AP Music Theory Convert Between Performed and Notated Music is the skill of moving music between what you hear and what you write or sing. You listen and notate it, or you read notation and sing it, applying the conventions of pitch, rhythm, key, meter, and harmony along the way.

This is Skill Category 3 in the course. It powers melodic dictation, harmonic dictation, Roman numeral analysis from listening, sight-singing, and spotting differences between a score and a performance. If Skill Category 1 is hearing and Skill Category 2 is reading, Skill Category 3 is the bridge that connects the two.

What Convert Between Performed and Notated Music Means

"Convert" means translate accurately in both directions:

Aural to written: hear a melody or progression and write it down correctly.
Written to performed: read a notated melody and sing it accurately.
Compare both: hold a score and a performance side by side and catch where they disagree.

The grouping description in the CED says it cleanly: apply conventions of musical notation and performance in converting music between aural and written forms.

This skill leans on everything from earlier units. You need clefs, key signatures, scale degrees, intervals, meter, triads, seventh chords, and Roman numerals all working together at speed.

What This Skill Requires

To convert well, you combine knowledge from across the course:

Pitch fluency: scale degrees, intervals, and how chromatic alterations sound and look (Units 1, 2).
Rhythm fluency: note values, simple and compound meter, beat division, and rhythmic patterns (Unit 1).
Harmony fluency: triad and seventh chord qualities, inversions, and figured bass (Unit 3).
Function fluency: how chords behave as tonic, predominant, and dominant, plus cadences (Units 4, 5).
Notation conventions: correct clef, key signature, accidentals, stems, and beaming.

You also need speed. Dictation and sight-singing both run on timed recordings with set repetitions and pauses, so you cannot puzzle over a single note forever.

Subskills You Need

Here is every Skill Category 3 subskill and what it asks you to do.

3.A: Notate a Performed Melody

Hear a melody and write both its pitches and rhythm. The melody may be in treble or bass clef, in a major or minor key, and may include chromatically altered pitches.

Practical approach:

Lock the tonic and key first, then hear each note as a scale degree.
Notate rhythm and pitch in separate passes if that helps, then combine.
This is melodic dictation (FRQ 1 and 2) and supports sight-singing.

3.B: Notate Soprano and Bass of a Progression

Hear a harmonic progression and write the outer voices, the soprano and the bass, in a major or minor key. Chromatic alterations may appear.

Practical approach:

Track soprano and bass as two separate melodic lines.
The bass tells you a lot about chord roots and inversions.
This is part of harmonic dictation (FRQ 3 and 4).

3.C: Analyze Harmonic Function with Roman and Arabic Numerals

After hearing a progression, label each chord with Roman numerals and figured bass numbers (the Arabic part). You are naming function: tonic, predominant, dominant, and the inversion.

Practical approach:

Use the bass line plus quality to decide the Roman numeral.
Use figures like 6, 6/4, 6/5 to show inversion.
This pairs with 3.B in harmonic dictation (FRQ 3 and 4).

3.D: Sing a Notated Melody

Read a melody and perform it with correct pitches and rhythms. It may be in treble or bass clef, major or minor, simple or compound meter, and may include chromatic alterations.

Practical approach:

Establish the tonic and key signature before you start.
Use solfege or scale-degree numbers to keep pitch accurate.
Count out loud or subdivide to keep rhythm steady.
This is the sight-singing task.

3.E: Detect Discrepancies in Pitch and Rhythm

Compare a notated version to a performed version in one or two voices and find where they differ in pitch or rhythm.

Practical approach:

Follow the score note by note while listening.
Mark the exact spot and whether the error is pitch or rhythm.
This is the only Skill Category 3 subskill that appears in multiple choice (about 8% of MCQ assess discrepancy detection).

How It Shows Up on the AP Exam

Skill Category 3 mostly lives in the free-response section and sight-singing, with one foothold in multiple choice.

Melodic dictation (FRQ 1 and 2): assesses 3.A. The melody is played multiple times with pauses, the first pitch is often given, and you notate the rest.
Harmonic dictation (FRQ 3 and 4): assesses 3.B and 3.C. You notate soprano and bass, then provide the Roman numeral analysis.
Sight-singing tasks: assess 3.D, and they support 3.A by building strong aural-to-written connections.
Multiple choice discrepancy detection: assesses 3.E, roughly 8% of MCQ.

Note that 3.A, 3.B, 3.C, and 3.D are not directly tested in multiple choice. Only 3.E is. Treat dictation and sight-singing as your main practice ground for this category.

Examples Across the Course

These show how converting pulls from many different parts of the course.

Unit 1 rhythm in dictation: a melody mixes quarter notes and an eighth-note pattern in simple meter. For 3.A you notate the exact rhythmic pattern, similar to choosing the correct played pattern in a multiple-choice rhythm item.
Unit 2 minor key melody for sight-singing: a melody in a minor key with a raised seventh degree. For 3.D you sing it accurately, treating the chromatic alteration as the leading tone instead of the natural minor seventh.
Unit 3 chord qualities in harmonic dictation: you hear a progression and must hear which chords are major, minor, or diminished. That quality judgment feeds the Roman numerals you write for 3.C.
Units 4 and 5 cadences and function: a progression ends with a clear authentic cadence. For 3.B and 3.C you notate the outer voices and label the dominant to tonic motion, including any cadential 6/4 leading into the dominant.
Discrepancy detection across voices: a two-voice excerpt is notated, but the performance changes one pitch in the lower voice and shortens one note in the upper voice. For 3.E you identify both, naming one as a pitch error and one as a rhythm error.

How to Practice Convert Between Performed and Notated Music

Build a routine that hits both directions.

For dictation (3.A, 3.B, 3.C):

Always set the tonic and key signature in your head before notes start.
Hear pitches as scale degrees, not as isolated letters.
Notate bass and rhythm first in harmonic dictation, since they anchor the analysis.
Check that your soprano and bass line up with the Roman numerals you wrote.

For sight-singing (3.D):

Scan the melody first for the key, meter, range, and any accidentals.
Sing scale-degree patterns and arpeggios in the key as a warmup.
Subdivide the beat so compound meter feels natural.
Keep a steady tempo even if you miss a note, since stopping costs more.

For discrepancy detection (3.E):

Read along with a score while a recording plays, marking any mismatch.
Decide quickly whether each error is pitch or rhythm.

General habits:

Practice in both major and minor, and in both treble and bass clef.
Include chromatically altered pitches so they stop surprising you.
Work under timed conditions with set repetitions to build speed.

Common Mistakes

Notating pitch but losing the rhythm, or the reverse. Both count in 3.A.
Forgetting the first given note still needs its rhythm notated in melodic dictation.
Writing Roman numerals that do not match your own notated bass line.
Mixing up inversion figures, like labeling a 6/3 chord as root position.
Treating a raised leading tone in minor as a natural seventh in sight-singing.
Stopping during sight-singing to fix a note, which breaks your tempo and timing.
In discrepancy detection, spotting that something is wrong but not pinning down whether it is pitch or rhythm.

Quick Review

Skill Category 3 converts music between heard and written forms in both directions.
3.A: notate a performed melody (pitch and rhythm). FRQ 1 and 2, plus sight-singing support.
3.B: notate soprano and bass of a performed progression. FRQ 3 and 4.
3.C: analyze function with Roman and Arabic numerals. FRQ 3 and 4.
3.D: sing a notated melody accurately. Sight-singing tasks.
3.E: detect pitch and rhythm discrepancies between score and performance. About 8% of MCQ.
Most of this category is tested in FRQ and sight-singing, not multiple choice. Only 3.E appears in MCQ.
Strong scale-degree hearing, steady counting, and clean notation conventions carry you across every subskill.