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Epstein, Ryan
Professor Leslie Wolcott
ENC 1102-0M03
7 December 2015
Literacy Narrative
The word literacy can have many meanings. Most people think of literacy as being able
to read and/or write words. However, when I think of literacy, I think of reading and writing music. Music has been a huge part of my life since I was in elementary school. My musical journey
started when my uncle, who is a professional pianist, bought me an electric keyboard. I consider
him a key literacy sponsor because I probably never wouldve gotten into learning music at all if
it wasnt for him. At first, I was very excited because I never played an instrument before, and I
was eager to learn. But as soon as I sat down in front of the keyboard, I knew this wasnt going
to be easy. Seeing a long row of black and white keys with different shapes, each key having a
different sound, I had quite a challenge right in front of me.
The first thing I wanted to learn with the keyboard was how to read music notation. My
uncle opened up a book filled with music notation, set it on the keyboard stand, and I was puzzled. Seeing all of the black circles with lines attached to them, and many symbols Ive never
seen before, I realized that music notation is a language and literacy of its own. My uncle taught
me how each black circle is positioned at a certain spot on the music staff, and each position represents a certain note, which represents a certain key on the keyboard. It was a struggle in the
beginning to learn these positions, but after a few days of practice, I could read and play almost
every song in the beginners section of the book. I was quite proud of myself, but not satisfied,

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and I wanted to learn more difficult songs. With this in mind, I began to teach myself how to read
and play more difficult songs, by Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach, for example. After weeks and
weeks of practice, I finally mastered some of these songs, and I couldnt believe myself. My
family would hear me play and their faces would light up with astonishment. I was amazed with
how far I have gotten and it only took a few months of practice and dedication.
I thought to myself, If I could learn how to play the keyboard this fast, what other instruments can I learn? With this in mind, I wanted to expand my horizons into the music world
and learn how to play the guitar. My parents bought me my first guitar when I was ten years old
and just like when I first got my electric keyboard, I felt excited and eager to learn, but ready to
face another challenge. I held the guitar and noticed how there were six strings which made a
different sound, and twenty-two frets, with some of them marked with tiny white dots. I was
quite curious with how all of this worked, so I got right into it and wanted to try and learn my
first song. I asked my father, who has a little bit of experience with the guitar, to teach me an
easy song, and it was a song that we both know called Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple. He
showed me where to place my fingers and which strings to strum, and I learned it within a few
minutes of practicing. While learning this song, he showed me the concept of chords, which are
multiple notes played at the same time, and how all songs are built off of these chords. I consider
him another key literacy sponsor because he taught me all of this. With this new information, I
felt that I could play any song by learning finger placements and the chords in each song.
After a few days of messing around with the guitar and just getting a feel of it, I wanted
to learn how to read music notation, because since I learned how to read it so quickly for the
keyboard, I figured that it wouldnt be as difficult for the guitar. So I opened up a music notation

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book for guitar and it was almost identical to music notation for the keyboard. It contained the
same black circles with lines attached to them and the same symbols, and I knew that this was
going to be a piece of cake. I practiced and practiced, and eventually, could play every song in
that book with no problem. I felt like a real musician at that point, since I knew how to read and
play music notation for multiple instruments.
I thought about branching out and learning a new instrument, but I didnt want to get
ahead of myself. As years passed and I was just starting high school, I gradually stopped playing
the keyboard and decided to just stick with playing the guitar. To this day, Im still playing guitar
and reading music daily and I dont think Ill ever stop. It is a huge part of my life and it is something I want to continue doing for the rest of my life.
Learning music notation has helped me with not just the literacy of music, but with other
literacies as well. For example, memorizing all of the symbols and notes has helped me with
studying for exams in school that involve memorizing difficult vocabulary words, diagrams,
charts, etc. My grades have improved tremendously ever since I started learning how to read and
write music and Im glad I decided to get into this musical journey.
For every individual attempting to learn a literacy, a sponsor is involved. In my journey
of learning this literacy of music, I was provided with some great, helpful sponsors whom I
couldnt have started this journey without. Sponsors are figures who turned up most typically in
people's memories of literacy learning (Brandt). These sponsors were my uncle, who is a professional pianist and was the one who taught me how to read music notation, and my dad, who
was a professional drummer and has some guitar experience, taught me my first song on the guitar and showed me the concept of chords which are basically the building blocks of all songs. I

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am extremely grateful for them. I hope to use this knowledge that they gave me later on so I can
become a sponsor for someone in the future.

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Works Cited
Brandt, Deborah. Sponsors of Literacy. National Council of Teachers of English. 1998.