I’m currently planning my senior year schedule and am considering taking AP Music Theory as an elective because I love music and have always wanted to learn more about it. I don’t have a substantial background in music, but I took piano lessons and was part of choir throughout elementary and middle school (I’ve since dropped both due to lack of free time), so I’m familiar with sheet music, rhythm, and some musical terms. Additionally, most of the students at my school who take AP Music Theory take Music Theory 1 beforehand, which I have not taken and have no interest in taking, because I think I would be bored to death (its a very easy course).
I had initially planned to take a study hall in place of this course, however since learning about this class I’m very temped to take it - not because its an AP but because I think it will be interesting. My only concern is that I won’t have enough time to dedicate to this class during the school year, considering I’ll already be behind on my musical knowledge compared to my classmates, my other courses will be rigorous, and I do sports. Do you guys think I’ll be alright in this course with my relatively limited musical background? How interesting is it really? Would I be better off just taking a study hall and focusing on my other classes?
My currently planned schedule is this:
AP English Literature
AP Statistics
AP Biology
Honors Anatomy
Honors Spanish IV
(AP Music Theory or study hall)
Also, I intend to major in something science or humanities related.
Unless you plan on pursuing music in some way, given the rigor of your classes, I would take the study hall and use any extra time in your life to either pursue an extracurricular or relax.
To help decide, why not pick up a music theory book and see what is involved?
I think you run the very real risk of having this class, which may be perceived as “non-academic” turn into a major time sink. I am not familiar with this course now but recall that years ago, it was far from a breeze, even for those with more musical training and experience.
You might want to take the intro level class to pick up the basics, find a class online over the summer, or pick up a book. I’d recommend being protective of the time to study and work on college apps, visits, etc.
I just had this conversation with my daughter…with all AP and maybe 1 honors class I told her to take that study hall vs a “fun” elective she was entertaining. She will have ECE Bio, ECE Physics, AP Calc, etc VERY tough schedule
@gardenstategal music theory is most certainly “academic” : students get doctorates in various aspects of music, including theory, and theory is part of any academic music BA as well as all BM’s.
But yes, it can be intense and for a person with a full and rigorous schedule, would only be a wise choice if the student wants to pursue music in some way- including, say, singing in a choir (or writing music). I do think a book would satisfy curiosity and help with decision-making. It is hardly a “fun” class.
ps I would add that my kid dropped two levels of math to take music theory and it was life changing. Kid had music in their head and theory enabled them to write it down. A 20 minute string quartet resulted. Kid is still in music 17 years later.
AP music theory is not a fluff elective. It’s known as having a lot of work and challenging. I would recommend the intro theory course that is offered, not the AP version.
Both of my kids took AP Music Theory. One was a music major (so the course and AP score did nothing for him in college). The other was an engineering/biology major.
Both really liked the course a LOT but said it was a challenging one…and both had taken piano for years, and two other instruments. And both were excellent musicians.
If you want to take the course, go ahead. But it’s a challenging one.
AP music theory is academic (and for many, very very challenging. ) That’s a fact!
What I meant was that many colleges discount music courses when reviewing a transcript. So the time required to do well is not valued the same as it is for, say, Chemistry.
My senior looooves his AP Music Theory class. It’s turned out to be one of his faves—he finds it fascinating! He has taken band every year. One of his good friends in the class hasn’t—he just really enjoys music and took a guitar class at one point—and he’s doing well in there, too.
S25’s schedule looks like this:
AP Stats
AP Research/Eng. IV
AP Physics-C
AP Music Theory
AP Economics
Symphonic Band
For him, the workload is totally doable. He definitely spends the most time on AP Research (much to his dismay), but music theory does have a decent amount of assignments. He likes that class though, so he never complains.
S25 is mostly a STEM kid, but now he’s thinking about adding a music minor!
All that said, it’s completely up to you. Think about your course load in previous years—how stressful has it been? Do you intend to do a lot of extracurriculars? Planning on getting a job? Just want to have more time with friends? If so, a study hall would be a great addition to your schedule, which has plenty of rigor on its own.
If you’ve done well, can handle your current studies without over stress, and now add in college app time - if you think you can handle it - then great.
I don’t know you so I’m not going to say take study hall. If you have a general interest, this would be a great way to nurture it.
How many lab sciences do you have? Can you take instead of anatomy?
Just echoing that this is not an easy class. The written parts can be learned with effort but if you have an issue with the ear training component, a huge amount of practice will be needed to do well, and some people just cant do it at all.
I teach APCSA. Among the AP courses my students (and my own children) have taken, AP music theory is definitely one of the “harder” ones with significant work. Both my children had 10+ years playing music instruments, and both spent more time on AP music theory than AP stats (taken in the same year).
I agree with other answers that AP Music Theory is a very difficult class.
My older daughter might be the most talented musician that I ever met. She plays both guitar and piano very well, sings well and at one point took several years of voice lessons (which really do make a difference), wrote songs, and is also very good at math. She has played in public many times (occasionally with me as an opening act). She had at one point had a music-related tour of some parts of Europe and Eastern Europe. At that point she decided that music was not the way that she wanted to make a living, but she continues to play when she has time.
With an extensive music background this daughter took AP Music Theory and found it to be very challenging. She loved it and did well, but it was a lot of work. Some things like sight singing and judging intervals are far easier for some students (including my daughter) and far more difficult for some other students, and might not ever be possible for some students. Even with these parts being easy for my daughter, the class as a whole was quite a challenge.
During the first week of AP Music Theory the teacher (who my daughter knew well from previous music classes and music events) said that by the end of the semester the students in the class were all going to hate her. This did not actually happen for my daughter, but it is a reflection of how challenging AP Music Theory can be.
Concur with the others, I would not jump into AP Music Theory with your music background. Keep in mind that senior year will have some new stressors with college applications, visits, etc. Best to keep some breathing room in your schedule.
And not sure if I missed anything, but do you have a Social Studies class senior year? And do you really want to take 2 science courses?
Thank you for your advice! No you didn’t miss anything - my school only requires 3 years of social studies. (I’ve taken world history, US history 1 and 2, AP Human Geography, and AP psych already, so there’s not many options left besides AP Euro - but I would rather stick with my current schedule.) I will most likely major in Biology in college, so I think taking Bio and anatomy next year will help me prepare for college and decide on my future.
Thank you for your input!! I’ll take your story into consideration. I’m glad to hear that many people really do enjoy this course, however challenging it is.
If you’re asking how many sciences are available for me to take next year, then the only ones available to me are AP Bio, AP environmental science, and honors anatomy. AP Bio takes up 2 blocks of my schedule instead of the usual 1 block due to labs. AP Environmental is the same (so I will not be taking it). Honors anatomy is 1 block. I’m definitely set on taking anatomy next year as an elective because I plan to major in biology and am considering entering the healthcare field. If I love it or hate it, then at least it narrows my scope of career choices! And thank you for your advice, I will put it into consideration
No. How many have you already completed at year end. If three, you might sub out anatomy for music theory - although you just noted interest for college.
