FRQs 5-7 – Part Writing + Harmonization

Overview

AP Music Theory FRQs 5-7 are the three written part-writing and harmonization questions, and you get 45 self-paced minutes to complete all of them. Question 5 asks you to realize a figured bass in four voices, Question 6 asks you to part-write from Roman numerals, and Question 7 gives you a melody and asks you to compose a bass line with Roman numeral analysis. Together with the four dictation questions, they make up the free-response section, which counts for 45% of your AP Music Theory exam score.

These are the non-aural FRQs. No recording plays, no headphones needed. You sit with staff paper and apply 18th-century voice-leading procedures: spelling chords correctly, resolving tendency tones, and avoiding parallel fifths and octaves. If dictation tests whether you can hear harmony, FRQs 5-7 test whether you can write it.

The good news: these questions are the most predictable part of the exam. The voice-leading rules never change, the progressions follow standard patterns, and partial credit is generous. Systematic practice pays off here more than anywhere else.

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How AP Music Theory FRQs 5-7 Are Scored

Each question is scored chord by chord and connection by connection, so one mistake never wipes out your whole response. Readers use detailed scoring guidelines for each released question, and while exact point values vary year to year, the categories stay consistent:

A few scoring realities worth knowing from released scoring guidelines:

• Roman numerals on Question 5 score independently of your voice leading. Even if your alto line falls apart, correct analysis still earns points. Always finish the Roman numerals.
• Voice leading is judged per connection. A parallel fifth between chords 3 and 4 costs you that connection, not the whole exercise. Keep writing.
• You can omit the fifth in root-position triads and seventh chords without penalty. Inverted chords need every chord member present.
• On Question 7, conventional beats creative. The exam tests common-practice harmony, so a standard I-IV-V-I phrase scores better than an inventive progression that breaks function.

Heads up: the exam stays paper-based for 2025-26, with a hybrid digital format planned for 2026-27. The skills tested in these questions aren't changing.

How to Approach FRQs 5-7, Step by Step

Budget roughly 12-13 minutes each for Questions 5 and 6, about 15-17 minutes for Question 7, and save 3-5 minutes to check for parallels and unresolved tendency tones. Question 7 gets the most time because you make every harmonic decision yourself. The 45 minutes are self-paced, so nothing stops you from adjusting, but don't let one stubborn measure eat your whole budget. Partial credit on all three questions beats perfection on two.

Question 5: Part Writing from Figured Bass

The official prompt asks you to "realize the figured bass in four voices, following traditional eighteenth-century voice-leading procedures," continuing logically from the spacing of the first chord and writing a Roman numeral below each chord. This is the most mechanical of the three. The figures tell you exactly which chords to write, so your job is execution.

Work in this order:

1. Do all the Roman numerals first. The bass note plus the figures plus the key signature determines every chord. In C major, a bass note G with a 7 is V7. A bass note E with a 6 is I6. These are independent points, and they map out your voice leading before you write a single upper-voice note. Watch for accidentals in the figures (a slash through a number or a sharp next to it means raise that pitch, which usually signals a raised leading tone in minor or a secondary dominant).
2. Write the soprano next. Aim for contrary motion against the bass and standard cadential motion at the end (2-1 or 7-1 over V-I).
3. Fill alto and tenor last. Smooth is the goal: common tones held, steps preferred, ranges respected. Double the root in root-position triads, double the bass in 6/4 chords, and never double the leading tone or a chordal seventh.

Question 6: Part Writing from Roman Numerals

Question 6 gives you the Roman numerals and asks you to realize the progression in four parts, which means you choose the actual notes, including the bass when inversions give you options. The freedom is the challenge.

• Plan the bass line first. Mix root position and first inversion for a singable contour, use first inversion to create stepwise motion, and reserve 6/4 chords for the contexts where they're given (cadential, passing, pedal).
• Shape a real soprano. Since no figured bass dictates your hand, you can write a soprano with direction: mostly steps, a few small leaps, a clear arrival at the cadence.
• Think connection by connection. Before notating a chord, ask what each voice does to get there. If I to V in root position creates parallels with your soprano, ii6 before V or a different soprano note often fixes it. These small choices are exactly what readers reward.

Question 7: Composing a Bass Line (Harmonizing a Melody)

Question 7 gives you a melody and asks you to compose a bass line and write the Roman numeral analysis. It's the most open-ended question, so anchor it with decisions in this order:

1. Find the cadences first. Look for long notes, rests, or melodic closure at phrase endings, then decide: authentic cadence (V or V7 to I, melody ending on 1), half cadence (ending on root-position V, melody often on 2, 7, or 5), or deceptive (V to vi). Lock these in before anything else; they anchor the whole progression.
2. Set the harmonic rhythm. Not every melody note gets its own chord. Change chords on strong beats unless the melody insists otherwise, let repeated notes share a harmony, and treat quick passing notes as nonchord tones.
3. Pick chords that contain each structural melody note. A melody note C in C major can be harmonized by I, vi, or IV. Choose whichever creates functional motion toward your planned cadence: tonic opens the phrase, predominant (ii6 or IV) sets up the dominant, dominant resolves to tonic.
4. Write a bass line with its own shape. Don't just stack chord roots. Mix root position and first inversion, move in contrary motion against the melody when you can, and include stepwise motion so the line doesn't leap constantly. Your bass and your Roman numerals must match; an inconsistency between them costs points.

One more clue: chromatic notes in the melody usually signal secondary dominants. A raised 4 often wants V/V.

Voice-Leading Patterns Worth Memorizing

A handful of patterns show up on almost every released exam, so make them automatic.

V7 to I has fixed resolutions. The seventh resolves down by step (fa to mi). The leading tone resolves up to tonic when it's in an outer voice (ti to do). These are non-negotiable; readers check them every time.

The deceptive resolution (V to vi) keeps the same rules with one twist. The leading tone still resolves up to tonic, which becomes the third of vi, and that third gets doubled. The bass steps up from 5 to 6.

The cadential 6/4 decorates the dominant. Write the notes of I6/4 before V at a cadence, but understand it functions as dominant preparation, not real tonic harmony. Both the sixth and fourth resolve down by step into V.

ii6 to V is the smoothest path to the dominant. The bass moves up by step (4 to 5) and every other voice moves by step or common tone, which is why ii6 outnumbers root-position ii in this style. When in doubt before a cadence, ii6 is a safe choice.

Functional progression is the backbone of every answer. Tonic, then predominant (ii, ii6, IV), then dominant (V, V7, vii°6), then tonic. Circle-of-fifths segments like vi-ii-V-I are everywhere. On Question 7, defaulting to these patterns is a feature, not a cop-out.

Worked example of the thinking on Question 7: suppose a melody in G major ends a phrase on a half note A (scale degree 2). That's a textbook half-cadence signal. Plan root-position V (D in the bass) under the A, put ii6 or IV in front of it, and work backward toward tonic at the start of the phrase. Three decisions, and most of the phrase is already harmonized.

Common Mistakes

• Skipping inversion symbols in the Roman numerals. "V" when the bass has the third is wrong even if you heard the chord correctly. Always check the bass note against your numeral and add 6, 6/5, 4/3, or 4/2 as needed.
• Leaving a seventh unresolved. Every chordal seventh resolves down by step, no exceptions. In your final review, find every 7 in your analysis and trace that voice into the next chord.
• Parallel fifths and octaves between inner voices. Most students check soprano against bass and stop. Scan all six voice pairs (S-A, S-T, S-B, A-T, A-B, T-B) between every pair of chords.
• Doubling the wrong note in 6/4 chords. Second-inversion chords always double the bass (the fifth of the chord). Doubling the root in a cadential 6/4 is one of the most common deductions.
• A bass line on Question 7 that contradicts the Roman numerals. If you write IV6 but put F (the root) in the bass in C major, you lose points for the mismatch. After harmonizing, verify every bass note is the chord member your inversion symbol claims.
• Voice crossing and overlap. Alto above soprano, or tenor leaping past where the alto just was, both cost voice-leading points. Keep each voice in its lane and check ranges as you go.

Practice and Next Steps

The fastest way to improve on FRQs 5-7 is timed reps with real prompts. Pull part-writing and harmonization questions from the AP Music Theory FRQ question bank and give yourself 45 minutes for a full set of three, then try FRQ practice with instant scoring to see which voice-leading errors you keep repeating. Working through past AP Music Theory exam questions alongside their scoring guidelines teaches you exactly what readers reward.

These written skills also feed the aural side of the exam. The same progressions you part-write here are the ones you'll transcribe in FRQs 3-4, harmonic dictation, so practice in one strengthens the other. For the full picture of how all seven FRQs, the multiple-choice section, and sight-singing fit together, start at the AP Music Theory exam guide, and use the AP score calculator to see how strong FRQ performance moves your overall score.