<p>I've been playing piano for ~10 years and violin for ~5. Could I do just a bit of self-studying and do well on the AP music theory exam without having to take a full-blown course?</p>
<p>can you hear something and then write the music for it</p>
<p>yes</p>
<p>10char</p>
<p>I’m not sure “a bit” of studying would be sufficient, but you can self-study. I took it as a class my junior year, and got a 4, and I didn’t think I did that well, so it has to be seriously curved.
You mention that you play two instruments, and have for a long time. That’s great, but does not indicate success. You have to simply learn a lot of theory, like the modes (dorian, lydian, etc.), how to write bass lines and primitive types of music, how to sight sing, be able write down chord progressions and melodies given the first note… and lots more I can’t remember.
You can learn the theory stuff from a book. The one I used wasn’t very thick, and that stuff isn’t hard, just memorization.
The ear training is harder, unless you have a natural gift, which playing an instrument does not necessarily indicate. In my class, the best musicians were not necessarily the best at ear training. For ear training I would recommend the computer program Practica Musica, which you can find here [Ars</a> Nova - Music Instruction & Music Education Software](<a href=“http://www.ars-nova.com/home.html]Ars”>http://www.ars-nova.com/home.html). It’s what we used in our class, and while grueling (many exercises take forever), it is very helpful.
Also, you should make sure to do the practice free response the college board has online. I’m not sure if the multiple choice is available. My teacher had it, but often teachers can get that stuff where others can’t.</p>
<p>It’s not terribly easy, but it’s not terribly difficult either. If you’re willing to put in the effort, you can do it. If not, don’t waste your money.</p>
<p>Personally, I wouldn’t advise it. I thought that 7 years of piano lessons and 5 years of trumpet/mellophone/French horn would be enough to get me through the AP test, but after taking it, I’m expecting a 1 or a 2. My school had a semester-long AP class 1st semester, and then we were supposed to self-study the second semester. Granted, I didn’t really study second semester like I was supposed to, but looking over the material I was supposed to have learned, I really don’t think I could have learned it on my own if I had tried. I did really well in the semester-long AP class, but when it came to taking the actual test, I realized that we had barely scratched the surface of what was supposed to be covered.</p>
<p>You have to have an insanely good ear to do well on this test. If you have that, then you might have a chance, but realize that it’s not all listening. You also need to learn all the terminology, all the cadances, and you have to know all the rules for writing melodies and harmonies correctly. If you do decide to go for it, best of luck, but I have to warn you that your experience with piano and violin probably won’t help you as much as you think it will (unless you’re a really hard-core player and music is your whole life. If it’s more of a hobby, like mine is, then it probably won’t help much.).</p>
<p>I took AP music theory junior year, I have been playing the piano 10 years (by that point), and didn’t study at all, and got a 5 (with a 5 on both subscores). It is a very easy test, if you are musically inclined. The free response is super easy. The only thing that you might have to study (if you don’t know already), is the four part writing rules.</p>