AP Music Theory score calculator
On the AP Music Theory exam, the 75 multiple-choice questions are 45% of your score and the free response, seven written questions for 45% and two sight-singing melodies for 10%, the other 55%, so one free-response point counts as much as about 0.6 to 0.9 multiple-choice answers, depending on the question. Enter your practice marks for your score out of 100 on those weights. The College Board publishes no chart that turns it into a 1 to 5, so this page does not guess one.
Example: weighted AP Music Theory score
30 from multiple choice (50 of 75) + 34.5 from free response (85 of 136), by the College Board’s weights: 45% and 55%.
One more multiple-choice answer adds 0.60, and one more free-response point 0.38 on Questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 and 0.56 on Sight-singing 1 and Sight-singing 2.
To reach 70 of 100: your free response needs to bring 40 of its 55 with your 50 multiple-choice answers (now 34.5), which takes at least 12 more points, starting on Sight-singing 1 and Sight-singing 2, where a point adds most (0.56); or 60 of the 75 multiple-choice answers with your free response as it is (10 more).
- Multiple choice, 50 right30 of 45
- Question 1, 6 of 92.3 of 3.4
- Question 2, 5 of 91.9 of 3.4
- Question 3, 15 of 245.7 of 9.2
- Question 4, 14 of 245.3 of 9.2
- Question 5, 16 of 256.1 of 9.5
- Question 6, 12 of 184.6 of 6.9
- Question 7, 5 of 91.9 of 3.4
- Sight-singing 1, 6 of 93.3 of 5
- Sight-singing 2, 6 of 93.3 of 5
The College Board publishes no chart that turns this into a 1 to 5 for today’s exam, so this is not your AP score.
The exam format and the 2026 scoring guidelines checked on AP Central . AP and Advanced Placement are trademarks of the College Board, which does not make or endorse this calculator.
How the weighted score is worked out
- The exam: 75 multiple-choice questions (about 13 sets of 4 to 6 and 10 to 12 single questions, on music you hear and music you read, in about 1 hour 20 minutes), then 7 written free-response questions in about 1 hour 10 minutes and 2 short melodies you sight-sing and record in about 10 minutes.
- Multiple choice: your answers right ÷ 75 × 45. Each answer is worth 0.60.
- Free response: the seven written questions share their 45% by their points (118 in all, so each point is worth 0.38) and the two sight-singing melodies their 10% (18 points, each worth 0.56): your points ÷ the part’s points × its share.
- Add the two: a score out of 100 with the sections in the College Board’s proportions, 45% and 55%.
The College Board does not say how it combines the sections into the composite behind your AP score, only what share each section has, so this is the plainest reading of those shares.
A worked example
50 of 75 multiple-choice answers right: 50 ÷ 75 × 45 = 30. Free response, each question on its own share: 6 ÷ 9 × 3.43 = 2.3, 5 ÷ 9 × 3.43 = 1.9, 15 ÷ 24 × 9.15 = 5.7, 14 ÷ 24 × 9.15 = 5.3, 16 ÷ 25 × 9.53 = 6.1, 12 ÷ 18 × 6.86 = 4.6, 5 ÷ 9 × 3.43 = 1.9, 6 ÷ 9 × 5 = 3.3, 6 ÷ 9 × 5 = 3.3, so 34.5. Together 64.5 of 100.
Where the next points are: a multiple-choice answer adds 0.60 and a free-response point 0.38 on Questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 and 0.56 on Sight-singing 1 and Sight-singing 2, so one free-response point counts as much as about 0.6 to 0.9 multiple-choice answers, depending on the question.
What each free-response question is worth
Each question’s points are from the College Board’s 2026 scoring guidelines (the sight-singing from its own 2026 guidelines); the written questions share their 45% by those points and the two melodies their 10%, since nothing published weighs one question against another.
| Question | What it asks | Points | Of your 100 | As many multiple-choice answers as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Question 1 | Melodic dictation: write down a melody you hear | 9 | 3.4 | 5.7 |
| Question 2 | Melodic dictation | 9 | 3.4 | 5.7 |
| Question 3 | Harmonic dictation: the bass and soprano you hear, with Roman numerals | 24 | 9.2 | 15.3 |
| Question 4 | Harmonic dictation | 24 | 9.2 | 15.3 |
| Question 5 | Part-writing from figured bass | 25 | 9.5 | 15.9 |
| Question 6 | Part-writing from Roman numerals | 18 | 6.9 | 11.4 |
| Question 7 | Harmonizing a melody | 9 | 3.4 | 5.7 |
| Sight-singing 1 | Sing and record a short melody of about 4 to 8 bars | 9 | 5 | 8.3 |
| Sight-singing 2 | Sing and record a second melody | 9 | 5 | 8.3 |
To practice, AP Central posts the last three years’ AP Music Theory free-response questions with their scoring guidelines and sample answers from students who sat the exam: past AP Music Theory exam questions.
Why there is no 1 to 5 here
The College Board sets the composite each AP score needs after every exam and publishes no chart for today’s AP Music Theory exam. A 1 to 5 from any calculator is someone’s guess at those cut points.
What it does publish is how students scored. In 2026: 18% a 5, 17% a 4, 24% a 3, 26% a 2 and 15% a 1; 59% scored a 3 or higher. Those are shares of students, not the marks each score needed.
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Sources: College Board, AP Central, AP Music Theory Exam; College Board, AP Music Theory 2026 Scoring Guidelines; College Board, AP Music Theory 2026 Scoring Guidelines: Sight Singing; College Board, AP Central, AP Music Theory Course and Exam Description, Effective Fall 2026; College Board, AP Students, 2026 AP Score Distributions.