Maggie Owen Professor Rand English 1103H September 25th, 2013 Literacy Project I can vividly remember when

I was around 5, sitting at my dads feet while he played guitar wishing that I could be apart of that music with him. My dad would play almost every night. Usually he would play just pieces and parts of random songs, most of which I was too young to know. I would sometimes pick up a guitar and play along with him even though all I could do was strum and pretend I was making music. As soon as I was old enough my dad taught me songs to sing a long with him while he played. He would sing a line and I would repeat it until I knew the song well enough to sing it by myself. When I sang with him I could feel that music was our connection and that he was proud of me. My favorite song to sing with him was Blackbird by the Beetles. I would stay up past my bedtime some nights because we would sing this song over and over again together. I felt as grown up as a five-year-old girl could feel when I would sing with him. This is where my literacy of performing vocal music began. My dad stopped playing with and teaching me when I got older. He got too busy since he and my brother started a lawn care business, which consumed the familys life. However, I still wanted to make him proud of me so I joined all of the choruses I could and sang whenever I could. When I was in early elementary school I joined the childrens chorus at church. The director, Mrs. Trish, taught us how to properly sing and read music. This was my first taste of real vocal music.

Owen 2 She taught us how to properly stand and breathe in order to make our breath last long. My favorite exercise was to work on opening our mouth as tall as we could. Mrs. Trish had a tennis ball that she glued googly eyes on and cut a horizontal slit in it for a mouth. She told us that our mouths should look just like the tennis balls. She would then squeeze the ball to make the mouth a nice vertical oval. Even now when I sing I think of that tennis ball and remember to keep my mouth tall. It was not until 5th grade that I joined a real performing chorus that challenged my vocal skills. I was given the opportunity to audition for the North Carolina Elementary Honors Chorus. I was one out of 5 in my elementary school that was nominated by the music teacher at my elementary school to audition. In order to be accepted into the North Carolina Elementary Honors Chorus I had to send in an audition CD. I thought I was so cool having my voice recorded! My first audition experience was pretty stressful. I would go over the audition piece for hours after I got home from practicing it at school. The audition piece was one of the selections that was to be performed at that actual concert. It was a Mozart piece that had a lot of slurs in them that was difficult to master, especially as someone with the little choral experience I had. I wanted to be perfect so I would get into the chorus and my dad could come watch me perform. I sent in my CD and got a letter a couple of weeks later saying that I was selected to be in the chorus. Of course I was excited but that excitement soon faded when I looked at the selections we were required to know. One song was completely in Japanese, how is a 5th grader supposed to learn Japanese in only a couple of months? Learning the Japanese piece as well as five other pieces consumed my life for those couple of months.

Owen 3 With a lot of practice and hard work I made it to the weekend of the performance. The weekend of the concert the entire chorus that stretched throughout all of North Carolina came together to rehearse for two days straight. I had never sung with so many people or practiced for so long before. I sat down in the soprano section of a giant ballroom that was our practice room. The first song started and I could not sing. I was so mesmerized by hearing over 200 voices singing 8 parts and making something that sounded so beautiful. It was my first taste of actually being with a high level choir. I was glad to finally hear all of the parts of the music fit together instead of just focusing on my own part. It taught me the importance of listening to those around me, especially other parts, in order to make the music truly beautiful. It also broadened my idea of my choral literacy. It was not longer just about how well I sang but more about the choir as a whole and what we can accomplish when we work together. I do not remember anything else about that concert experience. Every other moment seemed unimportant compared to the feeling of awe. That first moment was so powerful that I can still feel that overwhelmed feeling. That moment changed my view of choral music. I was no longer performing for my dad to be proud of me. Instead, I was performing for myself, so that I could continuously feel that moment of awe. I continued to pursue my passion in choral music throughout middle school and high school. My literacy continued to grow with each passing year as I participated in different choral events that broadened my talent. I was also very committed to the chorus classes at school that taught me the rules to singing. My choral music literacy began to shift into a less strict path when I began singing in the praise band at Clemmons United Methodist Church. My first Sunday singing in the praise band was a nervous blur. I was only singing one song but I could not focus on anything else. While I stood on stage I could feel the lights making

Owen 4 my face even more red and hot. I am sure the audience could see the microphone shaking in my hand as I tried to keep my voice calm. I got off stage that Sunday thinking that this was not where I belonged. I figured I should go back to choral music and only focus on that instead of working on leading worship music. Fortunately, I received positive remarks from the congregation and was encouraged to continue working in this area of music. I worked hard to learn more about leading a group in singing instead of just performing for a group. It was a hard transition from performing to trying not to perform. It stretched my idea of musical literacy and made me feel very uncomfortable in an area that I used to thrive in. I dreaded most Sundays because I knew I had to get on stage. I thought that everyone was seeing my shaking hands and legs and focusing on that instead of the song and what it meant. It was hard transitioning into a leader. I did not like having the pressure of everyone following me. In a choir, it is easy to rely on others during a part the might be weaker, but as a leader other people had to rely on me. It took me a couple of months to feel comfortable in my new musical literacy. I was soon able to lead songs by myself instead of just singing along in the background. I could talk in front of the congregation and read bible verses, which I would have never done if I had not grown my choral musical literacy. Every Sunday I would rely on my previous choral training in order to provided a worship experience that was not distracting. I would not want to get up there and sing the song flat so that the congregation would only notice that instead of the meaning of the song. I am glad I had the prior musical experience so I could participate in such a great opportunity. If I had not been as involved in choirs when I was younger I might have let this leadership position pass me by and I would have not gained the leadership and communication skills that have allowed me to be successful in other areas in my life.