According to Plato, these guardians-in-training should be raised in such a way that they become the perfect people to guard a city. Plato's way, in this regard, to become perfect is: being capable of doing one task very well and doing nothing else that may interfere with ones ability to do it well. As a result Plato is requiring that certain cultural and social problems be removed when raising/nurturing these to-be-guardians. Such things include music and poetry, as well as physical training. With regard to music, Plato is requiring that all forms of music be tested so that the city can determine if it will have an adverse effect on the guardians-to-be (this is where he is referring to the three types of music and the qualities they have). One way of doing so, is to determine, first, if the music is moderate, or if it is soft/violent. Plato states that if the music is too violent then the guardians-to-be will become aggressive toward their own people but that if the music is too soft then if will cause the guardians-to-be to become poor guardians and, as a result, not guard the city well. Plato of course is making the assumption that what people listen to is causing a direct influence on their soul as well as personal character. As a result the soul of the person must not be influenced badly (this can be seen when he is talking about how gods are only good an therefore cannot do bad, except where, when doing bad it is for the good of the person).
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