<p>Ok so i'm a high school sophomore and i need to know should i take AP theory if i want to study to become a music teacher need some help.</p>
<p>Absolutely. Even if the college/university/conservatory doesn’t accept the AP credit, it can help you test out of some entry-level theory courses. My D took it her junior year and thought she did terribly on the test, but got a “5”. It has helped her enormously with her online theory exams for college and summer programs.</p>
<p>A good point. However, many students decide they want to follow their school’s theory sequence from the first course, especially if they’re not as strong in some areas.</p>
<p>The approach that worked best for my D was to take AP classes in her other subjects, which then have let her waive some of the general education requirements, freeing up her schedule for more music and/or elective classes.</p>
<p>My own perspective on AP music theory is that if you can take it without killing yourself, it is a valuable introduction to it, especially if you have never taken formal music theory before. it can only help. However, music theory is one of those things where some kids find it relatively easy and others can need to do a lot of work in it, and if you are already taking a heavy academic load don’t think of this, as I heard one wet behind the ears high school kid put it, as an ‘easy 5’ or an “Easy A”, it isn’t,imagine taking another academically heavy AP class like calculus or physics, and ask yourself if you have the bandwidth.</p>
<p>I can’t speak for all schools and all programs, but quite honestly even if you take it and get a 5, it could be you won’t get credits for it in the first place, and secondly, unless music ed schools work differently, it may not even place you that far in. Stradmom hit the nail on the head, music theory is not taught uniformly, as I once thought, the sequence of how they teach it, even the terminology they use, can vary from school to school (my S went to some level with the ABRSM music theory program, and took it for 3 years in the pre college program he will be graduating this year, and there was an adjustment, because the program he is in is way different then the way the ABRSM program he was in taught it). It isn’t like calc AB where basically it is taught the same way at the college level, Calc AB is differential calculus, and that is pretty much standard, music theory is not, music theory track is more like if a school taught series (part of calc ab) with some concept from integral calc and in the first semester course also taught a smattering of partial differential equations, then second semester went back to derivative calc, then on to vector analysis, and so forth… in other words, music theory is not taught linearly or in the same way by any two schools from what i can tell.</p>
<p>There is a reason why music schools for the most part don’t use the AP exam in placement, but have their own exam, and that is because their placement test is suited for the way they teach it. As such, what Stradmom wrote is pretty valuable IMO, you may want to take the AP and take the track from the beginning. Among other things, the introductory sections might be relatively easy for you, having taking AP music theory, but that may be a blessing when you are busy adjusting to college life, the various other classes you are taking and the like, having something that is relatively easy, like some of the core courses we used to consider ‘crap courses’ (though to be honest, many of them were the courses I enjoyed the most, go figure <em>lol</em>)…so you may want to take it from the beginning in any event,for the reasons given.</p>
<p>You absolutely should study music theory while in high school if you want to become a music teacher. The music theory course that you study does not have to be AP Music Theory, but it is certainly a good course (and probably much better than most other music theory courses that high schools offer).</p>
<p>While you will not need AP Music Theory to gain admission to any music school or music education program, many do require at least some music theory background, and, as has been mentioned, all require you to study at least four to six semesters of music theory. These semesters of music theory will go much more smoothly if you have a strong background. As musicprnt mentions, some students find music theory very easy and others find it incredibly difficult. Its difficulty level diminishes with the amount of time you devote to it, so you should devote some time in high school to music theory study.</p>
<p>It’s well worth it if you plan to major in Music - My son got credits at U of South Carolina, including Aural Skills. That saves cost and time, though he scored a 4 overall and 5 in Aural skills. You have to like the theory behind the music, but you’ll be taking at least 4 semesters in college, so what have you got to lose?</p>
<p>I agree that there is definitely value to studying music theory in high school if you plan to major in music in college, whether or not you get the AP credit. Our high school offered music theory though not the AP version. Son studied for the test on his own and did well in it. More importantly, he improved his aural skills. He went into it knowing that he would probably not receive the AP credit as many schools won’t give music students credit for AP Music Theory. However, he did test out of his 1st semester of music classes. Even if you don’t test out of classes (there are some disadvantages to testing out) you will have a leg up on the subject.</p>
<p>Our HS offers Music Theory I & II (although not AP) precisely because the director that teaches it did not have the option in HS of taking Musuc Theory! He was given a large scholarship to an excellent music school, but says he sweated out that first semester of Theory having no background in it! In his opinion, you should follow the Theory courses at the college/conservatory of your choice from the first class forward, and not try to test out of first semester Theory because in this way you follow the way and method your college wants it done from the beginning. I guess that’s why we don’t have AP at our HS! I can see his point of view, I can also see if you’re able to test out of Theory I and do well in Theory Ii, that’s also a plus!</p>
<p>That’s kind of ridiculous - people in the 1950s didn’t have a chance to take AP either, but it doesn’t mean you should hold today’s students to old standards.</p>
<p>I would also add that it’s the students choice whether or not to take Theory I in college even if you do get AP credit. Most accredited music schools will give credit depending on the score. And you can still sign up to take the AP test even if your school doesn’t offer the class, so it kind of makes your teachers theory moot.</p>
<p>Finally,most accredited music schools will make you take 4 semesters of theory as a Music major, so passing the first one in HS is a great leg up.</p>
<p>Unless things have changed in the last few years, my experience was that none of the conservatories or schools of music to which my daughter applied ever granted credit on the basis of AP Music test scores. (Specifically, the schools were Oberlin, Curtis, The Cleveland Institute of Music, Peabody, Rice, Boston University, New England Conservatory and Carnegie Mellon.) Some were willing to grant advanced standing, allowing the student to start with the second or third semester of the theory class, but that was always based on tests administered by each school rather than an AP exam. I strongly suggest you check directly with the music department at each college of interest if you think that it may be possible to get credit toward a degree as a result of taking the AP Music Theory test. There may be some schools where it is possible, but it seems to me to be the exception rather than the rule. That said, there are still many good reasons to study music theory while in high school if you plan to be a music major in college.</p>
<p>Bassdad’s post mirrors my experience, I know for a fact that Juilliard and many of the schools he mentions do not give credit for AP music theory. Basically, for the schools he and I are talking about, talking the AP music theory test only would make sense if you wanted to see how your knowledge stood up, but since schools give their own placement tests in theory and ear training, it probably isn’t worth it for that either. </p>
<p>It isn’t that AP music theory isn’t a valuable class, getting grounding in music theory is huge,to get that basic grounding will make taking theory, even from the first class, a lot easier and I honestly think that if a kid has only had AP music theory to strongly think about going from the first class, to perhaps make the first semester a bit easier, but also because the way theory is taught varies in sequence and terminology, and even if you place into theory II or whatever they call it, it might be good to have the refresher and to get acclimatized to the way the school teaches it. Has nothing to do with 1950’s anything, has to do with the fact that music schools from what I know mostly don’t accept AP credits, the best an AP class could do would be to get the person placed into a second semester class (and hear I am talking about the notion of taking the AP music exam, not the class itself) </p>
<p>Music theory is valuable, and in standard teaching of students I think music theory should be taught as well, but often isn’t. My S had theory instruction from an orchestra program he was in for several years, and at the pre college program he has been in, but that isn’t all that common, and I encourage kids who think they are heading into music to take any theory classes they can, AP or not.</p>
<p>@stone, what would be the point of taking the AP music theory test if most schools, as BassDad said and I concur, don’t give credit for it (I am talking music schools, it is possible they would give music theory credit towards general academic credits if it is a music school in an LAC that requires core courses, if not towards core requirements).</p>
<p>Depends on if you’re headed to a conservatory or a national public university with a school of music - all public universities offer AP credit in various subjects including music theory otherwise they would not be competitive. Several private schools including Ivy leagues like Yale do the same, though they limt the credits and you may need a 5.</p>
<p>Even at national public universities and private schools like Yale, I would still recommend verifying directly with the music department whether on not AP credits can be used to fulfill part of the music theory requirement for a specific music degree. The university might, for example, grant AP credit for a less intense music theory class intended for non-majors that is not applicable toward the music major theory sequence. The music department could require that a set number of semesters of music theory be completed in residence, even in cases where AP credit has been granted for Theory 1. The rules may be different for a BA general music program than for a BM performance program and different still for a music ed degree, even within the same school. It pays to ask.</p>
<p>Yale does not have an undergrad music performance degree program at all. Their BA program is a BA in music. Their grad students all take theory.</p>
<p>Ditto here regarding AP Music theory on the undergrad level. ALL of the colleges our music major son applied to did NOT give credit towards the music major from the AP test (even with a 5 score). However, the schools all did theory placement exams. I suppose some kids place out of some of the required theory courses, but DS decided (and his school recommended this) to take the full two year sequence in college.</p>
<p>DD was not a music major. She got fine arts course credit at her college for her AP score. This didn’t really help her a speck. Since she played in the college orchestra for four years, she fulfilled her fine arts requirement that way.</p>
<p>Too late to edit…but I want to add…I do think it is beneficial to take AP music theory even if college credit isn’t applied to your music degree program. The course will at least give you a taste of what music theory is all about. </p>
<p>Clearly YMMV with regard to getting credit from the college for coursework towards your degree. That just needs to be checked with each school.</p>
<p>I suspect (but I don’t know for sure) that a student taking an AP test in music theory going to a music school within a university, will not get credit for a music theory class in the music school. They may get college credits, and perhaps they will be allowed to use that to fulfill a core course requirement (like an arts course or something), but they may not apply it to the music theory track. So for example, if the school requires 12 credits of music theory (2 years, 3 credit course), I suspect if you take the AP and get a 5, they won’t give let you apply that to the credit total, so you would still need to take 4 classes, but you might of course place into let’s say theory II. </p>
<p>This is a classic example of what people on here say all the time, if you have an idea of what schools you might want to apply to, check with them to see if they give credit for AP music theory in the music major track. Like I said, I think the class is valuable, but why waste the fee if the schools you are applying to don’t give credit. Reminds me of my days at NYU, I had a 5 on the AP English exam (I think it was english) with the essay, and they wouldn’t let me use those credits towards fulfilling my literature core requirement,even though that is what the test covered.</p>
<p>
Simply not at all true IME – University of Michigan gives placement tests to see whether you need REMEDIAL theory or not, so it does in essence give “advanced standing” after a fashion, but no one is allowed to opt out of the actual theory sequence. At best you get an “accelerated” version of it. It is a public university. However, it is also a top SOM, so it is unsurprising to me that it behaves more like its conservatory/school of music peers.</p>
<p>And, although my son took first year music theory at a “good” regional university as a dual enrolled hs student, which notably did NOT transfer for the purposes of the UMich SOM’s music theory sequence, and although he had an A in that class, he still had a very difficult time even passing the UMich version 
Now that he’s graduating, he’s finally getting the hang of UMich level of theory.</p>
<p>The point it it can take a long time for some students, and that the level of depth and rigor can be DRAMATICALLY different among schools.</p>
<p>So OP, take it if you can for the PREPARATION but do not expect (or even elect) to opt out of the first “true” (not remedial) theory course in your college sequence!</p>
<p>Not that you need one more person giving the same advice, but …</p>
<p>My experience mirrors that of most of the posters here. In my family’s experience, none of their music schools granted any credit to music majors for AP Music Theory. All the schools were familiar with have placement exams and kids are placed according to their in-house exam results. The presence or absence of AP Music Theory is irrelevant. Though, as others have pointed out, it can still be worthwhile in that, hopefully, youll have a better understanding of college-level theory because of it.</p>
<p>My own kids couldn’t take AP Theory in their high school. The one course offering conflicted with advanced orchestra, if you can believe that! (The band kids didn’t have a conflict with the one theory course, so they took it.) Anyway, my kids found that years of experience at an advanced level on a stringed instrument provided a good enough foundation for college-level theory courses – without any designated theory instruction prior to college. I don’t know if this is typical, or if this was a benefit bestowed by their amazing hs orchestra director, who used to be a college professor at a really good school of music. </p>
<p>My Vocal Performance son, who was a violinist for 12 years before college, found that his violin experience gave him a noticeable advantage in college-level theory over his friends who had only a voice performance background. Granted, by the end of the required theory courses, there were all on a level playing field. His instrumental experience just made the first few theories easier for him (and it put him in a slightly more advanced entry-level class but so what?). Again, Im not sure if this is typical but it kind of makes sense that an instrumental background would be helpful in entry-level college theory.</p>
<p>Point is, your mileage may vary, and various factors may affect your success and understanding of entry-level college theory. Based on your specific background and your specific college-of-choice, the AP Music Theory may or may not be of any significant benefit. So if theres something else you prefer to take purely for interest and pleasure or in order to fill OTHER college squares (for core curricula, lets say), and IF you are at the top of your game on your instrument (meaning you may well be at a good-enough level for beginning college theory, as it is), you MAY want to take that something else to fill that OTHER square. Thats my two cents </p>
<p>All the best to you! I have so much respect for music educators! (All educators, really.) :)</p>
<p>Many schools will accept your AP scores for credit BUT and it’s a big BUT…this does not mean that these courses can be applied to courses required for your major. So…a university might accept that AP Music theory score BUT, for music majors will NOT allow this to substitute for actually taking the course. NOW if the student switches majors, they might find that this AP Music Theory course can be used to satisfy a core course in the arts. YMMV…check with the schools!</p>
<p>Looking through the other end of the lens: one of my kids chose to take the AP test because that waived the necessity to take the course final…even though it was clear that the AP score wouldn’t meet college credit requirements.</p>