You are on page 1of 6

Lambert 1

Chris Lambert
Professor Blandford
UWRT 1103-008
19 October 2015
A Different Kind of Literacy
I learned to read at a very young age. I remember reading book after book back in my
elementary school years. I distinctly remember reading every single Magic Tree House book on
the shelves at my schools library and at the public library. I remember the protagonists names
(Jack and Annie), but aside from that I do not remember much except for the fact that reading
this series helped open the door to a new world. Being a five year old kid, of course I didnt
know what exactly this world was, but looking back and reflecting now, I see that this series
helped kickstart my journey into the world of literacy.
Being from a household where school was the main priority, I had easy access to books
and other forms of literature. My literacy sponsors were my mom and dad. I was always taught
that books attributed to knowledge so I read series after series, ranging from mysteries to
adventure to nonfiction. I loved engrossing myself with all of this knowledge, and I recall how
fascinating it was to me that so much knowledge and information could be stored in a little book.
I remember being so excited to go to the library with my mom to add to my seemingly endless
repertoire of novels read. Being such an avid reader as a child helped me to understand what
literacy actually was and what being literate actually was. Being literate goes beyond being able
to read and write. Being literate is taking what you read and write and applying the knowledge
gained in a positive way, whether that be to benefit oneself, or to benefit others.

Lambert 2
I went through most of my elementary school years thinking that the only forms of
literacy were books and novels. When I turned seven, I discovered a new form of literacy
incomparable to anything I had ever read in a book. This new literacy was music. I started taking
piano lessons at the age of seven, and I was immediately hooked. I learned to read music, play
popular songs, classical songs, and how to understand basic music theory. All of my life I had
been unfamiliar to any other form of literacy besides books, and now I had discovered this whole
new species of literacy. Reading a book is a lot different than reading piano music. Its like two
separate languages in a sense because you dont read music the same way you read a book. I
believe learning to read music opened my metaphorical door even further into the world of
literacy. Being able to read music is a skill that few people have, but its a skill that everybody
should have. Music caused me to become more open-minded, focused, and determined than I
ever had been before. Just like theres always new vocabulary words to learn when reading
books, theres always new theory concepts to learn when reading music. I was just a seven year
old kid in the second grade, and yet, I felt like I understood literacy better than the majority of
kids my age.
As my piano lessons progressed in the coming years and my brain developed into the
mind of a ten year old, I wondered how I could expand on my knowledge of music. I wondered
how I could take my musical literacy to a whole new level. The answer came in the fifth grade
when a group of my friends and I wanted to start a band. Naturally, I said I would play the piano
because I had been taking lessons for years. The only problem was that the band already had a
piano player, so I had to figure something else out if I wanted to be a part of this band. The band

Lambert 3
was lacking a drummer, so I decided to fill this role. I began taking drum lessons out of a local
studio and became the drummer of my friends band. Drumming and playing piano were
different, yet similar. Being a drummer requires concentration, coordination, and advanced
rhythm. Without these three things, being a drummer is nearly impossible. At the same time, a lot
of the skills used in my time learning piano could be applied to learning drums. For example,
piano music and drum music are both written on a musical staff. Obviously, theres no keys to
play on a drum-set, but the concept was still the same. Each note on the musical staff had a
specific command, if you will. Each line and space attributed to a different drum or cymbal. It
was a matter of practice and memorization. Having already learned the piano staff and the notes
that went along with it, it was not difficult to do the same for drums. Being able to read music for
two different instruments really took my musical literacy to a whole new level. I was completely
and totally fascinated. I could now play multiple instruments, and it was the best feeling in the
world. I felt like it gave me a leg up on kids my age, in a sense. Learning multiple instruments
gave me this new confidence that I had never had before, and this confidence continued to
multiply as a began playing as a member of a musical group, or band.
Becoming a member of a group who all spoke the same musical language as me really
helped me to expand my knowledge and better myself in the world of musical literacy. Being
able to learn from each other and being able to bounce ideas off of each other really helped me to
enhance my knowledge. I learned things about music that I didnt know about before. For
example, I remember being ten years old thinking that all guitars were the same. Being in a band
helped me realize that there are many different types out there. Theres acoustic, electric, bass,
fretless, 12-string, and the list goes on. Being able to understand all of the different types of

Lambert 4
instruments involved in music production helped me to discover my musical self as well as
develop my musical literacy. I learned what instruments I was interested in as well, as what
instruments I was not interested in. Since then I have played in three other major projects, and I
am currently in a band now called Chosen Rejects. Each band that I have been in has helped me
to expand my literacy. I worked with so many different kinds of people, some pleasant and some
not so pleasant. I played many types of music, some I liked and some I didnt like. I also played
different instruments, some I enjoyed and some I did not enjoy. All of these things helped me to
develop as a musician and as a person. Being able to play instruments is one thing, but being able
to apply musical knowledge and play in a group is something completely separate. Each band I
was in taught me something, whether that something be good or bad.
I like to think of different genres of music as different genres of books or novels. There
are just as many, if not more, genres of music than there are genres of books. After discovering
music as a form of literacy, I remember being so fascinated with all of the incredible genres of
music that were out there. I was in a household where music was listened to constantly, so it was
not difficult to expose myself to various genres of music. My playlist on my old iPod ranged
from classical music to rap to classic rock to metal. Being able to understand the different genres
and sub-genres of music allowed me to expand my musical literacy. To me, each different genre,
whether it be rap or country or rock, represents a different type of literacy. I may not have liked
every single genre of music out there in the world, but I did respect it. Tolerance is another key
factor that increased my musical literacy. With music, I learned that I had to be open-minded to
all of the different kinds of music out there, or there was no way I was going to enjoy myself. If I
had not exposed myself to all of these genres and people, my musical literacy would not have

Lambert 5
expanded.
Where I am now is defined by my past experiences with music. My developing musical
literacy played a pivotal role in every single event that happened to me. I feel like some people
go through life thinking that the only type of literacy out there comes from books, and to me, this
couldnt be further from the truth. Literacy can mean different things. For me, my musical
literacy turned into my passion. I am currently the drummer in a band called Chosen Rejects, and
we play original music around the Charlotte and Lake Norman areas. The people in the band, the
type of music we play, and the instrument I play were all influenced by my past experiences. My
musical literacy helped me to formulate this perfect band that I am currently in now. For me,
literacy went beyond the Magic Tree House book series. Literacy was a lifestyle, that helped to
develop me into the man I am today. I found my literacy in music, and I have not looked back
since.
Being literate not only has to do with reading and understanding, but it also has to do
with exploration and trying new things, and I learned this as my musical career progressed. All of
the factors mentioned above helped me to develop this different kind of literacy. My journey into
the world of musical literacy was a long one, but I regret absolutely nothing. I have come so far
since I started playing music, and I still have so much to learn, and that is what is so exciting. I
have learned the piano, drums, guitar, bass, and mandolin. I said in the beginning of this paper
that being literate is taking what you read and write and applying the knowledge gained in a
positive way, whether that be to benefit oneself, or to benefit others, and this still holds true.
Reading and writing does not have to be limited to paper and pencil. Literacy is an open-ended

Lambert 6
topic that has endless possibilities, and it is up to us, as people, to figure out what literacy truly
means to us.

You might also like