<p>Hey everyone, I'm taking the AP Music Theory exam this May.
Are there any prep books available?
Any recommendations on any kind of music theory book(s) to buy for review?
All other advice on preparing or taking the exam would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!</p>
<p>I took the AP Theory test as a sophomore (last year). There aren't any books that you can buy, but your teacher should be prepping with you on both the aural and non-aural portions of the test. I didn't buy any books (since there aren't any) and just did my class work and got a 5 on it. Just be sure to practice the ear training stuff and partwriting.</p>
<p>sadly, there aren't any review books for AP Music Theory. but yay for someone taking it (i am now too)
i would suggest doing EXTENSIVE ear training: triads, sevenths, scales, etc etc. especially inverted chords: those are harder.</p>
<p>Yeah. The written stuff isn't horribly difficult (lots of places for mistakes, but not truly difficult). The aural part, which I am currently having some issues with, is harder for some and easier for others. It all depends on your ear and how much you can hear. </p>
<p>Hopefully I can get a 5 on the exam (I paly 4 instruments, but this class has provided me with a completely different perspective on music).</p>
<p>the hearing is seriously a pain in the ass man! i cant tell the difference between a 1st inverted 7th chord and a 2nd inverted 7th chord. maybe if i tried really hard, then i could, but, blah.</p>
<p>and interval recognition is a pain in the ass too. :(</p>
<p>thanks for replying, everyone!
yeah the aural part is difficult for me as well
just curious, are you guys going into music? (majoring in it in college, making it your career path, etc.?)</p>
<p>jaug - just wondering, what 4 instruments do you play?</p>
<p>I'm stressing about the AP Music Theory exam as well. Good luck to futur06 and any other people who are also taking this exam. By the way, I've played the piano for about 8 years, but I still struggle with the aural part... I think it's just me, though.</p>
<p>WOw.. So many people taking this (althougt it still isn't the most popular)
I'm worrying, also. Written = easy, but listening and melodic dictation are harder. It seems like pianists fare better on this exam, also. It doesn't hurt to have perfect pitch for others. I personally know 3 people who have perfect pitch. Isn't this supposed to be around 1/10k ? (I def. don't know 30k ppl)
Yeah, I digress.</p>
<p>Powerabe13 - i've played the piano longer than you have but I struggle with the aural part, too. I think the aural part is easier for choral kids and people who play strings, etc. since (well at least in my opinion) they have to be more conscientious about listening for tones and sounds in general - oh and plus choral people are constantly singing which makes things easier for them as well.
yeah danielsjang, i dont really know what the statistics are either but perfect pitch is definitely an advantage - i know 1 person who has it and someone i know's brother has it too.</p>
<p>Yeah, futur06, I am in chorus and have been for four years. I took the APMT exam last year and found the aural part relatively easy... i was just ignorant and sang both of the sight-singing pieces in major. For some reason, I thought that the first one was always major and the second always minor... unfortunately I realized this wasn't the case a little too late. I had trouble with the written section as well because I am not very familiar with instruments and their timbre and stuff. The part writing was simple enough, though. Ended up with a 4.</p>
<p>i signed up for it too, but after looking at what my potential colleges will give me for a 4 or 5, i've come to realize that most schools don't even recognize that exam...</p>
<p>INSTRUMENTS! argh, i dont even know what instrument sounds like what for each. bah, im gonna be cramming like mad, =</p>
<p>some of the good colleges give credit for a 4/5 on the exam, especially ones im looking at: UPENN, UVA, Columbia...</p>
<p>i wouldnt know about other colleges though, :(</p>
<p>I too am taking the APMT test this year... Im nervous about it though. I think i can do alright on MC, but dictations are going to kill me. Im pretty bad, except for identifying chord progressions, so at least ill get some of that right... Too bad there arent practice books, cds, whatever, or practice exams.</p>
<p>Practice the aural stuff. I wish I had done more training in that area when I took the test; I was utterly unprepared for the listening portions. This probably stemmed from most people in my class being choir kids--they always aced the aural reviews... I did poorly on those, but aced the writing-based stuff...</p>
<p>But, if your target is a 4, it's possible to have a subscore split of 5/2 composition and listening respectively. </p>
<p>To those fretting about inverted 7th chords... They aren't really prevalent on the test. Scales, progressions, and musical analysis are major components of the listening sections.</p>
<p>dam im gonna take it for the heck of it, i dont even take the class in school, just every saturday at a prep division, written will be easy, but aural, uyyyy, i hope they're lenient cuase i cant hear for my life... and when do we have to notate chord progressions with aural stimulation. i thought they only thing we need to know about chords is for harmonizing</p>
<p>thanks for replying, everyone!
& best of luck :)</p>