I used to play the piano and the violin; however, it’s been 5 years since I was in a music class and I forgot how to read notes. I can take glimpses at my past music books and relearn songs quickly, but I believe that is most likely through memorization rather than me relearning how to read music. I still play the piano in my leisure time and learn new songs through youtube (I am working on Liebestraum No. 3 by Liszt right now), but I still doubt that my piano abilities are any better than a beginning musician.
So, my question is, do you think I should take AP Music Theory my senior year, even without much musical background?
And how does AP Music Theory look to colleges?
If I were to take AP Music Theory, I would be replacing it with AP Psychology.
I’m not an expert (as my school doesn’t offer AP Music Theory) but I don’t think I would take it if I were you. If you’re doubting your ability to play music above a beginners level, that’s already a bad sign. Now, as for how colleges see it, I would think that it’s contingent upon your major. If you’re going for a social science degree or a hard science degree, I think AP Psych would look a bit better. If you’re going for a performance-based major (any musical/instrumental major or theater) I would think that AP Music Theory would be more beneficial, and it would likely be worth the time to learn how to reread music.
@PFAnimals Ahhh okay, thank you! It’s just that I realized I love playing music and thought it would be a fascinating class to take. However, I think I’d either like to study film or liberal arts like humanities or something in college, so I’m not sure how Music Theory would benefit me in that sense. Hmm.
Both are considered among the less rigorous APs (as compared to AP Physics or Calc for example) but it is fine to take either one. I’d probably opt for AP Psychology since it doesn’t seem that you have a recent history of taking/performing music.