AP Theory Review Sheet

The following is a study guide to prepare you for AP Music Theory. Please
review all of the information so we can start our year ahead of the game.

Basics of Notation

Whole note

Whole rest

Half note

Half rest

Quarter note

Quarter rest

Eight note

Eight rest

Sixteenth note

Sixteenth rest

It is important to understand that the values of these notes are not a constant.
They change based on the time signature. The one thing that is a constant is the
following diagram that shows how each note relates to another

Note Relationships











Counting in Time
These notes are based on time for example purposes only. Refer to the time signature
chart below for exact counting in other time signatures. Notice how each beat is counted, no
matter how small the division there are always whole numbers starting each set of beats.
Note Value Counting Style
4 beats

1234
2 beats
12 34
1 beat
1 2 3 4 etc
beat
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
beat

1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a
Triplet

1 la le 2 la le 3 la le 4 la le
Dotted Rhythm
=
1(2) + = 1 (2) +

1(e+) a = 1 (e +) a


Below is just a sample of how the note values can change based on the time
signature the composer uses:



1 2 N/A 4 N/A 8 N/A

1 2 2 4 4 8

1/2 1 1 2 2 4

1/8 1/4 1/2 1/2 1 1 2

1/16 1/8 1/4 1/4 1/2 1/2 1




It is a very common misconception that the quarter note always equals one beat
and that anything smaller than a quarter note is just played fast. What is important
to remember is that the smaller the notes value the more divided the beat is and not
the faster the tempo.

The above image demonstrates the concept of division. Notice that the circle has
many divisions, but the overall size of the circle has not changed. This pizza pie
concept is what happens with smaller note values. The tempo does not increase
because the note values are smaller; we only divide the beat into more parts. Below
are two different rhythms in the same time. Notice that even though the rhythms are
very different you can see that the beat duration is the same.
















Pitch Relationships
There are two main types of clefs in which music is written, the first being the
treble or G clef and the second being the bass or F clef. Each clef has its own distinct
set of note arrangements. Please refer to the following example:



Every single line and space has a note name attached to it. The notes names we
use in music are A,B,C,D,E,F,G. There are ways to memorize the order of notes in both
clefs.
The treble clef lines create the following statement:
Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge
The treble spaces spell out:
FACE.
The bass clef lines create the following statement:
Good Boys Deserve Fudge Always
The bass clef spaces create the following statement:
All Cows Eat Grass.

Movable C Clef
We use this clef when too many ledger lines are involved in the music. Earlier
composers would use these clefs for instruments like the trombone and bassoon. Both
instruments have a wide range and the use of the C Clef made it easier to read higher
notes above the staff.
The line that is in the center of the clef is
always C, hence the name,
MOVABLE C CLEF , , ,




Let us look at the piano
Below we have labeled the notes of all of the keys on the piano. We distinguish
between the different clefs by recognizing Middle C. This is the pitch that is shared
by both the treble and the bass staves. The keys that have two possible note names are
called enharmonic, this means that they sound the same but are spelled differently.

C# D# F# G# A# C# D# F# G# A# C#
Db Eb Gb Ab Bb Db Eb Gb Ab Bb Db

C D E F G A B ^ D E F G A B C
Middle C

Middle C is also know as C4, which is a description of the octave in which it belongs.
Please refer to the example below:

C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8

From C1 to C2 every note has the number 1 following it, from C2 to C3 every note has
a 2 after it and so on. This is the easiest way to distinguish where every note should be
on the staff.


Then there were scales...
Every scale consists of a series of whole and half steps. The arrangement of the whole
and have steps determines the name and quality of the scale.
W=whole Step H= Half Step
C Major Scale


W W H W W W H
A Natural Minor Scale


W H W W H W W
A Harmonic Minor

W H W W H W&H H
A Melodic Minor

W H W W W W H W W H W W H W

Aside from letter name, the notes of the scale also go by: Tonic, supertonic, mediant,
subdominant, dominant, submediant and leading tone. That would be scale degree
1,2,3,4,5,6,7 respectively.
The Key Master....
Each scale whether major or minor has its own key signature attached. The key
signature is a series of sharps and flats set at the beginning of the piece that gives the
piece its overall tonality. Below is the Circle of Fifths for all major keys:

There is a pattern here with the order of flats and with the order of sharps. With
flats we have the following order BEADGCF an easy way to remember that is BEAD
Greatest Common Factor (for all of you math brains out there). BEADGCF is used to
find the order in which flats appear in a key. For example if you have B
b
E
b
you go
backwards one flat from the last flat added and you now know the key you are
working in B
b
. The next question might be, Where does F come from when I only
have B
b
? Well the answer to that is simple, the order is circular,
BEADGCFBEAGCFBEADGCF. It is very similar to the names of the notes, you never
go past G, now you never go past F you just keep repeating the pattern. The order of
sharps is very similar the only difference is that it is backwards. We start on F and end
on B. The easy way to determine the name of the key in sharps is to go up a half step
from the last sharp. Therefore, if we have F# as our last sharp we go up a half step and
we get the key of G



Using the key to unlock intervals...
Once you have an understanding of key it is easy to determine the relationship of
two notes played together or one after another. On the AP Theory exam, you will be
expected to use this knowledge both aurally and visually.
The types of intervals are as follows Unison, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth,
Seventh and Octave. After you determine the distance between two notes you need to
decide whether they are Perfect, Major, Minor, Diminished or Augmented.

If the notes that are played together or in sequence are in the given key then they
will be Perfect or Major. Once we involve accidents we will delve into the minor
diminished and augmented intervals.

P=perfect M=major m=minor
o
=diminished +=augmented

PP
+
P

m2 M2
+
2

m3 M3
+
3
o
4 M4



+
4


o
5

P5
+
5 m6

M6
+
6 m7 M7
o
8

P8









The minor circle...
Now that we have a better understanding of intervals we can take into consideration the
minor forms of all scales. Each major key is shared by a minor key. A key that shares the same key
but is a different name is called Relative Minor for example C Major is the same key signature for
A minor. A key that shares the same name but different key is called a Parallel Minor, for example
C major and C minor(major key of Eb). If we want to find the relative minor we go up a major 6
th

and that gives us the new minor key. If we want to find out the parallel minor key signature we go
up a minor 3
rd
and we arrive at the key signature. For example if we go up a minor 3
rd
from C we
end up at Eb, which gives us our key signature for C minor. See below for further clarification.




Here is our major key, if we go up a major 6
th
we
find the relative minor scale that shares the same
key signature. In the case of C the M6 is A
A minor shares the same key signature with C
major therefore we consider them relative keys

Here is our major key, if we go up a minor 3
rd
we
find the parallel minor that shares the same Tonic
(C). In this case of C the m3 is Eb
C minor shares the key signature with Eb major
but it starts on C so we call it C minor. Since both
scales start on C we call them parallel.
And then there were three...
Once you have developed an understanding of interval relationship the next step is understanding
chords. A chord is made up of three notes played at the same time. Chords share the same
descriptions as intervals: major, minor, augmented or diminished. When we refer to a chord with
one of the previous descriptions, we refer to its Quality.

C Major C minor C diminished C augmented
(M3, P5) (m3, P5) (m3,
o
5) (M3,
+
5)

An easy way to think about intervals and chords is to take a look at a piano key board. The C scale as
we know consists of all the white keys: CDEFGABC. If we look back at the interval sheet and the
chord chart we notice that a major/perfect interval or the major chord consists of notes that are native
to the scale. Any variation on the scale and we deal with flats and sharps

Aural Perception....
Now that you understand the makeup of major and minor scales, intervals and triads you need to
develop an aural understanding of their Quality. On the AP Music Theory exam, you must listen
to scales, intervals, chords and melodic lines and transcribe them for credit. With this in mind, I
recommend that you visit www.MusicTheory.net. This website has trainers that will help you
develop an ear for interval, scale and chord quality. MusicTheory.net also offers a note, key, interval
and triad trainers so that you can visually identify them as well as aurally. I highly recommend the
use of this website throughout the course. The website is also available to download if you do not
have a high-speed internet connection. The earlier you start to practice your aural skills the better
off you will be!!!