AP Music Theory Exam Prep
107 flashcards by MentisLibrary
The AP Music Theory course unit by unit: key signatures, meter, intervals, seventh chords, Roman numeral analysis, four-part voice leading, cadences, secondary function, modes and form, with dictation and sight-singing strategy.
- How is the AP Music Theory exam divided?
- Section I is 75 multiple-choice questions in 80 minutes, worth 45 percent. Section II is free response: a written part worth 45 percent and a sight-singing part worth 10 percent.
- What are the two parts of the AP Music Theory multiple-choice section?
- Part A presents aural questions based on recorded musical excerpts. Part B presents non-aural questions on printed scores and notation.
- What question types appear in the written free-response section?
- Two melodic dictations, two harmonic dictations, part writing from figured bass, part writing from Roman numerals, and composing a bass line with Roman numerals for a given melody.
- How does the sight-singing part of the exam work?
- You are given short melodies to sing, with a brief practice period before each recorded performance.
- What are the eight units of the AP Music Theory course?
- Three fundamentals units (pitch and rhythm, minor keys and texture, triads and seventh chords), four harmony and voice leading units, and a final unit on modes and form.
- What is the order of sharps in a key signature?
- F, C, G, D, A, E, B.
- How do you name the major key from a sharp key signature?
- The last sharp is scale degree 7, so the tonic is a half step above it.
- How do you name the major key from a flat key signature?
- The second-to-last flat names the major key. One flat is the exception and means F major.
- What does the treble clef actually indicate?
- It is a G clef: the curl of the symbol wraps the line that is G4, the G above middle C.
- What do the alto and tenor clefs mark?
- Both are C clefs whose center marks middle C. In alto clef middle C is the middle line; in tenor clef it is the fourth line up.
- What is scientific pitch notation?
- A system that names each pitch with a letter and an octave number, where middle C is C4 and each new octave begins on C.
- How long does an accidental last?
- Through the rest of the measure, at that exact pitch and staff position, unless cancelled by another accidental or carried across a bar by a tie.
- What is the difference between a chromatic and a diatonic half step?
- A diatonic half step uses two different letter names, a chromatic half step uses the same letter name.
- What does it mean that an instrument transposes?
- Its written pitch differs from the pitch it sounds, so a score must be read at the correct transposition to analyze the real harmony.
- What is concert pitch?
- The actual sounding pitch, as opposed to the written pitch of a transposing instrument. Piano, flute, violin and oboe read at concert pitch.
- What distinguishes simple meter from compound meter?
- In simple meter the beat divides into two; in compound meter the beat divides into three.
- How do you read the numbers of a compound time signature?
- The top number counts divisions, not beats, and the bottom number names the division value. The beat is a dotted note.
- What do duple, triple and quadruple describe?
- The number of beats grouped in a measure: two, three or four.
- What is an anacrusis?
- A note or group of notes before the first downbeat, also called a pickup.
- What is syncopation?
- Accent placed where the meter does not expect it, on a weak beat or an offbeat.
- What is hemiola?
- A rhythmic effect where three groups of two are heard against two groups of three, or the reverse.
- Why does beaming matter in notation?
- Beams show where the beats are, so a rhythm beamed correctly can be read at sight.
- What is a tuplet?
- A rhythmic grouping that borrows a division not native to the meter.
- Put the common tempo terms in order from slow to fast.
- Largo, adagio, andante, moderato, allegro, presto.
- What do the common dynamic and articulation marks mean?
- Dynamics run from pianissimo through piano, mezzo piano, mezzo forte, forte to fortissimo. Staccato shortens, tenuto sustains full value, marcato stresses, legato connects.
- What is metric accent?
- The pattern of strong and weak beats a meter creates independently of what is written.
- What is the interval pattern of a major scale?
- Whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half.
- What is the interval pattern of a natural minor scale?
- Whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole.
- What is a harmonic minor scale?
- Natural minor with scale degree 7 raised, which creates a leading tone and an augmented second between degrees 6 and 7.
- What is a melodic minor scale?
- Scale degrees 6 and 7 are raised ascending and lowered descending, so the descending form is natural minor.