Should I take AP Music Theory?
Assuming you're also a musician; yes, you should take AP Theory if you're wanting to major or minor in music later. If you score high enough you can exempt a semester or two of theory class but more importantly, what you learn in that class could make the difference of whether you're even allowed to major or minor in music. Many universities and almost all conservatories include music theory (and history) in their admission audition. If you're not a musician already, that just might be a really hard course to start from scratch. It'd be like asking "should I take AP American Lit even though I can't read English?" Not having had any theory so far (unlikely if you play an instrument) just means you're a little behind people who have but reality is that most HS musicians have had no formal theory either. If you want that AP Theory class to be a touch easier (and to help your university audition/application), also take a year of piano lessons. People that come into Theory I with piano/keyboard skills do much better than do band or orchestral instrumentalists or vocalists without that skill. If you already play piano - you know more music theory than you probably realize. Now you just need to put the right definitions to all of that stuff you already know. Add: guitar is an instrument. But, guitar players in a university don't play from tab and they don't study a lot of rock/pop. It's "dead European white guys" music at that level. Even so; you know what a G major chord is and how it's made. That's music theory. You know the difference between a major and minor chord - that's music theory too. Most of your classmates won't have any idea the difference between G, G7, Gmin, and Gmaj7 for example - you get that advantage. You need to learn to read music (western notation) before you attempt AP Theory though. You could learn it in that class, and you will learn to read better there, but you'll be at a real disadvantage if you don't read at least one clef going in.
AP Music Theory or ABRSM?
AP music and ABRSM are two very different systems of testing your musical abilities and as such are not directly comparable. ABRSM is much more common in Europe, AP is much more common in America. ABRSM is designed to be a sequential process. Don't jump into ABRSM 8 unless you've done the previous levels. AP is meant to be a stand alone class and exam that comes at the end of the school year that you study the subject. As far as content when you look at the suggested repertoire to study for both they're roughly equivalent in terms of concepts covered. If your'e thinking about college credit, if you score 4 or 5 on the AP exam you may be able to let that count as an elective credit, however if you're planning on a conservatory route most music schools prefer their own theory placement test over the AP exam and that score alone will typically not let you out of Music Theory I in college. Here is the expectations for Grade 7 and 8: http://us.abrsm.org/fileadmin/user_uploa... http://us.abrsm.org/fileadmin/user_uploa... And for AP theory: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/pu...
AP Music Theory In high school?
I'm going into my junior year next year and we have to pick our elective courses now.. I am thinking of doing AP Music theory, but since I'm doing nearly all AP classes, I'm worried that it'll be too hard for me. I'm a pretty serious flute player, but i've never done any actual music THEORY in my life before. If you took the class, from your experience, was it a lot of work? How was preparing for the AP exam at the end of the year?
AP Music Theory test tips?
I'm taking the AP Music Theory test this coming Monday the 14th, and I was wondering if anyone has any tips, or links or anything. From people who've taken it already, what should I watch out for or focus on more? I'm ok in written, but not so good in ear training... Anyone know the grading scale also (like how high you have to score for a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)? There's a lot of info on the other AP tests, but not as much for Music Theory... I've also checked out the CollegeBoard site, but I was wondering if there were any more places I could get multiple choice questions, with or without the aural. Thanks!
Ap music theory class worth it?
I'm going to be a senior in high school next year and I'm deciding on whether or not ap music theory as a class worth taking. I am planning on doing band in college. Will ap music theory be worth it? I mostly need to improve my skills in sightreading music. Is that what you learn in music theory? So what do you think? Is ap music theory worth taking in my case?...thanks!
AP music theory without experience?
For my high school, you are required to take a visual performing arts and im trying to decide which one i should take. At the moment im looking at ap music theory. The problem is that i don't really have any musical experience. I'm interested in learning how music is composed and i would like to learn from this class in order to make music using music making programs like fl studio. Since i dont have any experience is this class gonna be insanely hard because from some research on the internet most people say it is.
AP Music Theory or AP Psychology?
Well I guess it would depend on if you want to work in a field of music. I would do both, AP Psychology is really easy. And the AP test is a complete joke. AP Music theory is harder, but I feel that both classes would look good on your resume. And if your school district weights the average for AP classes, and you make an A in both, your GPA has the potential to go higher than a 4.0! (depending on your other class grades, of course) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Should I self study AP Music Theory?
I did this in my final year of high school as I was interested in music theory and my school did not offer such a course. I used the Barron book, but either I didn’t peruse it thoroughly enough or it did not build everything from the ground up clearly enough, since I got a 4. Comprehensible harmony books for self-study are hard to come by, and I would recommend you seek the help of someone who knows music theory already. (Speaking of which, I’m happy to help you if you message me—I study music theory in university now.)For basic rudiments (and introductory harmony perhaps), you may find this YouTube channel helpful. If you want to learn harmony in-depth, the Aldwell/Schachter book is the industry standard, though there is a slew of others, and it may not be the most friendly introduction (Laitz, Burstein/Straus, and Roig-Francolí come to mind as easier primers).My biggest challenge personally was thoroughbass and chorale harmonization. This can be mastered with practice, but it is crucial to have a teacher to check your work, since any theory book’s solutions will not be able to exhaust all possible solutions, nor will the solutions actually tell you the faults in your work. So, if you can find a mentor, informal or formal, I’d say go for it, and even if not, it ought to be a fun learning experience and you may end up just fine!
AP Music Theory or AP Calculus?
How much music theory do you know already? Take a sample test now, if you can - my high school never had an AP Music Theory class, but I got a 5 on the test because I had taken 13 years of piano lessons that centered around theory quite a bit. Also, check the requirements for the college(s) you want to go to. Many will allow you to use your AP credit in calcus if you are a music major but not if you're a math major, or your AP credit ofr music theory if you're a math major but not if you're a music major . . . so if you feel that you understand theory pretty well already, and your college wouldn't give you credit for it anyway, I'd go for the math. From what I remember of the AP Music Theory test, you have to be able to: 1) Take a simple melodic dictation (one part) and a four-part dictation from a familiar piece (my hear was the Hallelujah Chorus from the Messiah). 2) Answer several questions about key signatures, time signatures, etc. 3) Know your modes (lydian, myxolidian, etc.) and how they change the feel of the piece 4) Know your diminished and half-diminished chords, in all inversions 5) Most importantly, be able to do all of this without humming, using a piano, or otherwise making noise. This is harder than it seems. If all of that stuff above made sense to you, try a practice test - you can order them from princetonreview.com, I believe. If some of it sounded confusing, you may benefit from the class. Freshman year is MUCH easier if you already have a good grasp of the material, and I suspect most freshman music theory courses are similar - you learn all the basics, taking dictation, a bit of keyboard and voice skills as a "lab practical," and you work your way into writing your own music following voice-leading techniques.