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AP Music Theory Exam Questions

Free-Response Questions and Scoring Information

Download free-response questions from past exams along with scoring guidelines, sample responses from exam takers, and scoring distributions.

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2024: Free-Response Questions

2024: Free-Response Questions

Questions

Scoring

Samples and Commentary

Audio Samples

Theory Questions

Sight Singing Questions

Theory Audio Prompts

Scoring Guidelines

Sight-Singing Scoring Guidelines

Chief Reader Report

Scoring Statistics

Score Distributions

Aural Score Distributions

Nonaural Score Distributions

Sample Responses Q1

Sample Responses Q2

Sample Responses Q3

Sample Responses Q4

Sample Responses Q5

Sample Responses Q6

Sample Responses Q7

Sight-Singing Sample 1A

Sight-Singing Sample 1B

Sight-Singing Sample 1C

Sight-Singing Sample 2A

Sight-Singing Sample 2B

Sight-Singing Sample 2C

Sight-Singing Commentary Q1

Sight-Singing Commentary Q2

2023 Free-Response Questions

2023: Free-Response Questions

Questions

Scoring

Samples and Commentary

Audio Samples

Theory Questions

Sight Singing Questions

Theory Audio Prompts

Scoring Guidelines

Sight-Singing Scoring Guidelines

Chief Reader Report

Scoring Statistics

Score Distributions

Aural Score Distributions

Nonaural Score Distributions

Sample Responses Q1

Sample Responses Q2

Sample Responses Q3

Sample Responses Q4

Sample Responses Q5

Sample Responses Q6

Sample Responses Q7

Sight-Singing Sample 1A

Sight-Singing Sample 1B

Sight-Singing Sample 1C

Sight-Singing Sample 2A

Sight-Singing Sample 2B

Sight-Singing Sample 2C

Sight-Singing Commentary Q1

Sight-Singing Commentary Q2

2022 Free-Response Questions

Questions

Scoring

Samples and Commentary

Audio Samples

Theory Questions

Sight Singing Questions

Theory Audio Prompts

Scoring Guidelines

Sight-Singing Scoring Guidelines

Chief Reader Report

Scoring Statistics

Score Distributions

Aural Score Distributions

Nonaural Score Distributions

Sample Responses Q1

Sample Responses Q2

Sample Responses Q3

Sample Responses Q5

Sample Responses Q6

Sample Responses Q7

Sight-Singing Sample 1A

Sight-Singing Sample 1B

Sight-Singing Sample 1C

Sight-Singing Sample 2A

Sight-Singing Sample 2B

Sight-Singing Sample 2C

Sight-Singing Commentary Q1

Sight-Singing Commentary Q2

2021 Free-Response Questions


Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Theory Questions Sight-Singing Questions Audio Prompts General Directions \| Transcript Directions for Questions 1-2 \| Transcript Question 1 \| Transcript Question 2 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 3-4 \| Transcript Question 3 \| Transcript Question 4 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 5-7 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Audio Prompts Sight-Singing Directions \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 1 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 2 \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Sight-Singing Scoring Guidelines Chief Reader Report Scoring Statistics Score Distributions Aural Subscore Distributions Nonaural Subscore Distributions	Sample Responses Q1 Sample Responses Q2 Sample Responses Q3 Sample Responses Q4 Sample Responses Q5 Sample Responses Q6 Sample Responses Q7 Sight-Singing Commentary Q1 Sight-Singing Commentary Q2	Sight-Singing Sample 1A Sight-Singing Sample 1B Sight-Singing Sample 1C Sight-Singing Sample 2A Sight-Singing Sample 2B Sight-Singing Sample 2C

2020 Free-Response Questions

The 2020 free-response questions are available in the AP Classroom question bank.

2019 Free-Response Questions


Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Theory Questions Sight-Singing Questions Audio Prompts General Directions \| Transcript Directions for Questions 1-2 \| Transcript Question 1 \| Transcript Question 2 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 3-4 \| Transcript Question 3 \| Transcript Question 4 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 5-7 \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Sight-Singing Scoring Guidelines Chief Reader Report Scoring Statistics Aural Score Distributions Nonaural Score Distributions	Sample Responses Q1 Sample Responses Q2 Sample Responses Q3 Sample Responses Q4 Sample Responses Q5 Sample Responses Q6 Sample Responses Q7 Sight-Singing Commentary Q1 Sight-Singing Commentary Q2	Sight-Singing Sample 1A Sight-Singing Sample 1B Sight-Singing Sample 1C Sight-Singing Sample 2A Sight-Singing Sample 2B Sight-Singing Sample 2C

2018 Free-Response Questions


Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Theory Questions Sight-Singing Questions Audio Prompts General Directions \| Transcript Directions for Questions 1-2 \| Transcript Question 1 \| Transcript Question 2 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 3-4 \| Transcript Question 3 \| Transcript Question 4 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 5-7 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Audio Prompts Sight-Singing Directions \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 1 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 2 \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Sight-Singing Scoring Guidelines Chief Reader Report Scoring Statistics Scoring Distributions	Sample Responses Q1 Sample Responses Q2 Sample Responses Q3 Sample Responses Q4 Sample Responses Q5 Sample Responses Q6 Sample Responses Q7 Sight-Singing Commentary Q1 Sight-Singing Commentary Q2	Sight-Singing Sample 1A Sight-Singing Sample 1B Sight-Singing Sample 1C Sight-Singing Sample 2A Sight-Singing Sample 2B Sight-Singing Sample 2C

2017 Free-Response Questions


Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Theory Questions Sight-Singing Questions Audio Prompts General Directions \| Transcript Directions for Questions 1-2 \| Transcript Question 1 \| Transcript Question 2 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 3-4 \| Transcript Question 3 \| Transcript Question 4 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 5-7 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Audio Prompts Sight-Singing Directions \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 1 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 2 \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Sight-Singing Scoring Guidelines Chief Reader Report Scoring Statistics Scoring Distributions	Sample Responses Q1 Sample Responses Q2 Sample Responses Q3 Sample Responses Q4 Sample Responses Q5 Sample Responses Q6 Sample Responses Q7 Sight-Singing Commentary Q1 Sight-Singing Commentary Q2 Additional Audio Samples Sight Singing Samples from the 2017 Workshop	Sight-Singing Sample 1A Sight-Singing Sample 1B Sight-Singing Sample 1C Sight-Singing Sample 2A Sight-Singing Sample 2B Sight-Singing Sample 2C

2016 Free-Response Questions


Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Theory Questions Sight-Singing Questions Audio Prompts General Directions \| Transcript Directions for Questions 1-2 \| Transcript Question 1 \| Transcript Question 2 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 3-4 \| Transcript Question 3 \| Transcript Question 4 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 5-7 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Audio Prompts Sight-Singing Directions \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 1 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 2 \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Sight-Singing Scoring Guidelines Student Performance Q&A Scoring Statistics Score Distributions	Sample Responses Q1 Sample Responses Q2 Sample Responses Q3 Sample Responses Q4 Sample Responses Q5 Sample Responses Q6 Sample Responses Q7 Sight-Singing Commentary Q1 Sight-Singing Commentary Q2	Sight-Singing Sample 1A Sight-Singing Sample 1B Sight-Singing Sample 1C Sight-Singing Sample 2A Sight-Singing Sample 2B Sight-Singing Sample 2C

2015 Free-Response Questions


Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Theory Questions Sight-Singing Questions Audio Prompts General Directions \| Transcript Directions for Questions 1-2 \| Transcript Question 1 \| Transcript Question 2 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 3-4 \| Transcript Question 3 \| Transcript Question 4 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 5-7 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Audio Prompts Sight-Singing Directions \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 1 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 2 \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Sight-Singing Scoring Guidelines Student Performance Q&A Scoring Statistics Score Distributions	Sample Responses Q1 Sample Responses Q2 Sample Responses Q3 Sample Responses Q4 Sample Responses Q5 Sample Responses Q6 Sample Responses Q7 Sight-Singing Commentary Q1 Sight-Singing Commentary Q2	Sight-Singing Sample 1A Sight-Singing Sample 1B Sight-Singing Sample 1C Sight-Singing Sample 2A Sight-Singing Sample 2B Sight-Singing Sample 2C

2014 Free-Response Questions


Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Theory Questions Sight-Singing Questions Audio Prompts General Directions \| Transcript Directions for Questions 1-2 \| Transcript Question 1 \| Transcript Question 2 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 3-4 \| Transcript Question 3 \| Transcript Question 4 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 5-7 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Audio Prompts Sight-Singing Directions \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 1 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 2 \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Sight-Singing Scoring Guidelines Student Performance Q&A Scoring Statistics Score Distributions	Sample Responses Q1 Sample Responses Q2 Sample Responses Q3 Sample Responses Q4 Sample Responses Q5 Sample Responses Q6 Sample Responses Q7 Sight-Singing Commentary Q1 Sight-Singing Commentary Q2	Sight-Singing Sample 1A Sight-Singing Sample 1B Sight-Singing Sample 1C Sight-Singing Sample 2A Sight-Singing Sample 2B Sight-Singing Sample 2C

2013 Free-Response Questions


Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Theory Questions Sight-Singing Questions Theory Audio Prompts Audio Prompts General Directions \| Transcript Directions for Questions 1-2 \| Transcript Question 1 \| Transcript Question 2 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 3-4 \| Transcript Question 3 \| Transcript Question 4 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 5-7 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Audio Prompts Sight-Singing Directions \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 1 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 2 \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Sight-Singing Scoring Guidelines Student Performance Q&A Scoring Statistics Score Distributions	Sample Responses Q1 Sample Responses Q2 Sample Responses Q3 Sample Responses Q4 Sample Responses Q5 Sample Responses Q6 Sample Responses Q7 Sight-Singing Commentary Q1 Sight-Singing Commentary Q2 Sight-Singing Samples	Sight-Singing Sample 1A Sight-Singing Sample 1B Sight-Singing Sample 1C Sight-Singing Sample 2A Sight-Singing Sample 2B Sight-Singing Sample 2C

2012 Free-Response Questions


Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Theory Questions Sight-Singing Questions Audio Prompts General Directions \| Transcript Directions for Questions 1-2 \| Transcript Question 1 \| Transcript Question 2 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 3-4 \| Transcript Question 3 \| Transcript Question 4 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 5-7 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Audio Prompts Sight-Singing Directions \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 1 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 2 \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Sight-Singing Scoring Guidelines Student Performance Q&A Scoring Statistics Score Distributions	Sample Responses Q1 Sample Responses Q2 Sample Responses Q3 Sample Responses Q4 Sample Responses Q5 Sample Responses Q6 Sample Responses Q7 Sight-Singing Commentary Q1 Sight-Singing Commentary Q2	Sight-Singing Sample 1A Sight-Singing Sample 1B Sight-Singing Sample 1C Sight-Singing Sample 2A Sight-Singing Sample 2B Sight-Singing Sample 2C

2011 Free-Response Questions


Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Theory Questions Sight-Singing Questions Audio Prompts General Directions \| Transcript Directions for Questions 1-2 \| Transcript Question 1 \| Transcript Question 2 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 3-4 \| Transcript Question 3 \| Transcript Question 4 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 5-7 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Audio Prompts Sight-Singing Directions \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 1 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 2 \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Sight-Singing Scoring Guidelines Student Performance Q&A Scoring Statistics Score Distributions	Sample Responses Q1 Sample Responses Q2 Sample Responses Q3 Sample Responses Q4 Sample Responses Q5 Sample Responses Q6 Sample Responses Q7 Sight-Singing Commentary Q1 Sight-Singing Commentary Q2	Sight-Singing Sample 1A Sight-Singing Sample 1B Sight-Singing Sample 1C Sight-Singing Sample 2A Sight-Singing Sample 2B Sight-Singing Sample 2C

2010 Free-Response Questions


Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Theory Questions Sight-Singing Questions Audio Prompts General Directions \| Transcript Directions for Questions 1-2 \| Transcript Question 1 \| Transcript Question 2 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 3-4 \| Transcript Question 3 \| Transcript Question 4 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 5-7 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Audio Prompts Sight-Singing Directions \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 1 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 2 \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Sight-Singing Scoring Guidelines Student Performance Q&A Scoring Statistics Score Distributions	Sample Responses Q1 Sample Responses Q2 Sample Responses Q3 Sample Responses Q4 Sample Responses Q5 Sample Responses Q6 Sample Responses Q7 Sight-Singing Commentary Q1 Sight-Singing Commentary Q2	Sight-Singing Sample 1A Sight-Singing Sample 1B Sight-Singing Sample 1C Sight-Singing Sample 2A Sight-Singing Sample 2B Sight-Singing Sample 2C

2009 Free-Response Questions


Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Theory Questions Sight-Singing Questions Theory Audio Prompts Audio Prompts General Directions \| Transcript Directions for Questions 1-2 \| Transcript Question 1 \| Transcript Question 2 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 3-4 \| Transcript Question 3 \| Transcript Question 4 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 5-7 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Audio Prompts Sight-Singing Directions \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 1 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 2 \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Sight-Singing Scoring Guidelines Student Performance Q&A Scoring Statistics Grade Distributions	Sample Responses Q1 Sample Responses Q2 Sample Responses Q3 Sample Responses Q4 Sample Responses Q5 Sample Responses Q6 Sample Responses Q7 Sight-Singing Commentary Q1 Sight-Singing Commentary Q2 Sight-Singing Samples	Sight-Singing Sample 1A Sight-Singing Sample 1B Sight-Singing Sample 1C Sight-Singing Sample 2A Sight-Singing Sample 2B Sight-Singing Sample 2C

2008 Free-Response Questions


Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Theory Questions Sight-Singing Questions Audio Prompts General Directions \| Transcript Directions for Questions 1-2 \| Transcript Question 1 \| Transcript Question 2 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 3-4 \| Transcript Question 3 \| Transcript Question 4 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 5-7 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Audio Prompts Sight-Singing Directions \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 1 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 2 \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Sight-Singing Scoring Guidelines Student Performance Q&A Scoring Statistics Grade Distributions	Sample Responses Q1 Sample Responses Q2 Sample Responses Q3 Sample Responses Q4 Sample Responses Q5 Sample Responses Q6 Sample Responses Q7 Sight-Singing Commentary Q1 Sight-Singing Commentary Q2	Sight-Singing Sample 1A Sight-Singing Sample 1B Sight-Singing Sample 1C Sight-Singing Sample 2A Sight-Singing Sample 2B Sight-Singing Sample 2C

2007 Free-Response Questions


Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Theory Questions Sight-Singing Questions Audio Prompts General Directions \| Transcript Directions for Questions 1-2 \| Transcript Question 1 \| Transcript Question 2 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 3-4 \| Transcript Question 3 \| Transcript Question 4 \| Transcript Directions for Questions 5-7 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Audio Prompts Sight-Singing Directions \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 1 \| Transcript Sight-Singing Question 2 \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Sight-Singing Scoring Guidelines Student Performance Q&A Scoring Statistics Grade Distributions	Sample Responses Q1 Sample Responses Q2 Sample Responses Q3 Sample Responses Q4 Sample Responses Q5 Sample Responses Q6 Sample Responses Q7 Sight-Singing Commentary Q1 Sight-Singing Commentary Q2	Sight-Singing Sample 1A Sight-Singing Sample 1B Sight-Singing Sample 1C Sight-Singing Sample 2A Sight-Singing Sample 2B Sight-Singing Sample 2C