- Course type: Self-paced
- Available Lessons: 131
- Average Lesson Length: 8 min
Eligible for Certificate: Yes
Certificates show that you have completed the course. They do not provide credit.
Watch a preview:chapter 1 / lesson 1AP Music Theory Exam: Aural Skills
Course SummaryIf you're preparing for the AP Music Theory exam, explore the engaging lessons in this entertaining video course to quickly strengthen your knowledge of important music theory concepts. Self-assessment quizzes help you practice answering the types of questions you'll encounter on the AP test.
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Course Practice TestCheck your knowledge of this course with a 50-question practice test.
- Comprehensive test covering all topics
- Detailed video explanations for wrong answers
About This Course
This video course is designed to provide you with a comprehensive overview of topics you will encounter on the AP Music Theory exam. Get up to speed with the fundamentals of music, aural skills, voice leading, harmonic composition and much more by exploring our entertaining lessons. Our instructors also help you to grasp melodic composition, texture, performance terms and triads. Multiple-choice quizzes and practice exams make it easy to test your knowledge of all concepts covered in this course.
Check out our AP test prep materials! We've got AP courses to teach you the material, comprehensive AP study guides to help you study, AP practice tests to test your knowledge, and informational AP resources to get you up to speed on testing logistics.
Syllabus & Course Information
This syllabus introduces you to all topics you will see on the AP Music Theory exam. Feel confident in your knowledge of nonharmonic tones, texture, performance terms, voice leading, songs, genres, phrases and forms. After exploring this course, you will also be ready to:
- Explain the basics of music notation, like how to read notes, and find out facts about octaves, musical form and the grand staff in music.
- Describe syncopation, duple meter, diminution, augmentation and accents in music.
- Discuss chromatic music, major and minor scales, modality, tetrachords and key signature in music.
- Exhibit knowledge of harmony, pitch, sight-signing, syllabic music and major and minor keys.
- Share the definitions of soprano, alto, tenor, bass and chord position.
- Differentiate between simple and compound intervals, and discuss triads, seventh chords, intervals and chord inversions.
- Showcase an understanding of dissonance in music, transposition, thematic transformation and differences between melody and harmony.
- Discuss chord families, figured-bass notation and realization, cadence and tonic in music, diatonic scale and the rules for writing four-part music.
In this course are 114 lessons that have been divided into 14 chapters. Each lesson is accompanied by a multiple-choice quiz you can take anytime to assess your knowledge of key concepts. We also offer practice exams you can take to find out how well you grasp each chapter and the entire course.
AP Music Theory Exam Information
The AP Music Theory exam is used to assess high school students' knowledge of the processes of music. Passing scores could be used to earn advanced placement or credit in college.
- Number of Questions: 84 questions
- Question Type: Multiple-choice, free-response
- Time Limit: 2 hours 40 minutes
- Exam Cost: $94
AP Music Theory Exam Breakdown
|AP Exam Concept||Percent of the AP Exam||Approximate Number of Questions||Chapter Lessons|
|Section I||45%||75 questions||90 lessons|
|Section II||55%||9 questions||24 lessons|
AP Music Theory Exam Preparation & Registration
The fun lessons in this entertaining course ensure you are ready and able to succeed on the AP Music Theory exam. Enhance your test preparations by exploring any lessons you desire, and take accompanying quizzes to check your comprehension of key concepts. You'll get reacquainted with topics that include time signature in music, sight-signing, transposition in music and coda vs. codetta. We offer comprehensive practice exams that assess your music theory knowledge and readiness for exam day. Use our Dashboard to trace your steps through this course and send any lesson topic questions to our subject-matter experts.
In order to register for an AP exam, you will need to contact the coordinator for the corresponding AP course at your school. The coordinator will order the exam, collect your exam fee and tell you when and where to arrive for the test and what to bring. AP exams are administered on a specific schedule every year. If you can't take the test on the scheduled date, be sure to contact your AP coordinator to find out if alternate testing options are available.
The Advanced Placement Exam (AP) is a registered trademark of The College Board, which is not affiliated with Study.com.
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