How can I improve my chances of passing the AP music theory exam?

Question

There are various components to the AP music theory exam which would be tough to navigate from home without a tutor or trusted advisor. There are steps that a student could take that would improve their chances of getting a better score.

Answer 1

The best way to prepare is to work with a tutor who specializes in AP Music Theory. However, if that is not an option, the second best thing to do is to take advantage of the College Board Resources. Log in to college board and they have several generic lessons and practice questions that are good for review. Although you may not get personal feedback, these exercises are good indicators of the work you will be doing, and a change to get used to the online system

Answer 2

What everyone said above is true so I won't repeat it. I would like to add 2 things, 1) When faced with a comprehensive theory exam, I purchased the top 5 levels of 2 well known methods and completed them which seriously reinforced all of the basic facts. 2) FLASHCARDS!!

Music theory may make up a comprehensive whole, but to get there, there are lots and lots of little individual bits. The absolute fastest way to get all of the facts completely nailed down is flashcards (they also work great in college science classes!). Making your own by the dozen will also help you a lot. Be sure to put the answer on the back so that you can check your answers. In lots of circumstances, especially on exams, it's not the big things that get you, it's the little ones.

Answer 3

Check out the YouTube playlist for AP Music Theory review from College Board. I like Madison’s comment about studying using College Board’s practice questions as well. These are great because it is likely that these questions were used on previous AP Music Theory exams. Therefore, it will prepare you for the type of questioning you should expect on your test.

Answer 4

I struggled with theory for quite a bit because I resisted getting a tutor. Once I did, however, I found my grades exponentially increase, including my AP test score. Having a tutor look over your response to guide you to the correct answer and explain your mistakes makes a world of difference. Additionally, there are great online resources that are extremely thorough. musictheory.net and Teoria are two amazing cites to start with if struggling. These two cites will give tutorials and give the correct answers. These websites combine with the help from a tutor will definitely help secure a score between a 4 and 5!