... instrument ", and this is followed some sort of subordinate phrase or clause (either "in that she.." or a participial phrase). Here's a blog on participial phrases: https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/participle ... -the-gmat/ Here's a blog that discusses different types of clauses: https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/gmat-gramm ... b-mistake/ Notice that the verb "recomposed" is outside of the underlined phrase, and this must be parallel to the other verbs in that half of the sentence, so we can't have " ranging .... and ... recomposed " = not parallel! We have to have " in that she ranged ... and .... recomposed " === that's proper parallel construction. That immediate eliminates (B), (C), and (E). Now we are down to (A) vs. (D) --- they way they handle the parallelism is tricky --- is the second verb, "flattened" vs. "flattening" mean to be in parallel to "ranged" & "recomposed" --- this is the construction that (A) has? Or is "flattening" meant only to be a modifier, on the side, not part of the parallel construction, as (D) has? Either could be correct. On the basis of the parallelism alone, it's hard to decide. Look at the first part of the sentence --- we have the choice: (A) Billie Holiday’s approach to singing was to use her voice like an instrument.... (D) Billie Holiday used her voice in the same way that other musicians use their instruments.... Which one of these is most direct? Which is most natural? Option (D) is both more direct and more natural. One way to say it is ---- the main actor of the sentence "Billie Holliday", and her action is "using her voice" to do something ----> thus, "Billie Holliday" should be the main subject, and "used" should be the main verb. A good GMAT SC correct answer will have the main actor of the situation described as the subject of the sentence, and the main action as the main verb. Thus, (D) is the best answer. Does all this make sense? Mike :-)

nitya34 · Answer

WORDY but D is wright,IMO

AB OUT--modifier
C--use of LIKE

ugimba · Answer

A, B out for comparision (comparing Billie Holiday’s to Louis Armstrong) ..

C akward with 'other musicians played instruments'

between D and E ... E may be not good for using 'Billie Holiday approached singing by using her voice'

my pick is D ....

please feel free to correct my above explained logic if you see any wrong in my analysis.

marshpa · Answer

Would you care to elaborate on your explanations for C and E? My take is C and E are incorrect due to use of like. If we can replace like in C with 'as', probably thats the best choice. In E we need possessive pronoun to address musician's instruments.

vaivish1723 · Answer

A. Billie Holiday’s approach to singing was to use her voice like an instrument,
in that she ranged freely over the beat, flattened. – as we are comparing Armstrong with Holiday’s approach and the singing process is continuous hence flattened is wrong.
B. Billie Holiday’s approach to singing was to use her voice in a similar way
to how other musicians play instruments, in ranging freely over the beat,
flattening.- - as we are comparing Armstrong with Holiday’s approach and the singing process is continuous hence flattened is wrong.
C. Billie Holiday approached singing by using her voice like other musicians
played instruments, ranging freely over the beat, flattening. – who is ranging freely over beat the musicians or Billie not clear. Hence out. 
D. Billie Holiday used her voice in the same way that other musicians use their
instruments, in that she ranged freely over the beat, flattening. – very clear wording and meaning. 
E. Billie Holiday approached singing by using her voice like other musicians
Instruments, ranging freely over the beat, flattening. – problem with billing using her voice like other played instruments.

proccountant · Answer

D ~ For using the correct modified subject of "Billie Holiday" following the first comma and then by using proper parallelism when comparing " used  her voice" to " use  their instruments".

Little wordy but gets the job done.

TommyWallach · Answer

Let's talk about like a bit first. Like can be used two ways. First, as a preposition, which is how we use it in comparisons.

That coat is like this one.
It is often like this on Sundays.

Some rules for that version of like. You CANNOT use it before a clause. In other words, you cannot say:

Dave lives in a stucco house, like Nancy does.

You can't say that because "does" is a verb, so the part after the "like" is a clause. You must use AS before a clause.

Deliberately imitating the technique of Louis Armstrong, jazz singer Billie Holiday’s approach to singing was to use her voice like an instrument, in that she ranged freely over the beat, flattened out the melodic contours of tunes, and, in effect, recomposed songs to suit her range, style, and artistic sensibilities.

A. Billie Holiday’s approach to singing was to use her voice like an instrument, in that she ranged freely over the beat, flattened
PROBLEM: The opening clause here is  fine  ("like an instrument"). This COULD have been okay. Except the sentence has other problems. We want the present participle "ranging/flattening/recomposing" to modify "use," as we are giving examples of how she did that. "In that" does not correctly open this modifier.

C. Billie Holiday approached singing by using her voice like other musicians played instruments, ranging freely over the beat, flattening
PROBLEM: You can't use "like" here, because you have a CLAUSE after the "like" ("played" is the verb that makes it a clause). You would have to use "as" or "in the same way that" (which also opens a clause).

E. Billie Holiday approached singing by using her voice like other musicians instruments, ranging freely over the beat, flattening.
PROBLEM: Wrong comparison. She used her voice IN THE WAY that other musicians USED their instruments, not as if her voice were similar to the physical instruments of other musicians.

Clearer?

-t

contacttoakhil · Answer

A and B are out straight away. Come to C and E. using her voice like other musicians played instruments using her voice like other musicians Instruments How can anybody use his/her voice like musician's played instrument

.....I mean you can use some thing like sth else only ...for example using x like y i found C wrong. Among D and E: What ranged freely? She only and this is also stated in A... Billie Holiday’s approach to singing was to use her voice like an instrument, in that she ranged freely over the beat So E has problem here....so D should be the one...obviously not constructed in a nice manner....so not the best answer but correct among the choices.

MBAhereIcome · Answer

'recomposed' is actually parallel to 'ranged'.
she ranged freely and recomposed songs. 'flattening' just describes HOW she ranged freely, so it need not be parallel with rest of the sentence.

ChrisLele · Answer

This doesn't strike me as a 700. Here's why - you can eliminate two answers for faulty modification. 'Billy Holiday' needs to come directly after jazz singer (Billie Holiday's approach is not a jazz singer).

Next, more faulty modification. 'ranging freely...' in both (C) and (E) modify 'instruments'. It should be modifying Billy Holiday. And just like that (D).

mejia401 · Answer

(A) Billie Holiday’s approach to singing was to use her voice like an instrument, in that she ranged freely over the beat, flattened -  The leading prepositional phrase indicates parallelism; flattened should describe the beat, and not be in similar structure to ranged and..third verb

(B) Billie Holiday’s approach to singing was to use her voice in a similar way to how other musicians play instruments, in ranging freely over the beat, flattening  The leading prepositional phrase indicates parallelism

(C) Billie Holiday approached singing by using her voice like other musicians played instruments, ranging freely over the beat, flattening  "like" has to compare nouns, never clauses

(D) Billie Holiday used her voice in the same way that other musicians use their instruments, in that she ranged freely over the beat, flattening -  good structure and keeps meaning intact. The wordiness is a trick and makes you want to choose another answer

(E) Billie Holiday approached singing by using her voice like other musicians Instruments, ranging freely over the beat, flattening  "like" is a parallelism indicator and both nouns must be parallel in structure; additionally, "like" is awkward, and the logic here changes meaning - do other musician's instruments use Billie Holiday's voice as Billie does?

Divyadisha · Answer

'Deliberately imitating the technique of Louis Armstrong' must modify 'Billie Holiday' and not 'Billie holiday's approach
 A and B are out

Like is followed by noun. C is out (like other musicians played instruments)

Lack of parallelism in E. 'Ranging' is not parallel to 'recomposed'

D is the answer

minhaz3333 · Answer

Deliberately imitating the technique of Louis Armstrong, jazz singer Billie Holiday’s approach to singing was to use her voice like an instrument, in that she ranged freely over the beat, flattened out the melodic contours of tunes, and, in effect, recomposed songs to suit her range, style, and artistic sensibilities.

(A) Billie Holiday’s approach to singing was to use her voice like an instrument, in that she ranged freely over the beat, flattened
Wrong. Modifier problem (An approach cannot imitate the technique. ranged and flattened should not be parallel. flattening is right to describe how she ranged freely over the beat)

(B) Billie Holiday’s approach to singing was to use her voice in a similar way to how other musicians play instruments, in ranging freely over the beat, flattening
Wrong. Modifier problem.(An approach cannot imitate the technique , ranging is not parallel with recomposed ---changes the meaning)

(C) Billie Holiday approached singing by using her voice like other musicians played instruments, ranging freely over the beat, flattening
Wrong. (use of like is wrong - "as" would have been right , ranging is not parallel with recomposed )

(D) Billie Holiday used her voice in the same way that other musicians use their instruments, in that she ranged freely over the beat, flattening
Correct. (In the same way is correct for comparison , modifier error corrected , parallelism corrected.)
Parallel: Billie Holiday used............She ranged................and, in effect, recomposed............................."

(E) Billie Holiday approached singing by using her voice like other musicians Instruments, ranging freely over the beat, flattening
Wrong.( what the hell does musicians instruments mean )
ranging is not parallel with recomposed.

Hope it helps.

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

This question is based on Modifiers and Parallelism,

The sentence begins with  a modifier - Deliberately imitating the technique of Louis Armstrong . The noun that follows the modifier is automatically taken as the subject of the modifier.

In Options A and B, the noun that follows the modifier is “Billie Holiday’s approach”. Since “approach” cannot deliberately imitate the technique of Louis Armstrong, Options A and B can be ruled out.

In Options C, D, and E,  the noun placed after the modifier is Billie Holiday, which is an appropriate subject for the modifier.
 
 The last part of the sentence gives a description of how Billie Holiday used her voice like an instrument. The descriptions, therefore, must be parallel.

In Option C, the present participles ‘ranging’ and ‘flattening’ are not parallel to the verb ‘recomposed’. This option uses the conjunction ‘like’ to make a comparison between two actions. So, Option C can be ruled out.

Option E has the same parallelism error as Option C. This option states that Billie Holiday used her voice like other musician’s instruments. This comparison is illogical, so Option E can also be ruled out.

Option D accurately compares the way Billie Holiday uses her voice to the way other musicians use their instruments. The description of the way she uses her voice is also parallel - in that she ranged freely over the beat, flattening out the melodic contours of tunes, and, in effect, recomposed songs to suit her range, style, and artistic sensibilities. The verbs ‘ranged’ and ‘recomposed’ are parallel to each other.

The participle modifier “flattening out the melodic contours of tunes” describes how she ranged freely over the beat. Therefore, D is the most appropriate option.

The participle modifier “flattening out the melodic contours of tunes” describes how she ranged freely over the beat.  Therefore, D is the most appropriate option .

Jayanthi Kumar.

NogGin · Answer

Hi, in the right answer choice D- 
What does ", in that..." modify? Is it modify the entire clause before it?

Thanks!

ramlala · Answer

NogGin 
Here   in that   modifies How  Billie Holiday used her voice

I hope this may help you.

TarunKumar1234 · Answer

Deliberately imitating the technique of Louis Armstrong, jazz singer Billie Holiday’s approach to singing was to use her voice like an instrument, in that she ranged freely over the beat, flattened out the melodic contours of tunes, and, in effect, recomposed songs to suit her range, style, and artistic sensibilities.

(A) Billie Holiday’s approach to singing was to use her voice like an instrument, in that she ranged freely over the beat, flattened
Wrong. Modifier problem (An approach cannot imitate the technique. ranged and flattened should not be parallel. flattening is right to describe how she ranged freely over the beat)

(B) Billie Holiday’s approach to singing was to use her voice in a similar way to how other musicians play instruments, in ranging freely over the beat, flattening
Wrong. Modifier problem.(An approach cannot imitate the technique , ranging is not parallel with recomposed ---changes the meaning)

(C) Billie Holiday approached singing by using her voice like other musicians played instruments, ranging freely over the beat, flattening
Wrong. (use of like is wrong - "as" would have been right , ranging is not parallel with recomposed )

(D) Billie Holiday used her voice in the same way that other musicians use their instruments, in that she ranged freely over the beat, flattening
Correct. (In the same way is correct for comparison , modifier error corrected , parallelism corrected.)
Parallel: Billie Holiday used............She ranged................and, in effect, recomposed............................."

(E) Billie Holiday approached singing by using her voice like other musicians Instruments, ranging freely over the beat, flattening
Wrong.( what the hell does musicians instruments mean )
ranging is not parallel with recomposed.

Hope it helps.

chirag7 · Answer

I don't know if you are still preparing for GMAT, but this may help others.
Generally,  "In that"  implies  "because".

Deliberately imitating the technique of Louis Armstrong, jazz singer

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

Deliberately imitating the technique of Louis Armstrong, jazz singer

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