By Mia Hanuska
**Before I begin, let me preface this: I took the class three years ago, so some of my information may be a little old. If you’ve taken the course recently and would like to add anything, please email me at 557543@my.cuhsd.org.** AP Music Theory requires lots and lots of practice. The class itself doesn’t pose too much of a challenge; however, you’ll likely have to spend plenty of time studying outside of class. I can’t speak much about the class structure now, but I still have my study resources—hopefully they can help someone out.
Study Resources
- Barron’s AP Music Theory Textbook
- I read the entire book (and completed the practice tests/quizzes) cover to cover a month before the exam…I wouldn’t say I recommend that, but I do recommend buying the most recent version of the book. It has great aural resources and the questions are fairly similar to the exam.
- MusicTheory.net
- USE THIS for training your ear. You will need to develop some form of relative pitch, and this is (in my opinion) the best way to do so. There are multiple great exercises that can be done whenever you have time. I found interval identification and interval ear training to be the most helpful.
- AP Classroom
- The videos supplied by AP Classroom explain the content very well, and if you can convince Christiana Mandler to assign the practice quizzes, those are a great starting point for new topics.
- Notecards
- It sounds basic, but make so many flashcards—there are a million terms to memorize. I made mine pocket-sized, so whenever I was standing around with nothing to do, I could pull them out of my pocket and start studying. I recommend color-coding the cards by unit to keep them organized, as you’ll likely have a lot.
- APMT AP Test Considerations & Tips
- I made this document back when I took the course, and it’s just a general overview of the AP test and how it’s structured. I would make your own copy/version of this document to add to your own personal notes and have one document for all your APMT needs. Taking notes is definitely the play here, there’s so much content to shove in your brain that reviewing and taking notes (both typing and handwriting) will prove helpful.
- Friends!!
- This may sound corny, but have a good group of friends (or acquaintances) that you can share notes and study with. I had the amazing Kathryn Tanaka and Aadya Vadrevu and it was nice to have people to ask questions to and hear another interpretation of the content from.