Grade Placement: 11-12
Credit: 1 Unit per year
Prerequisite: Teacher approval. Open to advanced students who are members of a high school performing music organization or competent on a keyboard instrument.

What is Music Theory
Music theory is a technical course stressing the basic components of music. Emphasis is placed on basic pitch and rhythm notation, scale structures, pitch intervals, chord structure and movement, part writing, ear training, harmonization and music composition. Upon completion of the course, students will be prepared to take an examination that gives them the opportunity to show their mastery of the skills and abilities developed in the course. The Advanced Placement (AP) program is a cooperative effort with the College Board. Upon successful completion of the examination, participating colleges may grant credit and appropriate placement.
Your ability to read and write musical notation is fundamental to such a course. It is also assumed that you have acquired (or are acquiring) at least basic performance skills in voice or on an instrument.

Main Goal
The ultimate goal of the AP Music Theory course is to develop your ability to recognize, understand, and describe the basic materials and processes of music that are heard or presented in a score. The achievement of these goals may best be approached by initially addressing fundamental aural, analytical, and compositional skills using both listening and written exercises. Building on this foundation, the course progresses to include more creative tasks, such as the harmonization of a melody by selecting appropriate chords, composing a musical bass line to provide two-voice counterpoint, or the realization of figured-bass notation.

AP Test
The AP test is divided into three sections:
10% Sightsinging
45% Multiple choice questions with and without aural stimulus
45% Free response questions with and without aural stimulus