<p>I've been playing the piano for quite a few years now but I dont think my theory is good enough for the AP test. Should I continue with piano or get voice lessons. Are there music theory tutors or is AP Music too hard to self study?</p>
<p>Have you taken a non-AP theory course? Or have you been taught theory formally in depth?</p>
<p>Bump…</p>
<p>If you want some resources online to go from for eat training and dictations, part of my AP theory summer assignment is to do exercises on Teoria.com and musictheory.net. They’ll give you basic lessons and listening activities, but you’re gonna need a hard copy of something to work on compositions and corrections and details on pieces(chord progressions, augmentation and diminution, key signatures, etc.). If you’re an experienced pianist then you should be fine with reading, key signatures, triads, etc., but for the AP the listening and composition work is very involved and goes beyond the foundations of theory.</p>
<p>^^yeah i know about Teoria.com (my choir teacher suggested it). Thanks so much for the tips. I guess taking AP Music theory is too much work…</p>
<p>Honestly, music theory is all about learning the main concepts and practicing a ton. It definitely isn’t an easy AP test (I took it this past year) so it depends on how much time and effort you’re willing to put into it. If you’re going to take it, I would recommend getting the Barron book because it has a lot of practice problems and it’s very helpful.</p>
<p>You can definitely do it! You’ve got until May after all! Work with your music teachers and try and get them to teach you what they know. But if you don’t mind me asking, are you planning on being a music major or even minor? Unless you are, it’s not really that beneficial to take it and put in the ton of work that goes along with it.</p>
<p>Just wondering…are those practice Ap books actually the same level as the actual test or are they harder/easier?</p>
<p>Hi, I’m taking AP Music Theory I as a sophomore in high school. Does this course mostly involve singing? I probably need a course overview (been playing violin for 11 years and play in a youth orchestra)</p>
<p>It involves site singing. That’s all. I don’t have much of a range myself, but the things you have to sing are not that terrible. You’ll be fine :-)</p>
<p>Hi, Lilly, my D took AP music theory class and exam. It’s allegedly the hardest AP. You get a 5 if you score over about 60% all on sections. My D said it was harder than BC Calc. She got 5’s in both, but really put a lot of extra effort into the Theory AP.</p>
<p>The question is, why are you taking theory? Some colleges will not accept AP Music Theory for music majors. My D, even with a 5 has to take her college’s Theory classes from scratch, and actually is happy about that because her class was a semester long but felt rushed and she didn’t feel they covered much in the composition area.</p>
<p>My D took it because she loves it. I think it’s one of those classes that is best taken for love of the subject!</p>
<p>D does think that the Barron’s Theory book and materials were at the same level as the test, fwiw.</p>
<p>Thank you so much! The singing is not too bad for me, it’s just the composing and cadences. BC Calc is probably a better class to get credit for.</p>
<p>My son would echo what Lizzie reported - AP Music Theory is a tough class and an even tougher test. He’s taken AP Calc AB/BC, AP Physics and a few others and says that the difficulty level of the AP Music Theory test was greater.
That said, if you are really love music and are willing to put in the effort, it is a great class that he thoroughly enjoyed.</p>
<p>My son had no problem with taking the class and got a 5. He took piano for 11 years and theory classes with the teacher for 6 of them. A fellow piano student of the same teacher thought he would self study…he got a 3. He decided to take the course the following year and got a 5. The course covers a wide range of concepts.</p>
<p>@ANNE and mythreesons- thanks for the advice. It’s amazing to see how many parents are on CC.</p>