Music professor: Because rap musicians can work alone in a recording s

Question

Music professor: Because rap musicians can work alone in a recording studio, they need not accommodate supporting musicians’ wishes. Further, learning to rap is not as formal a process as learning an instrument. Thus, rap is an extremely individualistic and nontraditional musical form.

Music critic: But rap appeals to tradition by using bits of older songs. Besides, the themes and styles of rap have developed into a tradition. And successful rap musicians do not perform purely idiosyncratically but conform their work to the preferences of the public.

The music critic’s response to the music professor’s argument

(A)  challenges it by offering evidence against one of the stated premises on which its conclusion concerning rap music is based

(B)  challenges its conclusion concerning rap music by offering certain additional observations that the music professor does not take into account in his argument

(C)  challenges the grounds on which the music professor generalizes from the particular context of rap music to the broader context of musical tradition and individuality

(D)  challenges it by offering an alternative explanation of phenomena that the music professor cites as evidence for his thesis about rap music

(E)  challenges each of a group of claims about tradition and individuality in music that the music professor gives as evidence in his argument

Doer01 · Answer

Hi,
 I believe it’s a tough one.
Music prof uses two of his observations - rappers not needing any peers and process of learning to rap - to reach to his claim that rap is individualistic and non traditional form of music.
Critic challenges it by attacking the very observations, citing public preference and use of old songs.

Who am I kidding!! I chose E. I could use some help here. :/

Posted from my mobile device

sharathnair14 · Answer

Try and break the premise(s) down first.
Prof
PREMISES
A: Rap musicians don't have to accommodate supporting musicians
B: Learning rap is less formal than learning an instrument
CONCLUSIONS
A: Rap is individualistic
B: Rap is nontraditional

Critic
PREMISES
A: Rap musicians conform to the public
B: By using older songs, rap appeals to tradition. It's also creating a tradition of its very own
CONCLUSION
A: Rap musicians are not purely idiosyncratic (i.e., individualistic)
B: Rap has connections to tradition

The critic does not challenge any of the professor's evidence. Instead, he challenges the conclusion by bringing up new evidence. This is exactly what (B) says: he challenges the conclusion by offering additional observations the professor did not take into account.

I found this explanation on an LSAT site (I do not take ownership of this explanation). You can also find more explanations, I was surprised to see how old this question actually is!

https://www.manhattanprep.com/lsat/foru ... t5306.html

Post an OA of this Question please, Hovkial

johanzac · Answer

Tying to the logic in analyzing the stimulus, can someone help me in how Option   D  (" challenges it by offering an alternative explanation of phenomena that the music professor cites as evidence for his thesis about rap music") can be eliminated ?
  
Perhaps the factors into authors conclusion cannot be termed "phenomena" ?

rak08 · Answer

The reasoning could be as follows :

A - no evidence provided is "against" any of the premises stated by Music Prof, rather he has not spoken about "instruments"/"working in studio"
B - Continuing with the above-mentioned, he gave 2 additional situations to reach to a different conclusion
C - Challenges the grounds? - same as A - he doesn't - he just proves the opposite conclusion via "additional info"
D - The explanation would have been alternative if it means the same as in for example, the alternative explanation for booming beauty industry is social media rather than just looking good on occasions ( not the best example but i hope its understandable)
E -again A - he doesn't challenge the premise mentioned by Prof, he challenges the conclusion.

PSKhore · Answer

Correct Answer:  B
 
 B Reasoning
 
 The question asks you to determine the structure of the music critic's response. The music professor concludes, "rap is an extremely individualistic and nontraditional musical form." This is because "rap musicians can work alone in a recording studio without supporting musicians, and learning to rap is not as formal a process as learning to play a musical instrument." The music critic replies by stating "rap appeals to tradition by using bits of older songs" and "the themes and styles of rap have developed into a tradition." The critic's final statement is "successful rap musicians conform their work to the preferences of the public." So, you can see the critic has focused on countering the words "individualistic" and "nontraditional" in the professor's conclusion.
 
 A. No. Choice (A) states exactly what you just determined the critic does not do. None of the premises are attacked; only the conclusion is.
 
 B. Yes. The critic does not debunk the reasons the professor gives but instead focuses just on the conclusion, supplying additional information to show it may be inaccurate.
 
 C. No. Choice (C) talks about a broader context of musical tradition and individuality, which is not spoken of by either person. The focus is really on rap music.
 
 D. No. Choice (D) mentions phenomena cited by the professor. Nothing the professor states is classified as or could be characterized as phenomena.
 
 E. No. Choice (E) refers to a group of claims that does not exist in the conversation.

Source: CrackLSAT.net

licrolicro · Answer

Let's break this down systematically.
Understanding the Debate:

Professor's Argument:

Premise 1: Rap musicians work alone (don't need to accommodate others).

Premise 2: Learning rap is less formal than learning instruments.

Conclusion: Therefore, rap is "extremely individualistic and nontraditional."

Critic's Response:

Counters that rap uses older songs (appeals to tradition).

Notes rap has developed its own traditions.

Points out successful rappers conform to public preferences (not purely idiosyncratic).

Analyzing the Critic's Strategy:

The critic doesn't attack the professor's premises directly. Instead, they introduce new observations that contradict the professor's conclusion:

Rap incorporates tradition (vs. "nontraditional").

Rappers conform to public taste (vs. "extremely individualistic").

This undermines the conclusion by showing rap isn't as individualistic/nontraditional as claimed.
Evaluating the Options:

(A) Incorrect. The critic doesn't challenge the professor's premises (working alone, informal learning). They add new counterpoints.

(B) Correct. The critic introduces additional observations (use of older songs, public conformity) that the professor ignored, challenging the conclusion.

(C) Incorrect. The professor isn't generalizing to broader musical contexts; they're only discussing rap.

(D) Incorrect. The critic doesn't offer an "alternative explanation" for the professor's evidence (e.g., why rappers work alone). They present new counter-evidence.

(E) Incorrect. The critic doesn't challenge "each claim" about tradition/individuality—only the conclusion.

Why (B) is Best:

The critic's approach is to undermine the conclusion by introducing facts the professor overlooked, showing rap isn't purely individualistic/nontraditional.
Final Answer: B

Music professor: Because rap musicians can work alone in a recording s

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Music professor: Because rap musicians can work alone in a recording s

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