AP Music Theory

kristi569
Sat, 14 Jan 2012 17:20:13 +0000

If your instruction in piano included theory and you’ve been playing for ten years, you should have enough of a backbone to supplement with the specific terms on the AP Music Theory test. I would say that a musical ear (eg perfect pitch, relative pitch) is the skill that prepares you best. When I took the course through my high school, we spent the majority of the semester practicing the different types of dictation, sight-singing, and basic ear training. A few weeks before the exam, we began going through the College Board’s old tests so we could learn what specific terms we didn’t know.
In my opinion, the most difficult part of the test was the multiple choice analysis of a music sample, so practice that with the materials provided by the college board. Do the same with the different types of dictation, and become familiar with the rules they use to grade dictation.
One good test would be musictheory.net. If you don’t know the majority of the material there, you may want to reconsider taking the test. Just remember: The old tests from college board will be your best study guides.
Good luck!