AP Music Theory- super hard class?

[Anonymous]

My kid took it at 9 grade, just for fun and experience. He said it was hard (he mention something that he wish he has a perfect pitch … he got 4 and happy with it.

[Anonymous]

Here's a video of Adam Neely, working jazz musician and YouTube music educator, taking an AP Music Theory practice exam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxaFQOac6kM

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Heh. My kid thinks it's super easy. He's also a cellist playing at RCM grade 10/ARCT levels and has perfect pitch. Everyone's mileage will vary, but from what I've seen, kids who already know how to read music and who have a very good sense of pitch do fine in the class.

Maybe your kid only found the exam easy because he has perfect pitch. Mine also has perfect pitch and got a 5 on the aural part of the exam. The other kid she knows who got a 5 on aural also had perfect pitch. Makes me wonder how many kids can get 5 aural if they DON’T have perfect pitch. The other kids she knows who are very good musicians got 3’s and 4’s on the aural. I don’t think you can say it’s easy just because you have perfect pitch because that’s almost like having a built in cheat that lets you bypass a lot of the work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's a video of Adam Neely, working jazz musician and YouTube music educator, taking an AP Music Theory practice exam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxaFQOac6kM

What is the tldr version? Did he pass?

[Anonymous]

Yes, he passed.

He said the transcription part of the course is very helpful in general for any musician.

But the rest of the course focuses on a tiny sliver of music theory -- 18th-century European conventions and notation. As a jazz musician he hasn't touched that kind of stuff in 15 years or so, and that's what that part of the course and exam focus on. So part of the fun is trying to see how much of it he remembers.

[Anonymous]

Coming from 8 years of piano + ABRSM testing, DD took AP music theory exam without a class (just self studying) and got a 5. She did not find it hard at all, but ABRSM is pretty rigorous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Heh. My kid thinks it's super easy. He's also a cellist playing at RCM grade 10/ARCT levels and has perfect pitch. Everyone's mileage will vary, but from what I've seen, kids who already know how to read music and who have a very good sense of pitch do fine in the class.

Maybe your kid only found the exam easy because he has perfect pitch. Mine also has perfect pitch and got a 5 on the aural part of the exam. The other kid she knows who got a 5 on aural also had perfect pitch. Makes me wonder how many kids can get 5 aural if they DON’T have perfect pitch. The other kids she knows who are very good musicians got 3’s and 4’s on the aural. I don’t think you can say it’s easy just because you have perfect pitch because that’s almost like having a built in cheat that lets you bypass a lot of the work.

Absolutely! The aural part can range from really easy to almost impossible depending on how good of an ear the kid has. I agree that my kid has a massive advantage from the perfect pitch. If OP’s kid has good pitch, they’ll probably be fine. If they don’t, it’s a really tough class.

[Anonymous]

DD did a lot of theory through piano lessons and did not find the class to be too hard. 5 on the AP test.