Format · units · free practice

AP Music Theory Exam

What is on the AP Music Theory exam, how it is timed and weighted, and where to practice each part. Format details come from College Board's AP Students exam page and AP Central (checked 2026-10-23).

Exam format

Total time: About 2 hours 40 minutes. Exam date: Monday, May 10, 2027.

Hybrid digital starting with the May 2027 exam: multiple-choice questions are answered in the Bluebook app (with audio), free-response answers are handwritten, and sight-singing is recorded. College Board says the exam structure is not changing.

Section	Questions	Time	Weight
Section I: Multiple Choice Aural (with recorded music): 41–43 questions, about 45 minutes Nonaural (notated music only): 32–34 questions, 35 minutes About 13 sets of 4–6 questions plus 10–12 individual questions, including items that ask you to find differences between notated and performed music	75 questions	About 1 hour 20 minutes	45% of score
Section II, Part A: Free Response (written) 2 melodic dictation 2 harmonic dictation 1 realization of a figured bass in four parts 1 realization of a Roman-numeral progression in four parts 1 composition of a bass line (harmonization of a melody)	7 questions	About 1 hour 10 minutes	45% of score
Section II, Part B: Sight-Singing 75 seconds to practice and 30 seconds to perform each melody (recorded)	2 questions	About 10 minutes	10% of score

Sources: AP Students — AP Music Theory Exam · AP Central — AP Music Theory Exam. College Board does not publish per-unit exam weightings, so we don't list any.

Practice each part

Timed AP Music Theory practice exam: a full Section I simulation, 42 aural questions in 45 minutes plus 33 notated questions in 35 minutes, with a unit-by-unit review.
Music theory quiz: 10–30 questions from the units you choose, with instant explanations.
Interval ear training and chord ear training for the aural skills behind dictation and Section I listening sets.
Cheat sheet, flashcards and a study plan.

Our free-response and sight-singing practice is limited to the skills behind those tasks (dictation, Roman numerals, figured bass, voice-leading rules). We don't score handwritten part-writing or singing.

Course units and our question bank

The AP Music Theory Course and Exam Description organizes the course into eight units. Our bank has 296 original questions (85 aural, 211 notated):

Unit	Practice questions
Unit 1: Music Fundamentals I: Pitch, Major Scales and Key Signatures, Rhythm, Meter, and Expressive Elements	65
Unit 2: Music Fundamentals II: Minor Scales and Key Signatures, Melody, Timbre, and Texture	69
Unit 3: Music Fundamentals III: Triads and Seventh Chords	55
Unit 4: Harmony and Voice Leading I: Chord Function, Cadence, and Phrase	29
Unit 5: Harmony and Voice Leading II: Chord Progressions and Predominant Function	14
Unit 6: Harmony and Voice Leading III: Embellishments, Motives, and Melodic Devices	21
Unit 7: Harmony and Voice Leading IV: Secondary Function	18
Unit 8: Modes and Form	25

FAQ

How long is the AP Music Theory exam?

College Board lists the exam at about 2 hours 40 minutes: Section I (75 multiple-choice questions, about 1 hour 20 minutes), Section II Part A (7 free-response questions, about 1 hour 10 minutes) and Section II Part B (2 sight-singing questions, about 10 minutes).

How is the AP Music Theory exam weighted?

Per College Board, multiple choice is 45% of the score, written free response is 45%, and sight-singing is 10%.

Is the AP Music Theory exam digital?

College Board says AP Music Theory moves to a hybrid digital format starting with the May 2027 exam: multiple-choice questions in the Bluebook app with audio, handwritten free-response answers, and recorded sight-singing. The exam structure is not changing.

When is the 2027 AP Music Theory exam?

College Board's 2027 AP Exam schedule lists AP Music Theory on Monday, May 10, 2027. Check AP Students for any updates.

Are these official AP questions?

No. Every OpenExamHub question is original and written to the topics in the AP Music Theory Course and Exam Description. We do not reproduce released College Board items.

AP® and Advanced Placement® are registered trademarks of College Board, which is not affiliated with and does not endorse OpenExamHub. All questions are original practice items written by OpenExamHub, not released exam questions. Audio is synthesized in your browser and is simpler than the recorded performances used on the real exam.