<p>I was wondering if I could take an AP test as an 8th grader next year. I go to an arts school for viola, and I would take music theory. I have taken CM, and so is there an age-grade requirement?? Thank you</p>
<p>You can take it, as long as you can pay the money and find a school that will administer the exam for you.</p>
<p>I take it that by CM, you mean the Certificate of Merit program in CA (if not, disregard the rest of my post). What level did you just pass? Also, the theory for viola (and all other string instruments) is way below the level of the AP Music Theory exam. The theory for Advanced Piano covers only about half the APMT curriculum as well. If you want to take the APMT exam as an 8th grader (and I assume, without a AP Music Theory class), you’d best prepare to bust your ass studying. It’s not an easy exam by any means.</p>
<p>I finished level ten for piano, I play piano, violin, viola, and cello. And yes, CM for California. I would have another friend do this with me, and we do have a class at school every thursday.</p>
<p>If you’ve passed Advanced Level Piano for CM, you should have a theory foundation solid enough to take AP Music Theory. Perfect pitch (or, at least, strong relative pitch) is essential to doing well.</p>
<p>If you have perfect pitch/strong relative pitch, then you should be able to do well in APMT, especially if you have a class. Good luck.</p>
<p>Have you taken it??? Is it extremely difficult??? It’s offered at my school, but only to high school seniors…</p>
<p>I took the exam as a freshman in high school. No class - I self-studied. Like you, I had completed Certificate of Merit Level 10. </p>
<p>The exam is divided into two parts - non-aural, and aural. Your total score is the average of the two (If you get a 5 non-aural and 3 aural, for example, you will probably get a 4 overall). With CM Lv. 10 you should have enough foundation to easily score a 5 on the non-aural part of the examination - be sure you check out collegeboard.org for past FRQ’s just to develop some familiarity though.</p>
<p>Do you have a good ear? Perfect pitch, as I did? Because you WILL need that for the aural section. Even with perfect pitch, the aural section requires intensive practice to do well. Good luck! If you have any questions, just let me know.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I took it this May. I passed CM Piano Level 10 in 9th grade (Piano Panel in 10th and Violin Level 10 in 11th). I’ve been playing piano for about 11 years and violin for 10 and have perfect pitch. Even with all that, I found the AP exam to be substantially difficult after doing self-study. As the above poster stated, perfect pitch is almost a must for the aural section and for the sight-singing; with perfect pitch, you guarantee yourself 10% of your total grade with the sight-singing.</p>
<p>I would disagree with the above poster and say that CM Level 10 does not give enough preparation for the non-aural section of the exam, especially FR’s 5 and 6. If you look at those questions from the 2011 exam (the one I took), you’ll see that they ask you to write 4-part harmonies with some pretty specific (and weird) figured bass. You’ll need a class to learn that.</p>
<p>I think we must take into consideration, however, that APMT has a relatively lenient curve, just as most AP’s do. Perfect scores or even scores close to perfect are, by no means, necessary. All the OP needs is practice and exposure to the FRQs. I did not take an official class for FRQs 5 and 6 - I just learned the basic rules using Barron’s AP Music Theory and sort of winged it from there, studying the answer keys of released FRQs. I think that is sufficient to score a 5… on non-aural, at least.</p>
<p>On a related note, I would highly recommend Barron’s AP Music Theory to the OP. One of those giant, 500 page textbooks like Tonal Harmony (which, as I understand, some AP classes do use) is not necessary at all. By going through the entire Barron’s, you can review and extend your CM knowledge base and touch up on the other topics that appear on the exam as well.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Right, CM knowledge alone isn’t enough to do well on the AP exam. I also second the recommendation of Barron’s.</p>
<p>cherrysunsets, when did you take the AP Music Theory exam? And how’d your scores turn out, if you don’t mind my asking?</p>
<p>Not at all, I took the 2010 AP Music Theory exam, and received an overall score of 5 (non-aural 5, aural 5).</p>
<p>You should be fine. I took the AP Music Theory test this May, and as a piano player of 11 years myself, I would say that you don’t really “need” perfect pitch. However, if you don’t have perfect pitch, be prepared for some grueling ear training. It’s entirely possible to score well on this exam, and if you prepare yourself well enough (and purchase Barron’s AP Music Theory review book as many previous posters have already recommended), you’ll probably end up with a great score.</p>
<p>My son’s been a violinist for 11 years but has only studied piano informally (he had lessons for about 6 months). He’s a symphony member and he recently had to play his violin for a musical reading bass clef rather than tenor (I hope I’m getting those right!). He found it very challenging but did well in the end. He’s had some music theory but no formal class. I don’t know if he has perfect pitch. Is that where someone plays a note and you can tell what note it is? I think he can do that. </p>
<p>He wants to self-study for the AP exam this year. We have the Barron’s book, I think. He was going to take 2 semesters of music theory at the community college but his schedule is too full; thus, he’ll try to self study. He spends a great deal of time in music and will enjoy self studying but he does probably need some guidelines.</p>
<p>Any tips for him would be appreciated.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes, partially. Also, a person with perfect pitch should be able to sing (or at least hear in his head) a note that he’s told or that he sees. For example, if I were told to sing a G, I could do it within a couple of seconds with perfect pitch.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>He needs to get started on Barron’s right away and work from the beginning. Use a piano to supplement what’s in the book. Many of the concepts in AP Music Theory are much easier to comprehend if your son can hear what’s being explained on paper.</p>
<p>That makes sense to use the piano as he studies. I’ll pass that tip along to him, thanks!</p>
<p>Oh and to the OP, my son took AP Physics B in 8th grade and got a 5 so it’s totally doable to take an AP exam in 8th grade in a subject you love. :-)</p>
<p>WOW. I thought APs as a freshman was impressive.</p>
<p>I heard the test is damn hard</p>
<p>The test is laughably easy for students who have around classical music for their entire lives and extremely difficult for students who picked it up recently. I’ve gone into great detail in previous posts about what the AP Theory exam entails, and I don’t feel like doing that again right now. Look for some of my older posts on the subject if you’re curious.</p>
<p>May I know how 8th grader can prepare for AP physics as what you have mentioned? Amazing!</p>