This week at Basha HS, I was able to plan a review in AP Music Theory based off the Principles of Voice Leading and was also given to opportunity to have a 25 minute lesson on Nessun Dorma with Symphonic Band. Check out my lesson plans!

Johnston Sym. Band Nessun Dorma 11-3

Johnston AP Music Theory Review 11-5

I really enjoyed the Nessun Dorma lesson with the students because I felt like I was actually doing what (almost) every other band director teaches on a daily basis in terms of a regular ensemble setting. In this particular lesson, I focused on individualizing which instruments had the lead vocal tenor line from the original opera lyricist. It took me a while to compare and contrast the score to an actual vocal recording from YouTube. This is the video I used to gather the main lines and relate it to the score.

With the time given, I felt like the students may have been a little confused as to the point of the lesson. But this lesson could’ve easily been expanded on with more depth and explanation for a better understanding. Overall though, I thought this lesson provided a great start and foundation for future lessons on this piece!

My AP Music Theory review was pretty simple. The most time consuming part of it was having to refresh my memory and reteach it to myself for a better understanding of how to teach the students in return. Having to answer questions during the review was pretty tough for me, especially with theory having been my weakest subject! But I really liked the options and wiggle room I designed the lesson to have. I gave myself multiple angles at what/how to approach it in regards to the time I had. Unfortunately, I’m coming down with horrible cold/flu like symptoms and wasn’t able to collect their homework that was due today (Friday 11/7) due to my absence. So we’ll have to see how they turn up next week!