AP® Music Theory study guide: a printable PDF built from the College Board's official course and exam description, heaviest topics first.
Last updated 2026 · exam details checked against the College Board's published exam information in 2026
Real pages from the 36-page PDF.
One chapter for each area of the official course and exam description, heaviest topics first.
Multiple-choice questions taken from the guide's chapter quizzes: 3 areas, heaviest first. About 10 minutes, with every answer explained and a score by area. The exam's free-response questions aren't in this quiz: see how the exam works.
Answer: A. 9/8. Three divisions per beat make the meter compound, and three beats per measure make it triple. Compound triple is 9/8: nine eighth notes in three dotted-quarter beats.
The trap: 3/4 also has three beats, but each quarter-note beat splits into two eighths, so it is simple triple, not compound.
Three divisions per beat make the meter compound, and three beats per measure make it triple. Compound triple is 9/8: nine eighth notes in three dotted-quarter beats.
The trap: 3/4 also has three beats, but each quarter-note beat splits into two eighths, so it is simple triple, not compound.
Answer: C. ii°6. The pitches E, G and Bb stack as a diminished triad on E, scale degree 2 of D minor. G, its third, is in the bass, so the figure is 6.
The trap: iv tempts because G is in the bass, but iv is G–Bb–D, and this chord has E, not D.
The pitches E, G and Bb stack as a diminished triad on E, scale degree 2 of D minor. G, its third, is in the bass, so the figure is 6.
The trap: iv tempts because G is in the bass, but iv is G–Bb–D, and this chord has E, not D.
Answer: B. the rhythm on beat 3. Beat 3 is notated as two even eighth notes. A dotted eighth and a sixteenth changes that rhythm, and with no swing marking it is a discrepancy.
The trap: Nothing, since the beats still add up, misreads the task: a rhythm can fill the measure and still differ from the score.
Beat 3 is notated as two even eighth notes. A dotted eighth and a sixteenth changes that rhythm, and with no swing marking it is a discrepancy.
The trap: Nothing, since the beats still add up, misreads the task: a rhythm can fill the measure and still differ from the score.
Answer: D. Syncopation. The longer eighth note begins on a weak sixteenth-note division and covers the stronger halfway point of the beat, so the accent lands off the beat. That is syncopation.
The trap: A dotted rhythm is a long note followed by a short one (such as dotted eighth plus sixteenth). Here the long note sits between two short ones.
The longer eighth note begins on a weak sixteenth-note division and covers the stronger halfway point of the beat, so the accent lands off the beat. That is syncopation.
The trap: A dotted rhythm is a long note followed by a short one (such as dotted eighth plus sixteenth). Here the long note sits between two short ones.
Answer: B. V4/2. F–A–C–Eb is the dominant seventh of Bb major. With its seventh, Eb, in the bass, it is in third inversion, figured 4/2.
The trap: IV7 treats the bass note as the root, but IV7 in Bb major is Eb–G–Bb–D, and this chord has F, A and C.
F–A–C–Eb is the dominant seventh of Bb major. With its seventh, Eb, in the bass, it is in third inversion, figured 4/2.
The trap: IV7 treats the bass note as the root, but IV7 in Bb major is Eb–G–Bb–D, and this chord has F, A and C.
Answer: D. C5 is performed as C#5. Scale degree 4 in G major is C, so a half step above it is C#. Every other pitch and every duration matches the score.
The trap: C5 is held for two beats describes a rhythmic change, but the singer keeps every note a quarter note.
Scale degree 4 in G major is C, so a half step above it is C#. Every other pitch and every duration matches the score.
The trap: C5 is held for two beats describes a rhythmic change, but the singer keeps every note a quarter note.
Answer: C. Hemiola. Two measures of 3/4 heard as three equal half-note units articulate a 3 to 2 ratio of beats. That regrouping, with the written meter unchanged, is a hemiola.
The trap: Changing meter needs new time signatures. The question says the 3/4 signature stays; only the accent pattern regroups.
Two measures of 3/4 heard as three equal half-note units articulate a 3 to 2 ratio of beats. That regrouping, with the written meter unchanged, is a hemiola.
The trap: Changing meter needs new time signatures. The question says the 3/4 signature stays; only the accent pattern regroups.
Answer: A. C#–E–G–B. C#–E–G is a diminished triad, and C# up to B is a minor seventh: diminished-minor, the half-diminished seventh.
The trap: C#–E–G–Bb has a diminished seventh from C# to Bb, which makes it fully diminished.
C#–E–G is a diminished triad, and C# up to B is a minor seventh: diminished-minor, the half-diminished seventh.
The trap: C#–E–G–Bb has a diminished seventh from C# to Bb, which makes it fully diminished.
Answer: D. any half measure, even one crossing a bar line. The CED defines a segment as any half measure of the original melody, even one over a bar line or starting on a weak pulse.
The trap: A half measure that must begin on a strong beat is too strict: a credited segment may start on a metrically weak pulse.
The CED defines a segment as any half measure of the original melody, even one over a bar line or starting on a weak pulse.
The trap: A half measure that must begin on a strong beat is too strict: a credited segment may start on a metrically weak pulse.
Answer: A. Asymmetrical meter. The measure holds two beats of unequal size (3 + 2 eighth notes), the CED's example of an asymmetrical, or irregular, meter.
The trap: Compound duple meter, such as 6/8, has two equal beats of three divisions each. Here the second beat has only two.
The measure holds two beats of unequal size (3 + 2 eighth notes), the CED's example of an asymmetrical, or irregular, meter.
The trap: Compound duple meter, such as 6/8, has two equal beats of three divisions each. Here the second beat has only two.
The AP® Music Theory exam is from the College Board. It has 75 multiple-choice questions, 4 choices each, plus 7 written free-response questions and 2 sight-singing tasks. You get 80 minutes for multiple choice (about 2 hours 40 minutes in all), no calculator. The score scale is 1–5 (AP® score scale; many U.S. colleges give credit for 3 and above). The guide has 3 chapters, one for each area of the official course and exam description; the heaviest is Analyze Performed Music at 48%.
Source: official AP® Music Theory page and the official course and exam description. Last updated 2026.
3 chapters, heaviest first, with each area's official weight. The guide's chapters follow this order.
Where to start: College Board gives no weight per unit, so the percentages here are each skill's share of the multiple-choice questions. Aural questions test pitch, intervals, chords and cadences too, so Chapter 2 (the harmony and voice-leading chapter) matters for both parts. If you are short on time, start with Chapter 2, then Chapter 1, and practice dictation and sight-singing a little every day.
The heaviest area is open to read now. The full guide has a chapter for every area, each with all its terms, a quiz and an answer key.
This chapter is the skill Analyze Performed Music: about 48% of the multiple-choice questions, asked in Part A, Aural, about music you hear. It covers rhythm, meter, tempo, dynamics, timbre, texture, melody, motive, phrase and form, and the same topics can also be asked from a printed score. This PDF cannot play sound, so pair every page with listening practice.
Key terms, with examples
What this area covers
How the exam asks it
In Part A you hear a recorded excerpt, instrumental or vocal, from any period from baroque to jazz, pop or world music. Most questions come in sets of 4-6 on one excerpt; a few are single questions. They ask you to name what you hear: the meter type, the texture or a texture device, a rhythmic device such as syncopation or hemiola, a tempo or dynamic change, the instruments, a motivic transformation, or how two phrases relate. A question may give a time stamp or a section name, such as "the bridge", only to show where to listen. In the CED's samples you get a little time to look over the questions first and hear the excerpt more than once, so decide in advance what to listen for each time.
Common traps
Trap 1. Many performers on one tune is still monophony. Count independent lines, not people: unison or octave doubling adds no new line.
Trap 2. Andantino is not fast. In the CED's list, andante and andantino are moderately slow, below moderato; the faster group starts at allegretto.
Trap 3. A section name in a question (verse, bridge, coda) only tells you where to listen. Spend your time on the feature asked, not on judging the section.
Memory trick
Compound check: is the upper number 6, 9 or 12? Divide it by 3 to get the beats per measure (6/8 = 2, 9/8 = 3, 12/8 = 4).
Retrograde = rewind (play it backward). Inversion = mirror (flip it upside down).
The exam has 75 multiple-choice questions, 4 choices each, plus 7 written free-response questions and 2 sight-singing tasks. The guide sorts the questions into 4 types; spot the type and you'll know what the question wants before you read the choices.
Part A: one recorded excerpt (any period, instrumental or vocal), sometimes with time stamps or section names, then a set of 4-6 questions about what you hear.
Part A: a short recorded melody, chord progression or excerpt with one question, such as which scale degrees, intervals or chords are played.
Part B: a printed score excerpt, with questions about notated keys, intervals, chords, cadences, rhythm, texture or form. No audio.
A printed passage while you hear a performance of it; you find where the performance differs from the score in pitch or rhythm.
Pacing: Part A, Aural: 42 questions in 45 minutes, about 64 seconds a question. Part B, Nonaural: 33 questions in 35 minutes, about 64 seconds a question.
Try the first 8 cards free. Read the term, say the definition out loud, then select the card to check yourself. Arrow keys move between cards.
Follow the steps, then enter your test date. The planner gives you a dated plan that starts with the heaviest areas and saves the last days for review.
Everything on this page is free with no account. The full guide is a PDF you keep.
| Study tool | This page | Full study guide ($5) |
|---|---|---|
| Chapters | A preview of 1 of 3 | All 3 |
| Terms explained | A sample from the open chapters | All 183, each with an example |
| Practice questions | 10 free questions | 42, with an answer key |
| Flashcards | 8 cards | All 183 terms on the self-check list |
| Study plan | Dated planner | 2-, 4- and 8-week plans |
| Cram sheet | — | 2 pages, for the night before |
| Format | Web page | 36-page PDF, printable |
We built one chapter for each area of the College Board's official course and exam description for AP® Music Theory, using its published weights to order the chapters and size the quizzes. Each chapter was written, then fact-checked against the official exam information in a separate review. The exam details were checked against the College Board's published exam information in 2026.
Sources: official AP® Music Theory page, official course and exam description. Last updated 2026.
AP® is a trademark registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, this guide. TransferCredit.org is independent and not affiliated with the College Board. © 2026 UPI Globale Edu Inc.
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