demusic1-10, Exercise 2: Three myths

Model answer (one possible choice; check each):

1. "Germans are naturally musical." The idea was built in the nineteenth century, and musical life in practice depended on schools, courts, churches and money, so the claim describes a reputation more than a trait.
2. "Wagner's music is simply Nazi music." His writings, his works and the later use are three separate questions: his antisemitic essays are documented, the works are debated, and the regime's use came after his death.
3. "Kraftwerk invented electronic music." They were hugely influential in popular electronic music, but electronic music existed before them, so the fair claim is influence, not invention.

Other valid choices include "German music means music by ethnic Germans" (Turkish-German artists are central to the scene today) or "The greatest composers were German" (the canon was chosen and left out many).