 At the other end of the spectrum from the expression and arousal theories is “associationism”—the theory that music’s expressiveness is a matter of conventional association of certain musical elements, such as slow tempi, with certain emotional states, such as sadness. Again, though associations must play some role in some cases of expression—for instance, cases of particular musical instruments (e.g., the snare drum) being associated with particular situations (e.g., war)—this role is likely to be a peripheral one. The main reason is the logical-priority problem, already encountered by the arousal theory. The expressiveness of music seems closely related to the resemblance between the dynamic character of both the music and the emotions it is expressive of. It is implausible that funeral dirges might just as easily have been in quick-paced compound time. Even in such cases as the snare drum, it seems possible that the instrument was chosen for the battlefield in part due to the expressive character of its sonic profile.