🎼 2023 AP Music Theory Study Plan and Progress Tracker
Welcome to this plethora of resources that cover everything! This toolkit is constantly being updated with more resources! AP Music Theory is a college-level course where you will develop an understanding of important topics in music theory like pitch, rhythm, form, and musical design.
🚨 All you need to know about the 2023 AP Music Theory Exam!
The AP Music Theory Exam
A breakdown of exam topics.
| Unit |
|---|
| Unit 1: Music Fundamentals I: Pitch, Major Scales and Key Signatures, Rhythm, Meter, and Expressive Elements |
| Unit 2: Music Fundamentals II: Minor Scales and Key Signatures, Melody, Timbre, and Texture |
| Unit 3: Music Fundamentals III: Triads and Seventh Chords |
| Unit 4: Harmony and Voice Leading I: Chord Function, Cadence, and Phrase |
| Unit 5: Harmony and Voice Leading II: Chord Progressions and Predominant Function |
| Unit 6: Harmony and Voice Leading III: Embellishments, Motives, and Melodic Devices |
| Unit 7: Harmony and Voice Leading IV: Secondary Function |
| Unit 8: Modes and Form |
Course Skills
By taking AP Music Theory, you will develop a variety of skills that will help you learn to think and act like a musician and composer.
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| 1. Analyze Performed Music | Apply musical terms, concepts, and relationships to performed music (aural). |
| 2. Analyze Notated Music | Apply musical terms, concepts, and relationships to notated music (written). |
| 3. Convert Between Performed and Notated Music | Apply conventions of musical notation and performance in converting music between aural and written forms. |
| 4. Complete Based on Cues | Complete music based on cues, following 18th-century stylistic norms. |
Download our free 2023 AP Music Theory Study Tracker Notion Template. It's free for all students to use. Track your study progress, rate your confidence levels, and store notes in each study guide page. It's the perfect companion to Fiveable's AP Study Guides!
Study Guides for Every Unit
🎵 Unit 1 - Music Fundamentals I: Pitch, Major Scales and Key Signatures, Rhythm, Meter, and Expressive Elements
- 1.0 Unit 1 Overview
- 1.1 Pitch and Pitch Notation
- 1.2 Rhythmic Values
- 1.3 Half Steps and Whole Steps
- 1.4 Major Scales and Scale Degrees
- 1.5 Major Keys and Key Signatures
- 1.6 Simple and Compound Beat Division
- 1.7 Meter and Time Signature
- 1.8 Rhythmic Patterns
- 1.9 Tempo
- 1.10 Dynamics and Articulation
🎶 Unit 2 - Music Fundamentals II: Minor Scales and Key Signatures, Melody, Timbre, and Texture
- 2.0 Unit 2 Overview
- 2.1 Minor Scales: Natural, Harmonic, and Melodic
- 2.2 Relative Keys: Determining Relative Minor Key and Notating Key Signatures
- 2.3 Key Relationships: Parallel, Closely Related, and Distantly Related Keys
- 2.4 Other Scales: Chromatic, Whole-Tone, and Pentatonic
- 2.5 Interval Size and Quality
- 2.6 Interval Inversion and Compound Intervals
- 2.7 Transposing Instruments
- 2.8 Timbre
- 2.9 Melodic Features
- 2.10 Melodic Transposition
- 2.11 Texture and Texture Types
- 2.12 Texture Devices
- 2.13 Rhythmic Devices
🎻 Unit 3 - Music Fundamentals III: Triads and Seventh Chords
- 3.1 Triad and Chord Qualities (M, m, d, A)
- 3.2 Diatonic Chords and Roman Numerals
- 3.3 Chord Inversions and Figures: Introduction to Figured Bass
- 3.4 Seventh Chords
- 3.5 Seventh Chord Inversions and Figures
🎹 Unit 4 - Harmony and Voice Leading I: Chord Function, Cadence, and Phrase
- 4.0 Unit 4 Overview
- 4.1 Soprano-Bass Counterpoint
- 4.2 SATB Voice Leading
- 4.3 Harmonic Progression, Functional Harmony, and Cadences
- 4.4 Voice Leading with Seventh Chords
- 4.5 Voice Leading with Seventh Chords in Inversions
🗣 Unit 5 - Harmony and Voice Leading II: Chord Progressions and Predominant Function
- 5.0 Unit 5 Overview: Harmony and Voice Leading II (Chord Progressions and Predominant Function)
- 5.1 Adding Predominant Function IV (iv) and ii (ii0) to a Melodic Phrase
- 5.2 The vi (VI) Chord
- 5.3 Predominant Seventh Chords
- 5.4 The iii (III) Chord
- 5.5 Cadences and Predominant Function
- 5.6 Cadential 6/4 Chords
- 5.7 Additional 6/4 chords
🎼 Unit 6 - Harmony and Voice Leading III: Embellishments, Motives, and Melodic Devices
- 6.0 Unit 6 Overview
- 6.1 Embellishing Tones: Identifying Passing Tones and Neighbor Tones
- 6.2 Embellishing Tones: Writing Passing Tones and Neighbor Tones
- 6.3 Embellishing Tones: Identifying Anticipations, Escape Tones, Appoggiaturas, and Pedal Points
- 6.4 Embellishing Tones: Identifying and Writing Suspensions; Identifying Retardations
- 6.5 Motive and Motivic Transformation
- 6.6 Melodic Sequences
- 6.7 Harmonic Sequences
🎧 Unit 7 - Harmony and Voice Leading IV: Secondary Function
- 7.0 Unit 7 Overview
- 7.1 Tonicization through Secondary Dominant Chords
- 7.2 Part Writing of Secondary Dominant Chords
- 7.3 Tonicization through Secondary Leading Tone Chords
- 7.4 Part-Writing of Secondary Leading Tone Chords
🪗 Unit 8 - Modes and Form
- 8.0 Unit 8 Overview
- 8.1 Modes
- 8.2 Phrase Relationships
- 8.3 Common Formal Sections
AP Music Theory Lifesavers
- 📜 2023 AP Music Theory Exam Guide: Allllllll things AP Music Theory curated and formatted in a digestible manner to accurately prep you for that 5
- 📃 AP Music Theory Free Response Help - FRQ/LEQ: A sweet and simple breakdown of the free-response section, including examples, strategies, and expert advice.
- 📄 AP Music Theory Multiple Choice Help (MCQ): A complete breakdown of the multiple-choice section, including examples, practice problems, and expert advice
Quicklinks
- 🥴 Is AP Music Theory Hard? Is AP Music Theory Worth Taking?: A breakdown of the two most asked questions about AP Music Theory, including tips and advice from previous AP Music Theory students.
- 📚 Best AP Music Theory Textbooks and Prep Books: A breakdown of the best materials for you to succeed in AP Music Theory!
- 🏡 How Do I Self-Study AP Music Theory?: Thinking about self-studying or homeschooling AP Music Theory? We got you!
- ⁉️ How to Get a 5 in AP Music Theory: Know everything you need to get that 5!
- 😹 Perfect Memes for AP Music Theory: Got jokes? So do we! Learn and understand AP Music Theory through corny humor.
Check out our dozens of AP Music Theory Resources to help you earn that 5!
Related Questions
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